Appearance Review Commission (ARC)

Approved Copy Appearance Review Commission Meeting Minutes October 26, 2015 A meeting of the Appearance Review Commission was held on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall Conference Room, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Ch. Coen called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Dick Coen, Chairman Beth Chaitman Lisa Dunn Sherry Flores Jason Golub Elizabeth Low Absent was: Sean Ehlke Also Present: Jean Spagnoli, Village Planner Jeri Cotton, Secretary Public Comment: There was no Public Comment on non-agenda items. Document Approval Ms. Dunn moved to approve the minutes from the August 24, 2015 Appearance Review Commission meeting. Ms. Low seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Dunn, Flores, Low (5) NAYS: None (0) ABSTAIN: Golub (1) Ms. Chaitman moved to approve the minutes from the August 31, 2015 Appearance Review Commission meeting. Ms. Flores seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low (5) NAYS: None (0) ABSTAIN: Dunn, Golub (2) Appearance Review Commission October 26, 2015 Page 2 of 6 Business: 1. Just Tires, 25 Waukegan Road – Directional Sign Joe Doyle with Doyle Sign Company was present. Mr. Doyle explained they would like to move the location of the previously approved directional sign to increase visibility to Lake Cook Road westbound traffic. The former location of the sign was determined before the new retaining wall was built as part of the intersection improvements. Mr. Doyle explained the sign is not visible behind the retaining wall. The owner of Just Tires would like to move the sign to the other side of the driveway and bring it 2’8” from the south lot line. The sign would be considerably more visible to the traffic creating a safer entry. He noted the sign has never been installed. The sign is non-illuminated but has reflective copy. Ch. Coen noted the sign appears to be located in the driveway curb cut. Mr. Doyle explained the previously approved sign would have also been located inside the driveway. Mr. Doyle noted the property line ends at the curb cut on the west side. Ms. Spagnoli noted the previous approval had a 10’ setback from the south property line. Ch. Coen expressed concern about locating the sign in the driveway. Mr. Doyle suggested locating the sign right at the curb. Ms. Dunn asked if the sign would be located within the existing cement. The commissioners did not object to the sign itself, but were concern about the proposed location of the sign. Ch. Coen understands the hardship of not being able to put the sign in the landscape area, because it is not their property. Ms. Dunn believes this is a unique situation because people may not know where the driveway leads. She also suggested it could be a safety issue. Mr. Golub suggested building out the curb to accommodate the sign. The commissioners would need to know the driveway width to ensure there is enough room. Mr. Golub believes the driveway width is 25’ based on the survey that Mr. Doyle produced. Ch. Coen would like to see further detail on how both the sign and motorists would be protected. He asked Mr. Doyle to send the detailed drawings to Ms. Spagnoli for fast track consideration. Ms. Dunn moved to grant the request of the petitioner to relocate the directional sign. The location of the previously approved sign would be moved to the west side of the property. The sign will be 2’8” from the south property line. Any approval is contingent upon Mr. Doyle sending detailed drawings showing the buffer and location of the proposed sign for fast track consideration. Ms. Low seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Dunn, Flores, Golub, Low (6) NAYS: None (0) Appearance Review Commission October 26, 2015 Page 3 of 6 2. Mia’s Fine Jewelry, 720 Waukegan Road – Wall Sign Mia and Gary Lee, owners of Mia’s Fine Jewelry and Chris Siavelis with CRM Properties representing Deerfield Square ownership were present. Mr. Siavelis explained they propose replacing the former Ami Ami black awning with a new, non- illuminated black awning with Mia’s Fine Jewelry in white letters. Ms. Flores expressed concern about the readability of the sign because of the narrow letter stroke. Mr. Lee explained the length of the awning sign would be 72” wide. Mr. Lee explained the final drawing shows thicker stroke letters. Ms. Dunn noted the information in the packet is different than the drawing approved by the sign company. Ch. Coen indicated the Commission needs to receive final drawings before the meeting, so they can review the material. He confirmed the sign would not be illuminated. Mr. Siavelis explained there is not power to the location and the sign will not be illuminated. Ch. Coen requested the existing frame be cleaned. Ms. Spagnoli wanted to ensure the copy/text dimensions are the same as what was submitted. Ms. Flores moved to approve the Mia’s Fine Jewelry awning sign with white letters on a black awning using the same awning frame with the font as shown in the new submittal. The new specs will be submitted to Ms. Spagnoli. Ms. Chaitman seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Dunn, Flores, Golub, Low (6) NAYS: None (0) 3. Josh’s on the Square, 740 Waukegan Road – Wall Signs Josh Kaplan, Owner Josh’s on the Square, Mr. Siavelis with CRM Properties and Kathy Ottinger with Rainbow Signs were present. Mr. Siavelis explained Josh’s would be located in the former Tom & Eddie’s space. The back panels were replaced when Tom & Eddie’s vacated the space, as required by your Ordinance, and the signs would be located in the same locations. The sign will be backlit. Ch. Coen asked why the “J” is closer to the top than the bottom. Mr. Kaplan explained this is the logo they use in Northbrook. Ms. Ottinger noted the “J” could be moved down. Ms. Low explained the “h” appears to be centered. Ms. Flores believes moving the “J” down would make the sign too bottom-heavy. Ch. Coen suggested centering the “J” and reducing the rest of the letters proportionately. Ms. Dunn is okay with the placement of the “J”. Mr. Kaplan suggested shortening the top of the “J: