Planning commission approves 50-foot pylon sign for Jackson Drive shopping center

The Planning Commission approved a special sign permit Tuesday to allow a 50-foot multi-tenant pylon sign at 20001 East Jackson Drive, voting 6-0.

The permit will allow a 50-foot pole/pylon sign with a 750-square-foot sign face that can accommodate up to 18 tenant panels; staff recommended approval with conditions including a masonry (stone or stone-look) base and specified landscaping to screen the base.

Planning staff said the proposed sign would sit at the southwest corner of the Paramount Health chiropractic lot and be visible to vehicles on I‑70. Staff described the proposal and zoning context, noting that the requested sign height exceeds the local freestanding-sign limit in this portion of the city. “The requested pylon sign would be 50 feet in height,” staff said during the presentation, and that staff had included recommended conditions in the permit to match other recently constructed signs along the I‑70 and I‑470 corridors.

Joe Tindle, representing Grandmark Signs, said the applicant’s team studied alternate locations and selected the site because the property owner was willing to host the sign. Tindle described the sign as a marketing tool for the shopping center: “they strongly believe based on their experience that this sign will enable them to not only keep the current tenants that they have, but also to secure new tenants.” He said the center’s current occupancy is about 50% and the owner expects the sign to help recruit tenants.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant about sight lines, the need for the additional height to be visible from the interstate, and the masonry base. Staff replied that sight-line studies inform the proposed height and that the masonry base is a corridor practice that has been used for recently erected signs such as those for Menards and Bass Pro. The record shows Menards’ pole sign is 60 feet in city records; staff recommended a stone or stone-look base to match nearby signs on Jackson Drive and corridor entries.

After brief discussion and clarifications about materials and panel sizing (applicant said two panels would likely be larger for anchor tenants and the remaining panels similar sized), Commissioner motioned to approve the application. The commission voted 6-0 to approve case number 256002 with the staff-recommended conditions.

The permit includes conditions requiring a masonry or stone-look base consistent with other corridor signs, landscaping around the sign base as shown in the plan, and that the sign be set approximately 10 feet from the fence line to maintain visibility from I‑70. The commission closed the hearing following the vote.