BZA approves two building signs and a primary Cayuga Park monument sign; other signage tabled or denied

The Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 2 approved several—but not all—of a developer'proposed signage package for Cayuga Park Lane, the new mixed-use campus that includes Cayuga Health'affiliated medical space, two mixed-use "Aurora" residential buildings and Marketview housing.

The board granted variances to allow two larger-than-code building signs (Aurora North and Aurora South) and approved a primary monument sign at the main Route 13 entrance that lists the site and major buildings (the package item labeled E-1). It denied a second monument-style sign that proposed tenant panels and would have increased total freestanding signage (item E-2). The board also tabled four internal directional/wayfinding pole signs (D-5 through D-8) asking the applicant to return with a design that addresses board and staff feedback on height, visibility and pedestrian sightlines.

Project representatives said the site is a multi-parcel campus with shared parking, a new internal road network and a medical tenant (Cayuga Health) whose patients need clear wayfinding. Jacob, presenting the signage package, told the board the intent was to create a cohesive identity and to provide clear direction to the medical building and retail/lease spaces. Planning staff and the applicant explained specific departures from the sign code: the sign ordinance limits residential-building name signs to 12 square feet, while the applicants proposed 24-square-foot building-name signs; wall-mounted signs proposed to project around 3 feet 6 inches from the facade exceed the 18-inch projection allowed by code; and wayfinding/directional signs proposed at 10 feet tall exceed the code maximum for directional signs (3 feet) and the square-foot limit the board discussed.

Megan Wilson (staff) summarized the code constraints: "The sign ordinance limits signs advertising the name of a residential building to 12 square feet, and the applicants have proposed 24." Several board members indicated they were comfortable approving the two Aurora building signs, saying those signs appeared proportional to large building facades and that the planning board had extensively reviewed the package. The motion to approve the Aurora building signs included a condition that any lighting be dark-sky compliant and conform to planning-staff directions; that motion passed unanimously.

On the primary monument sign that lists the development and its major buildings (E-1), the board voted to approve the applicant's design as presented, citing the site's deep setback from Route 13 and applicant evidence that the sign helps wayfinding; that motion also passed unanimously. The second monument sign (E-2), which would have included multiple tenant panels and further increased total freestanding signage, was denied 3-2 on the grounds that it exceeded the total amount of freestanding signage the code contemplates for the parcel and that the additional sign did not demonstrably add public benefit beyond navigation.

Board members split on the internal wayfinding poles. Several members expressed sympathy for stronger internal wayfinding given the site's scale but asked applicants to return with designs that meet directional-sign requirements or that better address pedestrian sightlines and planting beds. The board voted to table the internal directional signs (D-5 through D-8) to let the applicant provide revised options and additional supporting drawings.

Developers and co-developer Paul Colucci (DeMarco Group) said Cayuga Health had been active in shaping the sign program and that the monument sign listing the major buildings grew out of the need to help patients and visitors identify the campus from Route 13 and Third Street. The planning staff and planning board reviewed the package over multiple meetings and negotiated the designs and number of signs prior to the BZA hearing.

The board kept the public hearing open during portions of the discussion and then closed it before voting. The approved sign variances are conditioned on planning-staff review of lighting and other technical details.