Council approves Tricolor Auto sign program; one member objects to scale

The Surprise City Council approved a comprehensive sign program (Case FS24-1219) on Tuesday for the Tricolor Auto Arizona development at the northwest corner of Cactus Road and Summit Way. The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval with stipulations; council voted in favor by voice vote. City staff said the proposal includes a 15-foot, Class 6 monument sign on Cactus Road and multiple building-mounted signs that comply with dimensional standards. The site also includes up to eight building-mounted blade signs that meet size limits but exceed the local limit of one blade sign per building, for which the comprehensive sign program requests a deviation. Councilman Greenberg said the package felt "too much for one building" and signaled he intended to vote against the program on aesthetic grounds, but the council approved the program on a majority voice vote. The applicant’s sign permits for the monument and some building-mounted signs have already been issued and those signs are installed on site, staff said. Why it matters: The decision sets a precedent for sign deviations in an industrial area near planned commercial parcels and may guide future sign programs for large industrial or corporate-branded facilities. What happens next: With city approval of the comprehensive sign program and issued sign permits for some elements, construction and installation may continue in accordance with the approved stipulations.