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Grants Pass council approves sign modification to serve both Applebee’s and IHOP
Summary
The council unanimously approved an appeal to allow modification of an existing 100-foot freestanding sign at 250 NE Agnes to add an IHOP cabinet alongside Applebee’s, despite the sign exceeding current size rules for the zone.
The Grants Pass City Council voted unanimously to allow modification of an existing freestanding sign at 250 Northeast Agnes Avenue so it can display both Applebee’s and an IHOP. The council approved the applicant’s request — with conditions listed in the staff report — after a staff presentation and a statement from the applicant’s representative.
Community Development staffer Bradley Clark told the council the sign was originally permitted in 2001 and is 100 feet tall. Clark said the city’s current commercial-zone sign standards limit freestanding sign height to 25 feet and maximum sign area to 100 square feet, and that because the applicant proposes more than a simple reface, the change triggered an appeal to council under the development code’s appeal provisions. He identified the code provision cited in the staff report as section 9.2116 (maximum height) and noted the city’s process for sign appeals.
Valerie Tove, representing Giant Brands Global (the company that owns the brands involved), said the applicant will bring a dual-brand concept to the site and asked the council to allow the additional cabinet so both brands can be represented in the single building envelope. Tove said the project will use the brand’s new signage design and that the applicant expects the combined location to increase staffing as hours and services expand.
Councilors discussed visibility from the freeway, the site’s history and earlier ODOT review, and whether the proposed lettering and cabinet sizes were consistent with surrounding signs. Clark said the original permit and site plan from 2001 justified the existing height but that current rules normally require compliance when a sign is modified beyond a reface.
Councilor Kathleen moved to approve the request to modify the existing freestanding sign, including the proposed height and square-footage dimensions with the conditions listed in the staff report; Councilor Seth seconded. During a roll-call vote the council recorded all “yes” votes and the motion passed unanimously.
The approval allows the sign structure to remain at its existing height and to add a second cabinet for IHOP; any work will be subject to the conditions and reclaim/reimbursement and permitting steps outlined in the staff report.
