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Design Review Board approves Surgent Clean Car Wash ground sign, postpones decision on second corner sign
Summary
The Green Design Review Board approved a ground-mounted sign with a digital display for Surgent Clean Car Wash, contingent on staff-recommended landscaping. Board members raised concerns about a separate large corner sign that may be an ID sign requiring variances rather than a directional sign.
The Green Design Review Board on Wednesday approved a ground-mounted sign and digital display for Surgent Clean Car Wash, but members said questions remain about a second large sign on the corner that may require variances.
Greg Seifert, representing Surgent Clean Car Wash, presented the proposed Massillon Road ground sign and said the sign meets the city's square-footage and height limits and will have a brick base to match the building. He said the existing sign already has a digital display and that the new display would comply with staff rules. “About 80% of the people coming to this site to get their car washed are spur of the moment,” Seifert said, arguing the business needs signage near the roundabout. He also told the board, “I think 4 square feet is too small.”
Board members and staff asked for planting changes around the sign. The staff report requested additional evergreen shrubs and replacing low corner shrubs with taller species; Seifert agreed to work with staff to meet four-season landscaping requirements. The board’s motion to approve included the condition that the landscaping be addressed per staff recommendations.
Several members questioned a second sign shown on a drawing. The board debated whether that second piece would be a small directional sign (the code allows a 4-square-foot, 3-foot-high directional sign) or a second freestanding ID sign, which would exceed ordinary allowances and require variances. Wayne, the board director, cautioned the board that “we normally don't review directional signs” and flagged that the proposed corner marker appeared large for a directional purpose.
Wayne moved to approve the original ground-sign submission with the landscaping caveat; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously by roll call. The board did not make a formal decision on the proposed second corner sign and advised the applicant to coordinate further with staff and, if necessary, pursue variance review through the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Commission.
The board’s action leaves the approved ground sign subject to the landscaping conditions and signals that the city will treat any larger corner sign as a separate discretionary request that may need multiple variances.
