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Zoning board denies rear sign variance for Legato Salon at 3176 12 Mile Road
Summary
The Berkley Zoning Board of Appeals voted 6-0 on Jan. 13 to deny a requested variance allowing a rear identification sign larger than the 6-square-foot limit in the city sign code, telling the applicant to reduce lettering or use an exempt sign under the ordinance.
The Berkley Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 13 denied a variance request from Legato Salon that would have allowed rear signage larger than the 6-square-foot limit in the city sign code.
Board members voted unanimously to deny the request after hearing that the existing sign housing on the rear of the building is larger than the allowed exempt sign area and that the proposed lettering on the replacement panel would measure about 8.03 square feet. The motion to deny was approved in roll call by Member Branch, Member Krug, Member Steer, Member Wilner, Member Allen and Chair McAlpine.
The request was filed as application PVA0125 for the parcel listed in staff materials as Parcel 042507453036, at 3176 12 Mile Road in the downtown district. City staff told the board that Berkley City Code, chapter 94 (Signs), allows an identification sign at the rear of a building only if the sign text area does not exceed 6 square feet; the existing frame on the back of the building measures roughly 15.5 square feet, a legacy cabinet from an earlier tenant.
Mike Stevens of Signarama, speaking for the applicant, said his firm installed the front sign with a permit and expected to do a face change on the rear cabinet. He told the board the housing already exists from earlier tenants (Copycats, then Desenio Salon) and that several other businesses in that plaza have larger rear signs. Diane Cassidy, representing tenants Caroline and Sharon Cassidy, said the temporary banner presently on the back was larger than the proposed permanent lettering and that the proposed finished lettering would be substantially smaller than the banner used during the tenant’s opening.
Board members said the application did not meet the five statutory findings the zoning ordinance requires for a nonuse variance (section 138-606). Several members said the applicant can achieve compliance by reducing the size of the lettering to fit within the 6-square-foot exempt-sign threshold, which would not require a permit. At the hearing the applicant acknowledged the proposed verbiage measured about 8.03 square feet and that the rear banner had been installed without a permit.
After the vote, chair McAlpine told the applicants they would need to conform to the ordinance for the final sign and noted that if the textual area is less than 6 square feet it would be exempt from permitting; staff offered to review correspondence showing the reduced size so the tenant would not need to return to the board.
The board’s decision denies the variance request; applicants were advised on the steps to make the sign conform or submit a compliant alternative.
