Design review commission approves Olympia Place master sign program amendment

The Walnut Creek Design Review Commission voted unanimously Sept. 3 to approve an amendment to the Olympia Place master sign program that lets six tenant spaces along Mount Diablo Boulevard replace existing upper-facade wall signs and fabric blade awnings with canopy-mounted illuminated channel-letter signs and non-illuminated metal blade signs.

Staff said the change applies only to the six specified tenant locations facing Mount Diablo Boulevard and does not alter sign criteria for other frontages at the shopping center. “We are here tonight to consider the master sign program amendment for the Olympia Place Shopping Center,” Simmer Gill, senior planner for Walnut Creek City, told commissioners during the public hearing.

The amendment would allow tenants to install channel-letter signage mounted on new metal canopies that will replace worn fabric awnings. Staff said each proposed channel-letter sign would measure about 2 feet 3 inches tall with a sign area of approximately 21 square feet; metal blade signs will be satin black with white vinyl graphics, non-illuminated and limited to the 4.5-square-foot blade-sign maximum in the city’s standards. The staff report noted that “the amendment…is intended basically to modernize the property signage” to match recent repainting and canopy replacements along Mount Diablo Boulevard.

Staff recommended approval and told the commission the amendment is exempt from environmental review under CEQA because it only changes signage criteria without expanding a building footprint or adding new development. After no public comment, a commissioner moved to adopt the resolution approving the master sign program amendment subject to the conditions of approval in the draft resolution. A second was made (not specified in the meeting record), and the commission approved the resolution in a roll-call vote: Commissioner Case — yes; Vice Chair Basing — yes; Commissioner Riley — yes; Chair Newsom — yes. Chair Newsom announced, “Yes. Motion carries.”

The approval covers only the six tenant spaces identified in the staff packet along Mount Diablo Boulevard; all other tenant spaces in the shopping center will continue to follow the existing master sign program criteria.

The draft resolution and conditions of approval, including standard sign-location, size and lighting limits, remain the controlling documents; staff and the applicant said they will answer implementation questions as they arise during permit review.