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Planning commission approves master sign plan for 564 Main Street after pole sign declared abandoned
Summary
After the City Council declared the property’s pole sign abandoned and set an abatement deadline the commission approved a master sign plan for 564 Main Street that replaces the pole sign’s advertising area with wall signs: 112 sq ft front, 45 sq ft east, and 12 sq ft west. The vote was 3–1.
The Placerville Planning Commission on Jan. 21 approved a master sign plan for 564 Main Street that replaces the advertising function of a now-abandoned pole sign with wall signage on three elevations.
Staff briefed the commission that the Development Services Department had taken the pole sign to City Council, which declared the sign abandoned on Sept. 10, 2024 and set a 90–180 day abatement window that had expired Dec. 9, 2024. Staff said the property owner did not complete abatement by the deadline; the city then notified owners that the pole sign was abandoned and to be removed by March 9, 2025. The master sign plan portion of the site plan review had been continued from Dec. 3 so commissioners could review signage after the pole sign action.
Under staff’s analysis, the restaurant’s lineal business frontage allows a certain aggregate wall sign area under the sign ordinance; with the pole sign removed staff recommended a master sign plan that would provide adequate wall signage without restoring the pole sign. The applicant requested wall signs on the north (front), east and the west elevations and indicated the three painted icons on the west elevation would be painted over and replaced with a modest sign on that side.
A member of the public, Ruth Carter, urged the city to revisit its pole-sign rules. “The city needs to take a a really hard look at their poll sign ordinance in particular,” she told commissioners, warning that the current process can be onerous for downtown building owners.
Following discussion, the commission amended the staff-recommended conditions to remove references to the pole sign and to explicitly allow 12 square feet of signage on the west elevation, in addition to the proposed 112 square feet on the north elevation and 45 square feet on the east elevation. Commissioner Friend moved to approve the master sign plan as amended; the motion passed 3–1 with Commissioner Smith voting no. The approval is subject to the standard 10-day appeal period.
The commission’s action applies only to the master sign plan; other elements of the previously considered site plan review and the denied variance remain as decided at earlier hearings.
