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Staff Recommendation

Staff recommends the following actions on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:
1) Deny the waiver to increase the maximum sign height by 64% to 19.67 ft
2) Deny the waiver to increase the maximum sign area by 200% to 440 sq ft.

Based on the application and plans as submitted, staff recommends denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the requested sign permit.

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HISTORY OF YARD SIGNAGE FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT:
1. In 2008, the TTCDA approved a yard sign for this property (Case 08.024.0). It met the TTCDA Design Guidelines regarding sign size, materials, and message contents, but a variance was approved to allow the sign to be located 15 ft from the right-of-way. The previous sign remained on site until being replaced by the new tenant directory sign, which Google Street View shows occurred between May 2018 and May 2021.
2. The subject tenant directory sign at this existing commercial strip center replaced a large monument sign in the same location on this parcel without a permit.
3. Upon seeking approval for address numbers and individual panels to be added to the existing sign structure, the applicant, the new property owner, discovered the sign had not been permitted, and the sign was reviewed in its entirety at the January 2023 TTCDA meeting (Case 12-A-22-TOS).
4. The request was denied. The applicant then requested to appeal the TTCDA decision to the Knox County Commission, but the appeal deadline had expired. The TTCDA Administrative Rules and Procedures do not have a stipulation of time before and application making the same request can be submitted, so the applicant applied for approval of the same sign.
5. No one was present at the January meeting when this case was initially heard. Staff had communicated the meeting date, time, and location to the applicant and owner, and both parties were aware of staff's recommendation to deny the request.

PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 4 OF THE TTCDA ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND PROCEDURES, THE DECISION OF THE TTCDA TO APPROVE A REZONING MUST BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

A. CONFORMITY OF THE SIGN PROPOSAL WITH THE DESIGN GUIDELINES
1. Sign Location: The sign is located approximately 18 ft from the right-of-way line as measured on KGIS. The TTCDA Design Guidelines require signs to be a minimum of 20 ft from the right-of-way. The applicant was granted a waiver reducing the front setback to 15 ft. Therefore, the existing yard sign could also benefit from that waiver approval and be located 15 ft from the Lovell Road right-of-way.
2. Sign Materials: The sign materials consist of stucco walls extending to the ground and bounded by treated wood trim on the sides of the sign, capped with a wood roof.
3. Sign Size and Height:
a. Per Section 4.2 of the TTCDA Guidelines, pertaining to Subdivision and Planned Development Signs: 1) these types of signs are to be computed using a sign's message area; 2) the overall structure of a sign is excluded from calculating its size, and 3) all sides of the sign shall be used in calculating the total sign area.
i. The existing tenant directory sign's message area comprises 220 square feet (11.33 ft W (or 136 in) x 19.4 ft H (or 233 in) on each side, for an overall area of 440 sq ft.
ii. At 440 sq ft, the message area of the sign exceeds the 200 sq ft maximum and a waiver would be required to increase the sign message area by 200% over that allowed for a for a subdivision/planned development.
4. Sign Height:
a. Subdivision and Planned Development Signs may be a maximum of 12 ft tall.
i. At 19.67 ft, the sign is taller than the 12 ft maximum allowed for a planned development sign. The applicant requires a waiver to increase the sign height maximum by 64% over that allowed for a planned development.
5. Sign Lighting: The sign would be illuminated with screened, ground-mounted lights. No light specifications have been provided, though requested by staff on May 9, 2023. Therefore, compliance with the lighting requirements cannot be determined.
5. Individual panels and address numbers:
a. The proposed individual panels are to be brown vinyl with white lettering and would be connected to the sign structure via treated wood risers. The risers are 1.5" in depth and 3.5" in height. The panels would be 12" in height and 27" wide. Each slat would feature the business name of the tenants in this commercial strip center.
B. There are 9 names proposed for the tenants currently housed in this strip center. One vacant structure will need to have the sign for its tenant added to the sign in a separate application. The proposed panels offer a uniform font and color scheme that aligns with the architectural color palette.
C. The address numbers would be directly mounted to the wood frame at the top of the sign. The numbers would be plastic, formed letters measuring 7" H x 27" W in the same shade of brown as the proposed panels.

B. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PROPOSED SIGNAGE TO SIGNAGE ON NEARBY PROPERTIES, IN TERMS OF SIZE, LOCATION, MATERIALS, AND COLOR
1. The sign is much larger than other signs in the area. There are very few yard signs along Hardin Valley Road. Signs for King University, SouthEast Bank, Sherwin Williams, and the Pellissippi State Community College campus meet the standard Yard Sign size requirements.
2. None of the other commercial strip center developments have tenant directory signs.
3. Approval of the requested waivers would allow a sign that is out of character with the area and out of scale with the development it serves to remain in place.
4. Approval of the requested waivers would also set a precedent for increasing signage size in the area that would not meet the intent of the TTCDA Guidelines.