Design Review Board continues Ulta Beauty sign‑size request after lengthy debate over logo background and precedent

The Walton County Design Review Board continued a sign deviation request from Ulta Beauty to its July 7 meeting after an extended discussion about how to measure sign area and whether the retailer's orange background panel should count toward total square footage.

Jennifer Ronberger, the applicant's representative from Go Permit, told the board the three installed signs currently read as very small on the building and that Ulta is seeking a "minimal increase" for design and visibility, proposing to enlarge the three wall signs from about 46 square feet to a proposed 78 square feet when the orange background panel is counted. "It's one, it's for design and aesthetic, and the other one is just for 'we're hearing from clients that they can't even find where we are,'" Ronberger said.

Board members pressed staff and the applicant on measurement methodology. Staff noted the distinction between the sign copy area (letters and swoosh) and the full background panel; board members repeatedly framed two compromise paths: either calculate by letters-only and allow up to roughly 54 square feet, or allow a larger panel only if the manufacturer removes the orange oval and uses individual channel letters. One board member warned about setting a precedent that could spur an "arms race" of larger facade signs across Highway 98 if the board broadly relaxed size limits.

Tim, a planning staff member who presented code guidance to the board, explained the county counts the background panel in its measurements and that previous approvals had allowed some flexibility when trade dress or trademarked elements were involved. He said the board could consider approving a larger letters-only sign or allow the current logo-mark composition up to 54 square feet under a master sign-plan approach, but that allowing the full 78-square-foot orange oval on all three elevations raised consistency and precedent concerns.

The applicant said the landlord opposed individual channel letters because of the penetrations they require into the building, and that Ulta prefers the orange background to preserve trademark color on the façade. Board members explored a middle ground: enlarging only the storefront facing U.S. Highway 98 (the primary visibility elevation) while leaving the two other elevations unchanged. After discussion, the applicant requested a continuance to return with refined options; a motion to continue the item to the July 7, 2026 DRB meeting carried unanimously among the four members present.

What happens next: The applicant will return to the Design Review Board on July 7 with revised sign options that attempt to balance trademark presentation, landlord concerns about penetrations, and board members' desire to avoid broad deviations that might undermine the code. The continuance gives the applicant time to present scaled alternatives (letters-only at up to 54 square feet, one larger facing 98 only, or a revised logo approach).