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Board allows repair and maintenance of Florida Shores Plaza signs, with conditions
Summary
The board approved VA 25 11 to allow repair and maintenance of two existing multi‑tenant signs at Florida Shores Plaza as‑built (no increase in display area), after the applicant offered a beautification package and the board added safety and sight‑distance concerns to the record.
The Edgewater Planning & Zoning Board voted to grant a variance allowing repair and maintenance of two existing multi‑tenant pylon signs at Florida Shores Plaza, permitting the signs to remain at their as‑built heights and widths so long as the repairs do not increase display area.
Brad Wester, a land‑use planner for McAfee Hawthorne & Divanow (S5), told the board the plaza’s two pole signs were damaged in a recent tropical storm and that strict compliance with the updated corridor sign rules would prevent timely repairs and would harm tenant lease obligations. He said the applicant’s package includes landscaping, a monument base “skirt” to wrap the pylons and updated sign panels to improve aesthetics.
Wester argued the shopping center — which he identified as the city’s largest multi‑tenant center since 1983 and currently houses 16 tenants — relies on elevated signage for wayfinding because the building is set far back from the boulevard. He said the request was a hybrid approach: allow the as‑built dimensions to be retained while committing to a beautification package in the near term.
City staff (S4) and several board members pushed back, noting Article 20’s corridor standards, sight‑distance and pedestrian visibility, and the code’s general rule that replacing a sign triggers compliance with current regulations. Committee members suggested alternatives including reduced height, relocating the sign farther from the right‑of‑way, or using multiple smaller monument signs closer to entrances.
After discussion of sight‑distance and possible design compromises (for example, leaving the Indian River Boulevard pylon visually open underneath while treating the Ridgewood Avenue sign as a wrapped monument), the board moved and seconded a motion to grant VA 25 11 limited to "repair and maintenance of the subject signs" as they are, covering future repairs under the variance so long as the work does not expand the existing display area. The motion passed by roll call; the clerk recorded affirmative votes and the chair closed the item.
What happens next: The applicant must submit construction and landscape plans consistent with proffered conditions; staff noted that if future work would change sign dimensions the applicant would need to seek approval again.
