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Board approves internally illuminated wall sign for Florence School District building on South Irby
Summary
The Design Review Board approved a certificate of appropriateness for an internally illuminated wall sign at the Florence School District 1 central office at 319 South Irby Street, after applicants described a subtle backlit design intended to preserve the building's carved library sign.
The Florence City Design Review Board approved a certificate of appropriateness to install an internally illuminated wall sign at 319 South Irby Street, the Florence School District 1 central office, after applicants described a backlit halo effect they said would protect a carved historic library sign on the building.
City staff said the property is in the D3 Arts and Culture Overlay District and the Central Business District. Under the city's new design standards, internally illuminated letters in the historic-overlay area must be reviewed by the Design Review Board and efforts should be made to preserve carved, sculptural or landmark signs that give downtown its character.
Kyle Jones, deputy superintendent of Florence School District 1, said the district sought the sign to help the public identify the central office and related district functions that operate from the building. Debbie Jenkins of Tyson Sign Company said the proposed sign would use a dark opaque background with raised letters that produce a halo glow (backlighting) rather than full-face illumination; applicants said they tried to match a backing panel to the building brick to minimize visual impact and planned to avoid damaging the original Florence Public Library carved sign on the wall.
Board members noted prior debate when a Dollar Tree application for internally illuminated letters in the same corridor was denied and non-illuminated letters with up lighting were required. The board discussed alternatives such as external downlighting and whether fixtures could be mounted to illuminate the sign from outside. Applicants said the sign sits high on the building and that external fixtures might be difficult to mount and could create shadowed lighting; they described the proposed halo/backlit approach as more subtle than channel-letter or full-face plastic signage.
A resident, Joey Stewart, spoke in favor of preserving the building’s appearance and also raised an unrelated public-safety note about a broken underground utility box across West Pine Street that he asked the city to inspect. After discussion, a board member moved to approve the design “as submitted”; the motion carried by voice vote and the certificate will be issued.
