Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Signs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners recommend allowing taller monument signs at Rancho Vistoso with vegetation review
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of a master sign program for Rancho Vistoso Shopping Center to legalize two monument signs built above the 10‑foot standard, adding a condition that staff and the applicant evaluate low‑height, water‑wise shrubs to reduce visual prominence before council action.
The Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission voted Dec. 2 to recommend that Town Council approve a master sign program allowing two existing monument signs at the Rancho Vistoso Shopping Center to remain despite exceeding the 10‑foot height standard.
Patty Hayes, planning staff, told commissioners the signs were constructed on older stone bases and now measure about 12½ feet tall, a configuration that requires a master sign program rather than standard staff approval. "Staff recommends approval of this request," Hayes said, describing the site context and concluding the taller signs are not intrusive in their locations.
The applicant, identified in the hearing as Mister Solomon and appearing by Zoom, described the five‑year history behind the signs and said installers placed the new sign faces on existing stone foundations, producing the taller overall height. "It would be a travesty to have to pull these down and put them onto another base," he said, asking the commission to allow the signs to remain.
Commissioners inspected photos and noted one sign is more visually obscured by landscaping and the other sits farther from adjoining development along Oracle Road. Commissioners asked whether staff inspection detected the change during installation and Hayes said the town inspector recognized the discrepancy when called to inspect the work.
Commissioner discussion focused on precedent and mitigation. The commission moved to recommend approval of the master sign program and accepted a friendly amendment asking the applicant to evaluate low‑profile, water‑wise shrubs or other plantings to help soften the base along Oracle Road and to work with staff on appropriate options. The amended recommendation was seconded and passed by voice vote; the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to Town Council for final action.
The commission’s recommendation for council included the condition that the applicant "work with staff to identify low‑slung vegetation off the approved landscape plan to minimize the visibility of the base," leaving final approval and enforcement to the council and applicable permitting.
The hearing record shows staff and the applicant indicated a plan to paint or finish the stone base to better match the sign design once approvals are in place. Council action is expected at a future meeting after the commission’s recommendation.
