Appearance Review Commission (ARC)

APPROVED COPY Appearance Review Commission Meeting Minutes April 25, 2016 A meeting of the Appearance Review Commission was held on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall Conference Room, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Chairman Dick Coen called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Dick Coen, Chairman Beth Chaitman Sherry Flores Jason Golub Elizabeth Low Daniel Moon Absent was: Lisa Dunn Also Present: Jean Spagnoli, Village Planner Jeri Cotton, Secretary Public Comment: There was no Public Comment. Document Approval Ms. Low moved to approve the minutes from the March 14, 2016 and March 21, 2016 Appearance Review Commission meetings. Ms. Flores seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with Mr. Moon abstaining. Business: 1. Portillo’s, 700 Lake Cook Road – South Elevation Wall Sign - variation, preliminary review continued Michael Weber, site planner with InSite, was present. Ch. Coen noted the request is for signage on one portion of the building, but it relates to the signage on the entire building. Appearance Review Commission April 25, 2106 Page 2 of 6 Mr. Weber explained there were no changes planned for the north elevation. On the east elevation, the diamonds will no longer have text inside and the ghost signs will be removed. On the west elevation, the signage will be moved further south and the diamonds will be considered a building element. Mr. Weber indicated they are proposing changes to the south elevation, which faces Lake Cook Road. They are asking for a variance to the allowed square footage; they propose 111.36 square feet where 80 square feet is allowed. Where the Portillo’s sign is located on the bumped out wall, a maximum of 80 square feet would be allowed. Without the 15 foot bump out, 164.6 square feet would be allowed. Ch. Coen noted if the sign was located on a flat facade, they would be allowed more than 111 square feet. Ms. Low indicated the bump out is standing 15 feet away from the wall. Ms. Flores questioned why the petitioner needs a larger sign. She would prefer to have the sign reduced, to meet the Zoning Ordinance. Ms. Chaitman noted they added a bar with the words “Beef”, “Burgers” and “Salads”, which made the sign larger. Ms. Low believes the Commission has already made an accommodation to make the sign larger, recommending 84 square feet be granted. She would not be in favor of giving a greater variance. Mr. Weber explained the wall area has changed. Mr. Golub also believes the bar should be scaled down. He does not see a hardship to grant the extra square footage. Ms. Chaitman and Ch. Coen agreed. Ch. Coen summarized that the Commission is not in favor of the sign being larger than the previously recommended 84 square feet. He noted Portillo’s is entitled to an 80 square foot sign. Ch. Coen noted the bumpout has a lower roofline than the rest of the building and the bumpout has a different material than the rest of the south facade. The Commission has agreed to center the sign vertically and horizontally on the wall between the roof cap and the lights. 2. Menchies, 775 Waukegan Road – outdoor seating Mark Berlin, franchisee for Menchies Deerfield was present. Mr. Berlin would like to add outdoor seating at their location in Deerfield Village Centre. They would like to add three tables on the west side and four tables on the south side of the building. Mr. Berlin explained the tables would each have three chairs. Ch. Coen noted submittal shows 16 chairs on the south elevation, but there will only be 12 chairs. Mr. Berlin indicated the chairs would be stackable. Ms. Flores suggested adding a barrier because of the large number of children that go to the store. The commissioners were okay with the quantity of tables and chairs as well as the layout. Mr. Berlin explained they propose the same type of chairs and tables as in the store. The smaller size (2’ diameter top) tables would be on the outside. Mr. Berlin indicated they would pull in the chairs and tables at night and during inclement weather. Mr. Berlin indicated they would have staff maintain the outside seating area. Appearance Review Commission April 25, 2106 Page 3 of 6 Ms. Low moved to approve the request to add tables, chairs and trash cans for outside seating continent on Board approval. There would be two seating areas; the east side would have three tables, nine chairs and a trash enclosure and the south side would have four tables, 12 chairs and a trash enclosure. Ms. Flores seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) NAYS: None (0) 3. Lashes, 405 Lake Cook Road – signage Robin Vargo, owner of Lashes was present. She explained they own California Tan, and the proposed sign would have the same color channel letters as California Tan. Ms. Chaitman noted the wall sign appears to follow the sign criteria. Ms. Low noted the sign will be centered vertically and horizontally over the arch. Ch. Coen noted the sign would have red faces and red LED. The commissioners agreed. Mr. Golub moved to approve the wall mounted sign, that will be centered horizontally between the arch. Ms. Low seconded the motion. If needed, the area behind the sign would be patched and made to like new condition. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) NAYS: None (0) The commissioners discussed the pylon sign, which needs to have black letters and a consistent margin. Ch. Coen expressed concern about the readability of the size due to the size of the 4” high letters. He suggested increasing the letter size to 6” high. Ch. Coen requested the petitioner send out a new pylon panel drawing for possible fast track approval. Ms. Flores moved to conceptually approve the pylon sign panels for Lashes with 6” high black letters based on a fast track approval. Mr. Golub seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) NAYS: None (0) 4. Chaube Coffee, 601 Lake Cook Road – wall sign Jolanta Ciosmak, president of Blue Box Inc. was present. Ch. Coen noted the Perks Café sign was not installed in the proper space. The new owner would like to install the sign in the same location as the existing Perks Café sign. The sign will have channel letters with white faces, black trim caps and returns and will be installed on a raceway. Ms. Ciosmak noted the sign is very close to the window, which would make installation without a raceway difficult. Ch. Coen noted the existing sign would need to be removed Appearance Review Commission