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Planning Commission approves one-sided dynamic display sign at 3505 Eighth Street South after resident questions about light and noise
Summary
The Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to add a 16-square-foot dynamic display element to a freestanding tenant sign at 3505 Eighth Street South, with conditions limiting sound and directionality after residents raised concerns about light, noise and proximity to homes.
The Planning Commission on Oct. 6 approved a conditional use permit to add a 16-square-foot dynamic display element to a freestanding tenant sign at 3505 Eighth Street South in the Community Commercial (CC) zoning district.
Assistant City Planner Bridal Cameron told the commission the request, filed on behalf of Tasbury Properties LLC, would modify a newly permitted freestanding tenant sign by adding a one-sided dynamic display element. Cameron said staff received no written public comments before the meeting and recommended the commission forward approval to the city council contingent on the conditions in the packet.
Residents who spoke at the public hearing asked about potential light, noise and the sign’s size and orientation. Beth Donaghy, a property owner at 3518 Seventh Street South, asked the commission to ensure the electronic face would not point toward her property, saying it would aggravate a tenant’s chronic migraines. “My tenant has chronic migraines, and I'm just making sure that the sign will point north, not south at all because that kind of light really affects her migraines,” Donaghy said.
Cameron responded that the permit and its recorded conditions will require the dynamic display to be north-facing only and that the permit is tied to the land; any later change to allow a south-facing element would require a separate approval. Cameron also stated that the freestanding sign will include a blocking face on the back to prevent light from the electronic element traveling to the south.
Another resident, Kent Frantom of the Evergreen Condo Association at 3536 Seventh Street, asked about the sign’s height relative to nearby signs. Cameron said the proposed total sign height would be about 20 feet, similar to existing neighborhood signs.
Cameron described technical details in response to questions: the dynamic display portion is 16 square feet of an overall freestanding sign area of 161 square feet, and the sign code allows up to 600 square feet for freestanding signs along that property line. Staff noted the local sign code normally requires a 200-foot setback from residential uses for these types of signs but allows placement as close as 150 feet when the electronic face is blocked by a structure; the back of the freestanding sign in this case was described as the blocking structure.
Cameron said conditions will prohibit audible sound from the sign and require compliance with the conditions listed in the packet. After the public hearing was closed, the commission moved, seconded and voted to approve the conditional use permit as recommended.
The approval records the dynamic display as one-sided and north-facing only, with conditions limiting sound and specifying the blocking face to reduce light toward residential properties. No separate permit was approved to allow a south-facing display; staff said that would require a future application and approval under whatever sign code is in effect at that time.
The commission’s action is subject to the listed permit conditions; the record will reflect the north-facing restriction and the prohibition on sound.
