Staff reports administrative approvals for replacement signage at East Shoreline and Columbus Avenue storefronts

Landmark Commission staff told the commission that two replacement storefront signs were administratively approved: a white sign for a Murray and Murray law firm at 1111 East Shoreline Drive and a white replacement sign for Acme barbershop at 114 Columbus Ave.

Staff said the East Shoreline property is outside the historic district but inside the Downtown Design Review District; the new sign faces west toward existing docks, is not illuminated and uses accent colors consistent with the firm’s branding. For the Columbus Avenue unit in the former Moss Building, staff described a roughly 57-square-foot sign with a slightly raised white logo intended to match surrounding facade areas and pedestrian scale. Staff noted their usual guidance discourages white sign backgrounds but said, in this case, the white will match the building’s surrounding facade and is compliant with the guidelines. Both signs were described as compliant with the Downtown Design Review design guidelines and were granted administrative certificates of appropriateness (dates in the record: July 11, 2025, and June 27, 2025).

A commissioner asked whether the sign at 114 Columbus Avenue was already installed. Staff confirmed the material (specified aluminum) and said they would check the site and follow up with the commission. No commission motion or vote was taken because staff issued the approvals administratively; staff presented the cases at the commission meeting to keep commissioners informed.

The commission recorded the items during its quarterly meeting; members did not direct further action.