to even out the letters. Mr. Siavelis believes the letters are small enough and would not recommend making the letters smaller. Ms. Low suggested lowering the “J”. Ms. Flores likes the baseline alignment because of the “fun font.” The commissioners agreed. The commissioners discussed the placement of the words “on the Square.” Ms. Chaitman noted “on the Square” is not centered either on the sign panel or with the word “Josh’s.” She suggested centering “on the Square” with the sign band. Ms. Flores would like the top of “on the Square” to align with the top of the “o, s and s” in Josh’s. Appearance Review Commission October 26, 2015 Page 4 of 6 Mr. Kaplan asked if it would look better floating rather than centered on the bottom of the Josh’s letters. The commissioners believe it would look better floating. Ch. Coen confirmed the illumination would be white LED. The commissioners asked for a new drawing showing the placement. Ms. Low moved to approve the signs for Josh’s on the Square. The signs will be located on the east and west elevations. The signs will be approved as proposed contingent upon the vertical location of the words “on the Square” to be even with the top line of the “o, s and s” in Josh’s. The petitioner will provide new drawings which will be distributed for possible fast track approval based on the affirmative votes. Ms. Dunn seconded the motion. AYES: Chaitman, Dunn, Flores, Golub, Low (5) NAYS: Coen (1) 4. SportsClips, 29 Waukegan Road – Wall Sign Raudel Castaneda with SM Deluxe Sign Company was present. Mr. Castneda proposes a face lit channel sign for Sports Clips. There are two proposals. The first has a light box and the second has non-illuminated letters for the word “Haircuts.” The channel letters will be 3-1/2” thick and the toggle switch will be on the “S”. Ch. Coen noted the Commission is usually not in favor of box signs. Mr. Castaneda explained the sign has channel letters and the box is a channel. Ch. Coen noted the word Sports is red and the word Clips is white. He expressed concern because the white letters on a light background does not read well. Mr. Castaneda explained they have black returns and trim caps to make the sign stand out from the beige stucco background. Ms. Spagnoli noted the website shows black letters instead of white. Mr. Castaneda explained they use white letters on signage and black letters in print. Ch. Coen suggested using perforated black/white letters. The commissioners would prefer the perforated sign, which would appear black during the day but would illuminate white at night. Ms. Dunn prefers option b, so there is no light box. The commissioners expressed concern because the sign appears to be crowded within the sign band. Ms. Dunn would like the word “haircuts” eliminated. Mr. Golub asked if the sign would be centered on the lease space or over the door. Mr. Castaneda explained the column light fixture is not centered, which is offset by a steel column. Ch. Coen explained there appear to be different dimensions. It appears the sign band is 2’9” and the option B sign height is 2’4”. Ms. Dunn asked if other tenants have more than one line of words. Ms. Spagnoli noted Sleepy’s has The Mattress Professionals in two lines. Ms. Dunn believes the word Haircuts makes the sign appear squished. Ms. Flores believes the word ‘Haircuts’ is centered between the 2 “p”s in SportsClips. Ms. Chaitman believes the entire sign should be reduced, to increase the amount of white space. Mr. Castaneda explained the word “Haircuts” will be 1/2” deep which give a Appearance Review Commission October 26, 2015 Page 5 of 6 difference in depth. The word SportsClips will be approximately 3-1/2” deep. Ms. Chaitman would prefer to have the sign centered vertically in the 2’9” band. Ms. Flores suggested reducing the entire sign to approximately 95%. Mr. Casteneda suggested just reducing the size of the word Haircuts, which would now be 6” high, one inch less. Ms. Low would like the word “SportsClips” to be lowered in the sign band. Ms. Chaitman requested new drawings showing complete dimensions with the reduced proportions and the negative white space dimensioned as well as the perforated material on the word clips. Ms. Dunn believes there are too many changes for fast track consideration. Ms. Chaitman moved to approve option B as submitted. Ms. Low seconded the motion The motion did not pass by the following vote: AYES: None (0) NAYS: Coen, Chaitman, Dunn, Flores, Golub, Low (6) Ch. Coen explained the fast track process to the petitioner. He noted the commissioners appear to want the “clips” portion of the sign to appear black during the day and white at night. They would like more negative space to be added to the sign. They want the sign drawn to scale and dimensioned completely. The word “haircuts” will be reduced and be ½” pin mounted PVC letters. Items from the Commission Ch. Coen asked Mr. Siavelis about trees that were removed from the site. Ms. Spagnoli stated the approval for the trees removed from the diamonds in the parking lot were contingent upon the trees on the boulevard remaining. Mr. Siavelis explained they replaced 32 trees on the property and the rest of the trees will be replaced in spring 2016. Ms. Spagnoli showed a cut sheet of a system that the Village is considering for the streetscape trees to promote longer life. Ms. Flores showed a newspaper article showing a Verizon sign in Northbrook that was installed without approval. Items from the Staff Ms. Spagnoli noted the November 2, 2015 Board of Trustees meeting will have Jewel and Deerbrook on the agenda. They addressed most of the Commission’s concerns but still want a 31 square foot illuminated sign for the drive thru. She asked the commissioners if anyone could attend. Ms. Spagnoli noted the stamped concrete has been installed at the train station. Ms. Dunn believes the color is very dark. Ms. Spagnoli noted the brown matches the building color as approved by the ARC. Appearance Review Commission October 26, 2015 Page 6 of 6 Adjournment There being no further business or discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Cotton Secretary