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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPEC150022_narrative_1434494580.pdfVail Valley Medical Center Sign Variance VVMC Medical Professional Building (formerly known as the US Bank Building) June 15, 2015 Background on Proposal VVMC purchased an existing office building at 108 South Frontage Road in 2004. At that time US Bank was a lessee in the building and the building was identified (via a Building Identification Sign) as the “US Bank Building. The building has commonly been referred to as the US Bank Building. VVMC’s has gradually evolved the building from a general office use (with a mixture of business and office tenants) to a building with an emphasis on medical and health care related users. With the completion of current renovation plans later this year all uses within the building with the exception of US Bank will be medical or health care related. Foremost among upcoming changes to the building is the relocation of Colorado Mountain Medical (CMC) from the West Wing of the VVMC Campus. The relocation of CMC is a key step in facilitating the redevelopment and expansion of the West Wing. New uses in the US Bank Building will be oriented more towards patient care (than previous uses) and in response to this VVMC’s goal is to re-brand the building in a way that will more clearly identify the building as a medical care facility. The building will now be referred to as the VVMC Medical Professional Building (MPB). One of the key steps in establishing this identity is to sign the building as such. Variance Request The MPB has frontage on one major street (South Frontage Road) and as such the building is permitted one “Building Identification Sign”. The property has +/-160’ of frontage and based on the sign code is permitted a Building Identification Sign of up to 50 square feet. Currently a wall mounted “US Bank” sign identifies the building as the US Bank Building. This sign is approximately 8 square feet and is located directly above the main entry to the building. A wall-mounted sign identifying the building as the VVMC Medical Professional Building is proposed. This size is proposed to be 39 square foot in size and would be located on the north elevation of the building at a point between the second and third levels of the building. The US Bank’s existing lease gives them the right to have the existing sign above the main entry to the building and as such this sign is to remain. As such two building identification signs are proposed and for this reason a variance to the number of Building Identification Signs is proposed. Note that the total amount of signage (of both the existing sign and the proposed sign) is within the allowable square footage for a wall mounted sign. Variance Criteria Criteria for approval of a sign variance include the following: 1. Special circumstances or conditions must exist that apply to the land, buildings, topography, vegetation, sign structures, or other matters on adjacent lots or within the adjacent right of way, that would substantially restrict the effectiveness of the sign in question. However, such circumstances must be unique to the subject site. Response This situation with signs at the MPB, and the need for two building identification signs are unique for two reasons – an existing lease that establishes the right for an existing sign to remain and the need to re-brand the building to reflect its current use. The MPB plays an integral role in the expansion plans for VVMC. With the increased emphasis on patient care in the MPB it is important to accurately name the building such that patients can readily identify the building (and know where they are to go for appointments, etc.). 2. The applicant shall not have created the circumstances that have necessitated the variance request. Response While the applicant (VVMC) is responsible for the master plan expansion to the medical center and the change to uses with the MPB, the lease with US Bank that provides the Bank with the right to the existing Building Identification Sign was executed by the prior owner of the building. As such, the applicant has not created the circumstances that necessitate the variance request. 3. The applicant must demonstrate that the granting of the variance will be in general harmony with the purposes of this title. Response The proposed variance request is not a significant departure of the sign code for two reasons – • The existing US Bank sign is only 8 square feet in size and given its location directly over the main entry to the building appears to be more of a Business Identification Sign than a Building Identification Sign. • With approval of the variance request, the total amount of square footage of Building Identification Signs will not exceed the maximum 50 square feet that is permitted by the sign code.