Planning Commission approves IMI headquarters sign program, grants small deviation for entrance wayfinding sign

The Planning Commission on June 5 approved a planned sign program (PSP) for the North American headquarters of IMI Critical Engineering on a 3.71‑acre parcel and granted a single sign code deviation to allow an additional 8‑square‑foot entry wall sign on a low retaining wall to assist wayfinding.

Ron Santos, planning staff, said the PSP otherwise complies with the municipal code’s sign standards, which generally limit wall signage to one square foot per linear foot of building wall and allow one monument sign up to 50 square feet. The proposed wall signs are substantially smaller than the code maximums, Santos said, and the requested deviation would place an entry sign on a low retaining wall adjacent to the walkway to the building’s primary entrance.

Santos and the applicant representative, Chris Thomas (project manager for IMI Critical Engineering), said the sign would be visible mostly from the site and not from the public right of way and is intended solely for wayfinding to the front entrance. Thomas said the project received planning‑commission approval earlier in the year and that construction is underway with anticipated occupancy in early 2026.

Commissioners discussed the deviation’s purpose and frequency of such exceptions; staff said deviations are sometimes requested and the PSP process exists to evaluate them on a project‑by‑project basis. After closing the public hearing, the commission voted unanimously to approve the PSP and the single 8‑square‑foot sign deviation.