Village of Wilmette Appearance Review Commission met Feb. 7.
Here is the minutes provided by the commission:
Members Present: Carrie Woleben-Meade, Chair
Nada Andric
Richard Brill
Devan Castellano
Mason Miller
Jeffery Saad
Charles Smith
Members Absent: None
Guests: Carlos Tinoco, 2104 Oak Leaf Street, Joliet, IL
Martina Stoycheva, 620 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL
Chris Vallace, 522 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, IL
Staff Present: Lucas Sivertsen, Business Development Coordinator
I. CALL TO ORDER
Ms. Woleben-Meade called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES; APPEARANCE REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 3, 2018.
Mr. Brill moved to approve the December 3, 2018 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Smith. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
III. CONTINUANCES
Mr. Sivertsen said he reached out to the applicant for 2018-AR-17, Mona Lisa Stone & Tile, at the request of the commission. The applicant did not get back to him with a date for which they wished to return.
Mr. Miller asked to remove Case 2018-AR-17, 601 Green Bay Road from the consent agenda.
Mr. Miller moved to continue Case 2018-AR-31, 505 Skokie Boulevard to the February meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Andric. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
IV. CASES
2018-AR-36 Zukowski Center 3612 Lake Avenue Sign Variation
Mr. Sivertsen called Case 2018-AR-36, 3612 Lake Avenue, Zukowski Center, requesting a sign variation to install a sign on a property with less than 100 feet of frontage.
Mr. Carlos Tinoco said he was with the sign company, Vision Signs, and could answer any questions the commissioner had about the sign.
Mr. Smith asked for the size of the sign that was being removed.
Mr. Tinoco said the sign was five feet in height. The proposed sign was six feet in height. They wanted to raise the height of the sign so that the bottom line of text was taller than the existing shrubs that surrounded the sign.
Ms. Woleben-Meade ask for confirmation that the existing vegetation and berm would remain.
Mr. Tinoco confirmed both would remain. They would use the same foundation and just sleeve the existing sign off and sleeve the new sign onto the existing pole.
Mr. Brill asked if the sign would be lighted.
Mr. Tinoco said the sign would be internally illuminated, but only the letters on the tenant panels would appear illuminated. The background would be opaque. The existing sign is illuminated by florescent bulbs. They would be converting to LED with the new sign.
Mr. Sivertsen said the applicant had told him before the meeting that they would prefer to not have a more substantial masonry foundation so that they could keep the existing shrubs surrounding the existing sign.
Mr. Tinoco said if they had to use a masonry foundation they would need to remove the existing shrubs to dig for and pour a new foundation. They were proposing to use the same material as the rest of the sign instead of a stone foundation as shown in the plans.
Ms. Woleben-Meade said the unusual circumstance would be the width of the lot. The applicant stated they were three feet short of the required width. An existing ground sign was there and the proposed ground sign did not vary greatly so there was essentially no change in character of the neighborhood. A better sign will help with wayfinding and potentially increase safety.
Ms. Woleben-Meade added that there are much taller signs in the area.
Mr. Sivertsen said ground signs along Lake Avenue are permitted up to 15 feet in height.
Mr. Saad asked if they do any quality control on the sign including grinding down the pole.
Mr. Tinoco said they grind down the existing pole and paint it white so you do not see a shadow once the new sign is sleaved onto the pole.
Mr. Sivertsen asked for the specific finish for the sign.
Mr. Tinoco said it would be a Mathew’s paint in dark bronze.
Findings of Fact
The commission found that the proposed ground sign would not alter the character of the neighborhood. The proposed sign was being replaced to help to better identify the new tenants in the building. The improved identification should help with the safety along Lake Avenue.
Decision
Ms. Andric moved to recommend approval of Case 2018-AR-36, 3612 Lake Avenue, Zukowski Center, requesting a sign variation to install a ground sign on a property with less than 100 feet of frontage, with the condition that the dark bronze finish will be continued to bottom of the sign. The motion was seconded by Mr. Miller. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
Mr. Smith moved to authorize the chairperson to prepare the recommendation and report for the Appearance Review Commission for Case 2018-AR-36. The motion was seconded by Mr. Miller. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
2019-AR-02 St. Francis Xavier Parish 808 Linden Avenue Sign Variation
Mr. Sivertsen called Case 2019-AR-02, 808 Linden Avenue, St. Francis Xavier Parish, requesting a variation to install two canopy signs.
