The Palo Alto Architectural Review Board voted 4-0 on Oct. 2 to recommend approval of a master sign program for the Cannery of Palo Alto at 340 Portage Avenue, with conditions requiring a lighting plan for signs adjacent to residential uses and refinement of a directional wall sign. The board’s vote carried with Board Member Rosenberg absent.

Board staff presented the proposal as a master sign program covering properties between 200 and 400 Portage Avenue and described nine signs plus additional address signage that remain generally consistent with an earlier submittal. Christina Dobkaviches, associate planner, said the revised plan removes one of two entry identification/directory signs and adds a freestanding monument sign at the Park Boulevard entry while keeping the Cannery name as the primary identity on building signage. “The recommendation is for ARB to approve the master sign program, recommended for director of planning and development services based on the findings and subject to conditions of approval,” Dobkaviches said.

The applicant’s sign designer, Dustin Posalapi, said the design trade-off was deliberate: the project team is proposing a single monument sign at the Park Boulevard entry and a directory sign at the garage entry that also lists tenants. “The intention was to trade off, you know, giving a monument sign that just identifies the overall site, at the corner of Park,” Posalapi said. He confirmed parking and tenant letters would be individual-mounted on a backing and that sign installation would likely follow issuance of the building permit and the driveway construction now underway.

Key technical details reviewed by the board and staff include: the master sign program shows one monument sign proposed at Park Boulevard (packet drawings list the monument footprint and an overall sign face dimension of about 4 feet, 3 inches by 2 feet); directory and tenant signs sized within code allowances (staff noted a 66-square-foot maximum for some wall signs, and the applicant’s proposed tenant canopy sign was about 15 square feet); and illumination limited to the faces of letters, scheduled by an astronomical time clock so the lettering is illuminated at night. Staff noted the project must meet the city’s lighting code and that, for signage and exterior lighting adjacent to residential uses, the municipal code restricts light spill to about 0.5 foot-candle at the property line.

Board members pressed the applicant and staff on visibility from Acacia and El Camino and whether the Cannery is adequately identified to people approaching from those streets. Commissioners also raised concerns about impacts on the nearby townhomes under development, particularly light spill and the frequency of illumination. One commissioner urged limiting illuminated hours next to residences; staff responded that illumination and brightness must comply with Title 24 and the municipal lighting code and that compliance can be enforced via conditions of approval.

On the board motion to approve the master sign program, the board adopted two additional conditions: (1) require a lighting plan showing foot-candle measurements at residential property lines and any dimming/clocking method to limit illumination at night, and (2) incorporate the Cannery identity into the directional/wall signs on the property as shown in the packet or as refined with staff. The board’s formal vote on the master sign program was: Board Member Hirsch — yes; Board Member Jojard — yes; Vice Chair Adcock — yes; Chair Chan — yes; Board Member Rosenberg — absent. Outcome: approved.

Separately, the ARB took a nonbinding vote (straw poll) on whether the board supports consideration of an off-site monument sign near El Camino Real to help wayfinding to the Cannery. That motion—framed as a request that the applicant and staff evaluate the feasibility of an off-site monument and, if the applicant wishes, file a separate application seeking a code exception—carried in a 3-1 vote. The recorded tally on the straw poll was: Hirsch — yes; Jojard — yes; Chan — yes; Adcock — no; Rosenberg — absent. Staff clarified that an off-site (off-property) sign is not permitted under current code and would require a separate application, public notice, and findings to approve a sign exception; the ARB cannot unilaterally waive code requirements.

Board members who supported further consideration said a monument sign on El Camino would improve wayfinding for a somewhat hidden campus; members opposed cautioned that allowing off-site signage could set an undesirable precedent and that code changes or explicit findings would be required for any exception. Staff noted that any city-initiated code amendment or staff time to research changes would need Council direction and time on the planning department work plan.

The board’s approval of the master sign program advances the Cannery’s signage into the permit review stage. The project team and staff said they will return required permit-level details and the lighting plan for director-level approval and building-permit review. The off-site monument sign idea will require a separate public application if pursued by the applicant.