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Graphics commission approves Chick‑fil‑A sign permit as amended, caps pole sign at 60 feet
Summary
The Graphics Commission approved application GC24-0434015 for a Chick‑fil‑A at South Hamilton Road after the applicant amended the request to remove one variance; commissioners approved a ground sign height up to 60 feet and left building signage at the submitted square footage.
The Columbus Graphics Commission approved application GC24-0434015 for a Chick‑fil‑A on South Hamilton Road after the applicant amended the request to remove a variance for a wall-sign provision.
The approval came during a special meeting of Columbus City Committees. Planning staff had recommended denying parts of the request because the application sought an 85‑foot pole sign and a wall sign larger than code allows. Planning cited the C2P2 area policy and specific code sections that discourage excessively large highway‑facing signs. A vote approved the application as amended; commissioners described the final approval as "up to 60 feet in height at the existing square footage."
Nut graf: The commission’s decision limits the visual precedent a taller, highway‑facing pole sign could set along State Route 33 while allowing the restaurant a visible presence. Staff and commissioners said the change balances legibility for highway drivers with area guidelines that favor monument‑style signs and moderate heights.
Planning staff told the commission that monument‑style signs are recommended by the C2P2 policy and that wall signs should be modest in suburban areas. Staff noted the tallest existing sign in the surrounding area measures about 60 feet and recommended against an 85‑foot pole sign and the larger wall‑sign variance.
Tracy Diehl, applicant representative, told the commission that reducing the requested wall sign to the code maximum of 16 square feet would make the Chick‑fil‑A lettering illegible from the drive approach. "If you put a 16 square foot sign on that elevation, the Chick Fil A wouldn't be legible," Diehl said, explaining that the proposed wall sign (58.75 square feet in the submission) was intended for consistency and legibility across elevations.
Diehl also said the project site sits below road grade; she described a 22‑foot grade difference that, when measured from road grade, would make an 85‑foot sign read closer to 63 feet to drivers on State Route 33. Commissioners said they were not persuaded that argument supported an 85‑foot structure and indicated they were inclined to limit the height to roughly the 60‑foot range found at nearby properties.
Commission discussion focused on visibility to highway traffic, consistency with nearby signs (including a Holiday Inn Express sign described by staff at about 60 feet), and the policy direction in C2P2. The applicant agreed to amend the application to withdraw the variance request to section 3377.16(b). The commission then voted to approve the application as amended.
Vote record: Mister Cavaliers — yes; Mister Williams — yes; Mister Hoyt — yes; Miss Augustine — yes; Mister Rombaugh — yes; Mister Moore — yes; Chair Cooperman — yes.
The commission and staff noted that exact sign dimensions and final grade measurements will be confirmed during permit review. The application will proceed to the building‑permit and sign‑permit stage, where measurements from road grade and permit details will be finalized.