Ms. Martina Stoycheva said they were before the commission in November with their preliminary proposal. They took the commission’s comments into consideration and chose to not go with a spot light. They are now proposing backlighting the sign. This will reduce the amount of light pollution and streamline the design. One of the signs will be located on the canopy over the main entrance from the parking lot. This will be used for the majority of daytime usage. The other sign will be located on the canopy facing north towards the parking area north of the alley. This will be the main entrance for afterhours activities.
Mr. Smith asked if they had considered hours of operation protocol for the signs. Ms. Stoycheva said they had not, but they could.
Mr. Brill asked if these signs would be needed in the evening. He wanted to know if illumination of the signs could be limited to hours during which there was an activity.
Mr. Chris Vallace said there were evening activities where they would want the sign illuminated. They took the commission’s comments into account to try and reduce the impact that an illuminated sign might have on neighbors.
Ms. Stoycheva showed a site plan to the commission that showed the relationship of the signs to the surrounding properties, many of which are parish owned.
Mr. Saad asked who owned the property north of the alley and west of the proposed gymnasium sign.
Mr. Vallace said that is a separately owned residential property.
Ms. Woleben-Meade said there was an unusual circumstance for a school to be located in a residential area. Other than possibly the lighting she didn’t hear of any indication the signs would impact the character of the neighborhood. Wayfinding is important to create a safe area for the kids who are walking from the parking lot to the entrance. The proposed signs help wayfinding.
Ms. Andric asked if there were other locations where schools in residential districts had illuminated signs.
Mr. Sivertsen said public schools are not required to obtain sign permits from the Village. All governmental bodies are exempt from the sign regulations. He is not that familiar with the type of signs public schools display. St. Joes and Baker School have both been approved for illuminated ground signs, but neither sign has been installed yet.
Ms. Woleben-Meade said she thought it was reasonable to request the signs be turned off at 10 pm.
Ms. Castellano asked how the sign would be internally illuminated.
Ms. Stoycheva said the letters would be hollow and the led strips would be installed facing inward and not towards the rear of the letter so as not to give the appearance of hot spotting.
Mr. Brill asked if the proposed illumination fell within the requirements of the code.
Mr. Sivertsen said the amount of illumination would fall well within the allowance of the code.
Findings of Fact
The commission found the applicant was faced with an unusual circumstance because the school was located in a residential district, however their proposed signs were largely facing interior to the property. The proposed signs would have limited impact on neighboring properties because of the proposed reverse-lit design. The signs will also help increase wayfinding and safety in the area.
Decision
Mr. Smith moved to recommend approval of Case 2019-AR-02, 808 Linden Avenue, St. Francis Xavier Parish, for a sign variation to install two canopy signs with the condition that the signs are turned off at 10 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Miller. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
Mr. Smith moved to authorize the chairperson to prepare the report and recommendations for the Appearance Review Commission for Case 2019-AR-02. The motion was seconded by Mr. Miller. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
V. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no additional public comments.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Brill wished to reflect on Case 2018-AR-40, 1824 Wilmette Avenue, for the replacement of a sign face of an existing ground sign. He hopes he and the commission will pay closer attention to the replacement of ground signs that are potentially grandfathered.
Ms. Woleben-Meade said LED lighting presents new possibilities that existing codes do not account for.
Mr. Sivertsen said he reached out to the sign installed to make sure the sign is placed on a dimmer so that when the sign is installed, the light can be turned down if initially it is too bright.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:10 p.m., Ms. Woleben-Meade moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Smith. Voting yes: Chair Woleben-Meade and Commissioners Andric, Brill, Castellano, Miller, Saad, and Smith. Voting no: none. The motion carried.
https://www.wilmette.com/download/agendas_and_minutes/arc/minutes/2019/ARC-01-07-2019-Minutes.pdf
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