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Temple staff recommends limiting McDonald’s I‑35 pylon sign to 50 feet and expanded face area
Summary
City planning staff told the Temple City Council workshop the McDonald’s appeal seeks a 75‑foot pylon sign along I‑35; staff recommended a 50‑foot maximum and agreed to the applicant’s larger sign face area after a visibility test.
Planning staff presented an appeal from McDonald’s to allow a pylon sign along I‑35 taller than the Unified Development Code limit and explained that staff and the applicant had reached a compromise.
The sign appeal concerns a pad‑site commercial center on the I‑35 loop that includes McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and Taco Bell. Planning staff said the proposed pylon would sit more than 600 feet from the right‑of‑way and noted the applicant initially requested a 75‑foot tall sign.
“Here’s what they’ve actually come back with, what we’ve recommended,” the planning staff member said, noting the applicant performed a flag‑and‑balloon visibility test from multiple vantage points. Staff said the test showed the sign would be visible at both 50 feet and 75 feet and that Buc‑ee’s — a nearby landmark with a much taller sign — is visible from long distances.
Under current city standards cited by staff, pylon signs generally are limited to 25 to 35 feet depending on setback, and a 200‑square‑foot maximum is the standard sign face limit in the overlay. Staff said the maximum height in the city’s general signage standard is 50 feet and that the planning recommendation for this appeal was a 50‑foot height with an increased sign face to roughly the square footage the applicant sought.
Staff said the applicant agreed to the 50‑foot height recommendation and to the increased face area the applicant requested; staff characterized the proposed sign as “proportional” when scaled to the taller height. The presenter also told the council the Unified Development Code update under way may include an overlay‑specific sign standard that would award “bonuses” for distance from I‑35 and reduce the need for similar appeals in the future.
Councilmembers asked how the city measures sign face square footage and whether the applicant’s drawing used rectangular face calculations. The planning staff member confirmed the applicant’s schematic used a rectangular face metric for the square footage calculation.
The workshop discussion was advisory; no final action was taken during the work session. The planning staff member said the applicant’s representative was expected to be present at the regular meeting for the formal appeal item.
The workshop also covered a possible zoning/UDC amendment path so future I‑35‑adjacent pad sites may have a distinct overlay standard for sign height and area.
