The Willow Glen Resident Planners reschedule hearing but don't inform developer Builder and tenants of Meridian complex say non-conforming sign is needed By Michelle Ku Dominic Giacalone says he expected his request for a permit amendment to be placed on the agenda for an upcoming planning meeting, but he figured he'd be notified when it happened. As he had hoped, his request made it onto the agenda of last Wednesday's planning director's hearing. But until he got a phone call from a reporter, the project manager for a development at Willow Street and Meridian Avenue didn't know he was scheduled to appear. "You were the first notice we ever received about the meeting," Giacalone said last Monday--just two days before the hearing was scheduled. After being contacted by the Resident, Giacalone called the Planning Department to inquire why he had not been notified of the hearing. Phil Nameany, a planner with the city, discovered that notices to Imwalle Stegner Development, the company that owns the property, had never been sent. Letters to residents of the neighborhood were also undelivered. "I went through my box and checked the cubby holes and saw the letters," Nameany said. "They were supposed to go out on Nov. 3, but for some reason they didn't." Giacalone's request for an amendment that would allow him to retain an existing pole-sign was dropped from the agenda and rescheduled for Dec. 9. The site permit amendment also addresses some landscaping issues that Giacalone says he was unaware of until he received a faxed report from the planning department on Nov. 17. "Landscaping had never been an issue until I saw that fax," Giacalone said. "That's the first time I saw that. That had never been in our discussions with the city." The issue of retaining the pole-sign has been ongoing. When construction of the new building began last year, the sign was not included in the original construction permits. "Before we started construction of the building, we had asked then [if we could keep the sign]. We were told by a city staff member we could keep it and now we're being told to take it down," Giacalone said. Carol Hamilton, senior planner, said she is unsure if Giacalone's conversation regarding the pole-sign occurred or not. But she says that while developers do not always need a permit to retain a "nonconforming" sign, city codes demand a permit in a project like Giacalone's. "When you redevelop a site and take away all the previous development, at that time, you have to show the sign proposed to remain or remove the sign," Hamilton said. "And they did not show the sign as proposed to remain." Retaining the pole-sign is an important issue for Giacalone because regulations have changed. "This is a better sign than what we could get today," Giacalone said. The current sign is close to 20 feet tall with an area of approximately 67 square feet. Based on current regulations, the site is only allowed a 5-foot-tall sign with an area of 20 square feet, Nameany said. Two of the three businesses that have signed a lease for space in the building have written a letter to the Planning Department on behalf of retaining the pole-sign. "I moved into that spot with the knowledge that there was going to be street sign recognition," said Troy Christy, owner of Image Suntan Center. "If the permit is denied, I will try to make a go of it, but I am sure the business will not do as good as it should." Christy will be moving into the center within the next 20 days. Christy said he spends $1,500 a month on advertising. Nevertheless, he said, "just having a sign on the street brings me more money than all the advertising I do. If you took that away from me, you would be taking over half of my business away." Since the building faces Willow Street rather than Meridian Avenue, the pole-sign would provide the tenants in the back of the building with more exposure. "It's wonderful exposure on Meridian Avenue--the main thoroughfare," Giacalone said. Hamilton and Nameany said they will not support the amendment when it goes before the planning director next month. "When a site is developed, we typically remove the legal nonconforming signs," Hamilton said. "The sign doesn't fit with the new building and it does not conform with our current sign code." If the planning director denies the permit, Giacalone plans on appealing the decision to the Planning Commission. While the postponement of the hearing has given Giacalone and his staff more time to prepare, he would rather the issue be resolved sooner than later. "We have tenants who want to know if they can put signs up. We'd like to know to have some closure on the issue." [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 25, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.