At the new under-construction downtown Subway Sandwich Shop, posts have been erected. I am not certain as to their purpose, but I have a sneaking suspicion they will soon have signs placed on them. There’s always the possibility they are for lighting, but I seriously doubt that option. I apologize in advance – the photos were taken shortly before sunset, so they are a bit dark.
I really hope these are not intended for signs, or that they will be cut way down. I don’t remember what the sign ordinance has to say about sign height and placement and such. I’m thinking signs can only be of a certain height – like those at the downtown Arby’s, McDonald’s or even the BP Station.
I thought these two examples were what new signage in the downtown area is supposed to look like. I cannot remember if this is in the sign ordinance or the design guidelines that were never officially adopted. Either way, it’s bad enough the new subway is setback from the curb, let alone adding two signs when one at an angle on the corner would do the trick.
One of the interesting items that was discussed in the City Council’s Tax Abatementdiscussion tonight, was the differences between downtown and outside the core abatements, including possible savings from a more urban-design approach to infrastructure. The potential for tying design guideline compliance to tax abatements was also discussed. In the following clip, Greg Leatherman, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Department speaks with Councilman John Shoaff adding comments about the possible savings and using the guidelines as a “carrot”.
 4/29/2008 – City Council Tax Abatement Discussion – Infrastructure savings & design guidelines
I’ll reserve further commentary until it’s determined exactly what is going on with these posts.
Related Images:
