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Commission Approves Starbucks Signage at 1014 North High Street with Condition
Summary
The Town Builder Commission approved Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) 2400540 for new channel letters and a blade sign at 1014 North High Street, with a recorded condition clarifying the placement/behavior of the blade sign.
The Town Builder Commission approved application COA 2400540 for new signage at 1014 North High Street, the storefront planned for a Starbucks tenant, with a condition concerning the blade sign.
Staff told the commission the proposal showed halo-illuminated channel letters on a shallow raceway and a 36-inch diameter non-illuminated cabinet (blade) sign. Staff’s written recommendation had urged continuation so the applicant could revise drawings to better align with the short-order design guidelines; staff noted concerns about internal illumination and the number and location of wall penetrations through the building’s stone facade.
Applicant Alyssa Sherry described design choices intended to reduce penetrations through the stone by installing channel letters on a panel and using halo illumination so the faces would not be internally lit. She also said the blade sign would be placed at the storefront entrance, rather than at the previously existing blade sign location, and that the proposed blade sign would not be internally illuminated.
Commissioners asked technical questions about the halo lighting, consistency of illumination around the letters, and whether the proposed raceway and color choices would blend with the stone. One commissioner suggested a thinner blade sign and placement lower on the facade to avoid covering stone detailing between floors; staff said the applicant had revised drawings to lower the blade sign and to mount the wall letters on a raceway.
A motion to approve COA 2400540 “as submitted, in the drawings with the exception or the notes that the blade sign will not be moving” passed on an affirmative voice vote. The record does not list individual roll-call votes. Following the approval, staff said they would prepare the COA documentation and send it to the applicant.
The application and commission discussion focused on compliance with the local design guidance cited by staff (signage and materials sections) and on minimizing damage to historic stonework while allowing a visible storefront identity for the incoming tenant.
