Staff backs EV‑charger and lighting modifications but opposes larger wall sign for WinCo

Staff reviewed three variances requested by the applicant: vehicle‑charging equipment, wall‑sign area and parking‑lot light‑pole height. On EV charging, the applicant proposed Level‑3 fast chargers and submitted a manufacturer letter; staff concluded the technical justification was reasonable and recommended approval of a modification to the city’s Level‑2 requirement.

On lighting, staff recommended allowing a larger pole height in most of the lot but required the applicant to maintain code‑compliant pole heights adjacent to the residential properties to the south. "They're conditioned and they have a plan that shows that in that area, all the poles are going to meet our code requirement height," Kerr said.

Staff recommended denial of the wall‑sign variance. The applicant asked for roughly 450 square feet of wall signage on the I‑5‑facing frontage—about a 50% increase over what the code allows for wall signs that are more than 200 feet from the right‑of‑way in non‑freeway overlay areas. Staff noted the freeway overlay increases allowances for pole/monument signs, not wall signs, and said the request was not justified for the zoning context.

The applicant’s architect said the requested lettering (66‑inch letters for the main WinCo sign) is intended to provide visibility from I‑5 and argued reduced lettering would be illegible at distance. Commissioners asked for signage elevations and comparisons under the code and the applicant said they could supply reduced‑lettering mockups during the open record period.