Chipotle pole sign axed by zoning board
The quick casual Mexican restaurant chain counted 74 other pole signs on McGalliard
MUNCIE — The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals continues to uphold the city’s ban on new pole signs on the McGalliard Road commercial strip.
The BZA voted 5-0 to deny Chipotle Mexican Grill’s request for a variance to allow the restaurant chain to reuse a 27-feet-tall pole sign at the former Brinkman’s Shoes store, 720 W. McGalliard Road.
Since the ban was enacted in 2014 — in an effort to improve the appearance of the McGalliard corridor — a number of other unsuccessful variance applications have been filed by fast food restaurants, a tire store, a grocery, a car wash, an auto parts store, a car dealer and others to sidestep the prohibition.
Cheryl Heidorn, a senior design manager for Chipotle in Columbus, Ohio, noted to the BZA in August that the McGalliard corridor’s current appearance constitutes a “stark contrast” to the attractive corridor envisioned in the city’s 2014 zoning amendments.
“There are 74 pole signs in less than three miles between North Broadway Avenue and West Bethel Avenue,” Heidorn told board members. “The visibility of the existing pole sign along McGalliard was a key factor in our choice to revitalize this aged property in a very sustainable fashion, versus new construction in which we would conform to all applicable zoning codes.”
(Businesses with existing pole signs along McGalliard and other commercial routes have grandfather rights that exempt them from the new development standards, which require monument-style ground signs no taller than 8 feet, with a sign cabinet not exceeding 80 square feet. Existing pole signs must come down only if a grandfathered business expands or is torn down and replaced).
In addition to reusing the abandoned shoe store, which remains under reconstruction, Chipotle had sought a variance to refurbish the Brinkman sign, which would have been reduced to a single, 36-square-feet sign cabinet. The existing structure contained three sign cabinets totaling 116 square feet.
“With the completely resurfaced and refaced sign, in addition to the enhanced design of the building, this corner will show other potential businesses how a sustainable approach to development can work,” Heidorn told the board.
A LEED-accredited expert in green buildings, Heidorn also told the board that holding Chipotle to a more restrictive sign code than neighboring sites places their business at an unfair hardship and disadvantage to competitors.
She also argued that the reuse, reduction and beautification of the Brinkman sign would harmonize with the surrounding area and improve safety.
“Drivers approaching our site from either direction on McGalliard will be able to identify the location of the Chipotle from a further distance and be able to make safer vehicular maneuvers hundreds of yards prior to turning,” Heidorn told the board.
While it’s true that McGalliard is lined with dozens of pole signs — including a nearby Moe’s Southwest Grill restaurant’s — a few doors down from Chipotle stands a new Valvoline instant oil change store fronted by a monument-style sign complying with the code. The brick store evokes a mid-century feeling. And right across the street from Valvoline is a newer Crew Carwash also with compliant signage.
In contrast, a nearby Chik-fil-A took advantage of the maximum pole sign height of 45 feet when it opened just before pole signs were banned seven years ago.
The League of Women Voters, which normally shows up in opposition to variances allowing pole signs, was not in attendance at the meeting in August when the BZA voted 5-0 to deny Chipotle’s sign.
BZA members Zane Bishop, Leslie Mathewson, Kelly Watson, Jr. , Kathryn Kennison and Allen Wiseley voted for the denial.
The new development standards are designed to eventually make McGalliard and other commercial corridors look more like downtown, which the majority of Munsonians find more attractive than McGalliard’s “Anywhere, USA” look.
Several years ago, the BZA allowed the Dellen Ford dealership to move its 37-feet-tall pole sign when it relocated from East McGalliard to West McGalliard. Dellen dropped its request for a pole sign at its new Hyundai dealership, also on West McGalliard, home to a cluster of auto dealers with grandfathered pole signs.
But the BZA has frowned on other attempts to deviate from the pole sign ban.