April 25, 2106 Page 4 of 6 and the façade would need to be patched to like new condition. Ms. Ciosmak noted the raceways would be new, and they will be 4” deep. Ms. Chaitman indicated the sign for the adjacent storefront, Jimmy Johns, has red returns. Ch. Coen noted the Perks Café also had red returns. Ms. Low noted the window frames will be black. Ch. Coen noted the raceway will be painted to match the wall behind the sign. Ms. Chaitman noted the sign does not appear to be centered. Ms. Ciosmak indicated there is a downspout causing the sign to be off center. Ms. Flores suggested reducing the size of the sign proportionately, to line up with the width of the window. Ms. Low does not believe it needs to be reduced as much, but believes it could use some negative margin space. Ms. Chaitman agreed, but recommended it be reduced by 5% rather than 10%. Mr. Golub suggested centering the sign above the window. Ch. Coen agreed the sign is too large for the space. He suggested centering the sign above the window. Ch. Coen indicated the Commission could be more restrictive, but not less restrictive. He suggested leaving the word “Coffee” the same size but reduce the Chaube portion of the sign. The commissioners would like to see a new rendering of the sign showing the Chaube reduced by 10% and centered and the word Coffee centered above the window. Ch. Coen asked about the three colors behind the “U” in the word Chaube. Ms. Spagnoli noted it is their logo on their website. She read the Appearance Code, which stated, “The number of colors and graphic elements on a sign should be held to the minimum needed to convey the sign’s major message, and shall be composed in proportion to the area of the sign face.” Ch. Coen noted this sign would have five colors, including the black returns. Ms. Flores does not believe the colors are necessary to communicate coffee. Ms. Chaitman does not believe the colors add anything. She would prefer white letters with a black return. Ms. Chaitman indicated the three additional colors could be brought in with the building interior. The Commissioners agreed. Ms. Chaitman moved to approve the Chaube Coffee signage as submitted. Mr. Golub seconded the motion. The motion did not pass by the following vote: AYES: None (0) NAYS: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) Ms. Chaitman moved to approve signage with the Chaube made 15” wide and reduced proportionally, centered vertically between the top of the window and the top of the panel and horizontally over the windows. She recommended removing the green, yellow and brown colors behind the “U” and the colors will be white faces and black trim caps and returns. The approval is contingent upon fast track consideration. Ms. Flores seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) NAYS: None (0) Appearance Review Commission April 25, 2106 Page 5 of 6 5. BP, 1 Waukegan Road – wall signs Kishore Mahadev, sales manager with Parvin-Clauss Sign Company was present. He explained BP gas stations are rolling out new convenience store branding from “Shop” to “To Go.” He requested the “To Go” signs be placed on the west and east elevations. Ms. Spagnoli noted the submitted plat of survey is not current. Mr. Mahadev explained the new sign is a BP standard that is mass produced. He noted the sign is convex. Ms. Chaitman noted that would be considered a 3-dimensional sign. Ms. Chaitman noted the yellow stripe could be considered part of their branding. Ms. Low noted the columns holding up the canopy is green with yellow stripes. Ms. Spagnoli questioned whether the Commission would consider the yellow as part of the sign. Ms. Chaitman noted the sign has three green colors as well as white and silver. Mr. Mahadev indicated the colors give the sign dimension. Ms. Low questioned whether the sign needs to be illuminated, based on the brightness below the canopy. Ms. Flores noted the BP at the north end of town wanted a 3-d on the canopy which was denied. They used a sign decal on their building. The commissioners were ok with the sign’s text. The commissioners believe there are too many colors on the sign. They would want the color limited to one color green and white. Ch. Coen would not want a 3-dimensional sign, especially because it is a secondary sign. The commissioners agreed. Ms. Flores noted if they made a flat sign with a decal, they could have a gray outline to create a 3-d appearance. Ms. Chaitman questioned whether the aluminum color is considered a third color. Ms. Low indicated the other gas stations have only been allowed flat signs. Ms. Spagnoli noted the Commission has allowed slight dimension to other signs. Mr. Manadev indicated they could make a flat sign, if required. If the sign were illuminated, the sign would be 5-1/2” deep. Ms. Flores suggested they could have channel letters or a decal. Ms. Chaitman noted the Commission does not want a 3-dimensional sign or a box sign. She added the Commission wants only one color green. Ms. Low moved to approve the BP To Go wall signs as submitted. Ms. Chaitman seconded the motion. The motion did not pass by the following vote: AYES: None (0) NAYS: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) Ms. Chaitman moved to recommend no box signs, no 3D signs, one color green, white channel letters or a vinyl decal applied directly to the façade and centered over the doors vertically and horizontally for possible fast track approval. Ms. Low seconded the motion. The returns would be approximately 5”. The motion passed by the following vote: Appearance Review Commission April 25, 2106 Page 6 of 6 AYES: Coen, Chaitman, Flores, Golub, Low, Moon (6) NAYS: None (0) Items from the Commission The Commissioners welcomed new member Daniel Moon to the Commission. Ms. Flores had dinner with Mayor Rosenthal and Mr. Street. She discussed the scope of the Commission. Ms. Flores asked about signage for Fleet Street. Ms. Spagnoli indicated they only have window signs and are in compliance with the Window Signage Ordinance. Ms. Flores noted Italian Kitchen has sign boards in the parking lot and sidewalk. Ms. Low questioned what was happening with Roti Mediterranean Grill. Ms. Spagnoli explained the Board approved the outdoor seating with the fencing. Items from Staff Ms. Spagnoli explained the Commission will meet in two weeks, on May 9, 2016, to discuss the Appearance Code. Adjournment: There being no further business or discussion, 9:20 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Cotton Secretary