HDC Sign Advisory Committee approves multiple business signs, sets material and placement conditions

The Historic District Commission’s Sign Advisory Committee on April 15 approved multiple sign applications for downtown and island properties, placing conditions on some submittals to ensure proper scale, material and placement.

Committee Chair Chris Young called the roll and led members through new-business applications that included 21 Amelia Drive, Yale Appliance/Marine Lumber, Smart Stop Self Storage, 4 India Street (Atlantic Nantucket), a temporary pop-up at 16½ Federal Street, and two signs for 19 Amelia Drive (Safe Place). Most applications were approved; one item (a freestanding armature at 10 Straight Wharf) was denied and is reported separately.

The approvals included a wall sign for 21 Amelia Drive to be located beneath an existing, previously approved sign. The committee approved the right-hand location “as submitted” by general motion and roll call. The Yale Appliance application (Marine Lumber/Marine Home Center) was approved with the applicant’s agreed revision to a quarter‑board-style sign sized 48 inches by 6 inches and in Patriot blue and white; Committee member Paul Wolf recused himself from that vote.

For Smart Stop Self Storage, the applicant (representative Dimitri) addressed earlier comments by relocating the west-elevation sign into the gable entry portico and adding serifs and squared corners to align with prior feedback. The committee voted to approve both the west and north elevations, but required a modest reduction in the west-elevation sign’s width so it would not visually touch trim boards.

The Atlantic Nantucket sign at 4 India Street (applicants Jeffrey Sullivan and Colleen Wertz) was approved as submitted; members noted the proposed size (30 by 22 inches) fits within the allowed square footage for a two‑story building. At 19 Amelia Drive, Jessie Brescher, vice president of Safe Place, presented two signs for the building purchased previously; both were approved on the condition the signs be made of wood with a painted beveled border (board specified black for the bevel).

The temporary pop-up sign at 16½ Federal Street, presented by Mariah (applicant), was approved on a temporary basis with the applicant’s agreement to remove an “open” placard from the application; the committee recorded that the approval is for a short-term installation and does not establish a precedent for future freestanding signs in that location.

Committee members repeatedly noted adherence to the town sign guidelines when weighing approvals — especially material (wood vs. high‑density urethane) and appropriate placement — and asked staff to file revised elevations or resubmissions where the committee required adjustments.

Ending: Staff said it will collect revised elevations and issue formal recommendations and notices to applicants. The committee moved on to enforcement items and an application later denied for a freestanding armature at 10 Straight Wharf.