Below are the remarks I made to the Surprise Planning & Zoning Commission at their July 6, 2017 meeting regarding the proposed changes to the Sign Ordinance in regard to Wall Mounted signs and Free-Standing signs
Have you ever looked up a business address on your phone, and the mapping icon was smack dab in the middle of the street? At that point, you are completely reliant on adequate signage, its visibility and legibility.
This proposed ordinance begins with the presumption that signs are detrimental, distracting and poor land use. The Courts have found signs should be treated as free speech and communication, and we agree. Signs are the most cost effective and least expensive method for businesses to advertise the goods and services they provide.
Signs are more than mere identifiers, they are the business owner’s face to the world, they become integral to his or her ability to relate values, principles and emotions. A sign will be recognized by its color, logo, shape, imagery. People will recognize a business, what it stands for, and the emotions it represents before they see the building or meet the people. Here’s an example: Golden Arches. Did you see the sign? My guess is you thought about more than a hamburger.
Legibility and visibility is more than a sign size. It is the ability for passersby to clearly see. A monument sign on Bell Rd in one of the secret shopping centers may need to be larger than first thought because of the traffic and speed of traffic.
I spoke to the managing broker of West USA on Bell Rd. If you remember, the back of her building faces Bell Rd and there are trees blocking visibility. It is difficult to see her wall sign. During the time A-Frames were allowed she had one directional A-Frame at her driveway. She saw numerous people enter her office, both real estate licensee looking for employment and customers. Without the A-Frame her traffic is dramatically less because her signage is inadequate. In my written response, I spoke of each real residential real estate transaction causing about $46,000 in other business: inspections, escrow, repairs, etc. That number has recently been updated to $64,000.
Signs should be adequate to the task. A large building or complex with walls facing in more than one direction, may require several building mounted signs visible from across a vast parking lot, from different directions.
Building Mounted signs, item #1 concerns us. Businesses with more than one business under the same roof may not have adequate signage. Examples would be a grocery store with a bank and a Starbucks or a Real estate brokerage with a title company or lender.
The limitation of window signage is of concern as well. Many businesses express specials, products or services with window signs. Limiting a business’ ability to express these goods and services may be detrimental to its economic vitality.
We are concerned with the CSP signage criteria being “appropriate to the character of the community”, showing “measurable improvement” to the community and “appropriate to the neighborhood”. These appear to be arbitrary measures based on the message or the speaker. In Blockbuster vs. Tempe, the Court upheld a business’s right to have a sign with their logo, color, shape, etc. maintained.
The limitations on Non-Conforming signs concerns us greatly, particularly the methodology of using amortization and depreciation to determine value. A sign’s physical structure may not be as valuable as its intangible, recognizable “good will” value, particularly over time. We are concerned a business, forced to take down its sign, will not be compensated for the true value.
Abandonment of a sign is not well defined and therefore subject to interpretation. The 90-day limit may not be adequate under special circumstances such as estate sales, bankruptcy, owner health issues, or a complicated sale in which a sign and business are not abandoned, but rather caught up in a process of property transfer out of the owner’s control.
Without adequate, recognizable, visible and legible signage business, particularly small business, cannot survive.
We suggested establishing sign sizes based on the science of the visual arc, legibility and visibility. We are gratified and appreciate the city looking at the science and studies as part of their consideration.