Panel defers building-sign variance for Powers Health; approves 174-sq.-ft. monument sign

The board (name not specified in the transcript) on Aug. 25 considered requests from Legacy Sign Group and the property owner for multiple signage variances at the new Powers Health/Northwest Cancer Centers campus on Broadway.

Sean O’Brien of Legacy Sign Group said the project — a three-story medical building about 300 feet from Broadway — would have multiple tenants and that building signage needs to be legible from the road. “I think that based on the the height of the building, the distance we're away from the road, the consideration of who's coming here that this is an adequate sign size, to be clearly read from Broadway, so that people can navigate their way in there,” O’Brien said.

Planning staff told the board petition 25-32 sought a variance to allow on-building signage up to 223.9 square feet where the code allows 100 square feet in B-3 business zones. Staff’s summary broke the total into components: Powers Health sign 99 sq. ft. facing Broadway, Northwest Cancer Centers 97 sq. ft., and a 27.9 sq. ft. “Cancer Care Center” designation facing Community Court. Staff reported no calls of remonstration and said notices had been sent by certified mail.

Board members debated several recurring points: whether the project should have been presented as a multi-tenant development during site plan review (which would change sign-allowance calculations), the risk of setting a precedent on Broadway, and whether the petition demonstrated the ordinance-standard hardship required for a variance. Several board members said monument-level signage at driver eye level is more important for wayfinding than rooftop or wall signage.

When the board voted on the building-sign variance (petition 25-32), votes recorded in the minutes show two members in favor and two opposed; the chair said the item would be carried to the next meeting when a full panel is present to make the decision. Separately, staff presented petition 25-33 (monument sign) seeking approval to construct a 174-square-foot monument sign on Broadway, 24 square feet over the ordinance maximum of 150 square feet; the staff report said the monument’s renderings otherwise complied with zoning and Broadway design guidelines.

A motion to approve the monument sign passed by recorded votes of three in favor and one opposed. The minutes note staff and board members said they would work with the petitioner on site-development detail and review the building-sign package again at the next meeting.

The transcript shows several clarifications during discussion: the correct address for the property is 10191 Broadway (an earlier agenda entry used 10201); Powers Health will occupy outpatient services and Northwest Cancer Centers will provide infusion and exam rooms on upper floors; the monument sign will include logos for both entities. The building-sign variance remains undecided and will return at the next meeting for a full vote.