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Design Review Board limits Onyx Partners sign to 100 sq ft, approves two signs for 40 Franklin St.
Summary
The Needham Design Review Board approved two tenant signs at 40 Franklin St., limiting both Onyx Partners and Pure Hockey to 100 square feet, requiring Onyx to be on top at both locations and adding about 12 inches of separation between the signs. Approvals were unanimous in roll-call votes.
Chair Mark opened a public hearing on signage for 40 Franklin Street, where Onyx Partners purchased the former UDOIT building and proposed two tenant signs to serve Onyx and a first-floor tenant, Pure Hockey. Lisa Chin, director of development at Onyx Partners, said Pure Hockey’s proposed sign would be 100 square feet and Onyx had asked for up to 125 square feet on one elevation to balance letterforms. "I'm Lisa Chin, the director of development at Onyx Partners," she said during the presentation.
Board members pressed the applicant for visual scale and lighting details. Steve asked to see the Onyx sign at 100 square feet and raised concerns about precedent for larger signs; Haril and others questioned nighttime illumination intensity and placement. Lisa said the proposed letters are LED, dimmable, and would be turned off by 11:00 p.m. under the bylaw unless the tenant remained open.
After discussion the board reached consensus to standardize orientation (Onyx on top at both highway- and ramp-facing facades), limit both tenant signs to 100 square feet, and require approximately 12 inches of vertical separation between the two signs so the storefront reads as two businesses. The chair moved the series of approvals and the board took roll-call votes approving Pure Hockey’s signs at 100 square feet, reducing Onyx to 100 square feet, approving installation subject to Onyx being on top at both locations and about 12 inches spacing, and approving the additional south-side sign for both businesses. All recorded votes were affirmative.
The board also noted the town’s Historical Commission is reviewing the existing UDOIT sign; if designated historic, removal or modification of that existing sign could later require Historical Commission approval. The board instructed staff to issue a stamped copy of the approvals for applicants to attach to building-permit or planning-board filings.
