The City of Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment on a 7-0 vote denied a variance request to retain an existing freestanding pole sign at 2603 Douglas Avenue, the board said during its monthly meeting.
The board found that the owner did not meet the legal hardship standard and that monument or wall signs were feasible on the site, staff said.
Frank Dunn, senior city planner, told the board the existing pole sign includes a 6-foot-by-10-foot internally illuminated main cabinet (60 square feet) and a 5-foot-by-8.5-foot changeable cabinet (about 42.5 square feet); the pole sign has a maximum height of about 30.66 feet. He said a change of use to an auto repair shop and a vacancy of more than six months triggered the code requirement to remove the pole sign and to comply with site-plan regulations.
“Nate’s Garage has options for a monument sign and a wall sign,” Dunn said, and staff recommended denial because the property could yield other permitted uses and did not satisfy the hardship test.
Owner Nathan Bonhoeffer, who identified himself as the owner and operator of Nate’s Automotive, said he bought the building shortly after the previous occupant moved out and argued the pole sign had been maintained and provided visibility for customers. “I bought the building less than a month after Bob Paluzzi… That pole sign’s been there, operated and maintained for the last 30, 40 years,” Bonhoeffer said.
Chris Elsco, zoning enforcement officer, told the board staff records showed a vacancy and no water usage for more than six months, which supported the determination that the sign must be removed. Bert Dross, planning staff, told the board the change in use and the prolonged site-plan process meant the property had been on notice for years that the pole sign would come down.
Board members repeatedly cited sight-line and corridor-scale policies as reasons to deny the variance. Chair Mel Pins said the city’s intent has been to reduce tall pole signs along corridors and bring signage to neighborhood scale.
The board approved the motion to deny the variance, moved by Marlous Jones and seconded by Rhonda Cedillo. The chair told the owner to work with staff on locating an approvable monument or wall sign and on the site-plan process.
The denial is final from the board; the decision may be appealed to Iowa District Court within 30 days of the board’s filing of the decision, as the chair noted at the meeting.