Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Signs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Design Review Commission approves master sign program for 2700 Ignacio Valley Road
Summary
The Walnut Creek Design Review Commission voted unanimously Dec. 18 to approve a master sign program for the Shadelands Business Park property at 2700 Ignacio Valley Road, granting two exceptions to the city's sign ordinance and finding the project exempt from CEQA.
The Walnut Creek Design Review Commission on Dec. 18 approved a master sign program for the property at 2700 Ignacio Valley Road, finding the proposal exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and adopting a resolution approving the program.
Staff said the proposal covers a 5.89-acre parcel in the Shadelands Business Park that contains an existing medical office building and surrounding commercial uses. Steven Cook, assistant planner with the Community Development Department, told commissioners the amended master sign program (MSP) reduces overall sign area, eliminates skyline signs, adds one tenant wall sign, and requests two exceptions to the sign ordinance.
The MSP would replace two existing freestanding signs with two new freestanding signs (sign types A1 and A2), each 32 square feet and 7.5 feet tall, exceeding the 25-square-foot limit for single freestanding signs. The program also proposes three tenant wall signs (including a larger middle-band tenant identification sign labeled B1 at up to 88 square feet and a maximum height of 23.5 feet) and two other tenant wall sign types (C2 and C3) of about 30 square feet each with halo lighting. The site’s current allowable aggregate sign area is 128 square feet; the MSP requests a total aggregate of 212 square feet.
Cook told the commission the project is exempt from CEQA under the guidelines for existing facilities (cited in staff materials as CEQA section 15301, Class 1) and recommended adoption of the draft resolution and conditions of approval included in the staff report. The sign subcommittee had reviewed an earlier version of the MSP on Oct. 16 and recommended changes that the applicant incorporated, including elimination of skyline signs and reduction of total sign area.
No members of the public spoke on the item. Commissioners asked a few clarification questions about orientation and illumination; staff and the applicant confirmed that the larger tenant sign B1 faces the corner of Ignacio Valley Road and North Via Monte and would use halo lighting, while the freestanding signs would not be internally illuminated but would have LED ground lighting.
A commissioner moved to determine the project exempt from CEQA and to adopt the resolution approving the new master sign program for 2700 Ignacio Valley Road; another commissioner seconded. The recorded vote was: Commissioner Basing — yes; Commissioner Riley — yes; Vice Chair Newsom — yes. The motion carried unanimously.
The commission’s approval is the final action of the Design Review Commission for sign matters; any conditions and the final sign permits will be handled through the Community Development Department in accordance with the resolution adopted by the commission.
