Plans for a new directory ground sign for the Shoppes at Veranda complex have been shelved until the July 23 Ponte Vedra Architectural Review Committee meeting, due to conflicts over the specific sign location.
Initially, the matter went before ARC board members this past Wednesday as their only agenda item but was tabled for July’s meeting, so Veranda sign applicants can review possible location changes with their management.
The initial application sought approval for a directory ground sign positioned in a parking lot median to the right of motorists entering the complex, next to the centrally-located fountain, potentially creating a situation where drivers are forced to read the sign through the passenger-side window.
"You’d have to look through the passenger side window to read the sign, as it’s currently designed, and you’d end up not being able to read the top portion or the bottom portion, because of the viewing angle," said David Harrell, a planner with the county growth management services and a liaison for the ARC, during an interview this past Friday.
The directory, currently measuring eight feet tall by 11 feet wide, will feature up to 64 placards, with letters measuring 1.25 inches tall, according to site plans from the official staff report.
According to Harrell, there was discussion at the ARC meeting between the board and the applicant, Michael Borns, about moving the directory sign to the small, circular island where the fountain is located, so drivers can view the directory from their left, also allowing vehicles to travel around them on the right.
"You’d actually be able to read everything, you’d be able to look completely up and down the sign from out the left side of your car," said Harrell.
Michael Borns, the applicant representing Veranda owner Meridian Management, declined to comment.
A date hasn’t yet been decided on, but ARC board members, with Harrell, will meet with Veranda representatives on-site to negotiate further on the placement of the sign.
Negotiations for the directory sign have been mild compared to the controversy over the commercial mixed-use development’s plan to place third-floor wall signs on the back faces of the buildings
The controversy at the heart of the sign plan focused on the top banner wall signs facing PGA Tour Boulevard to the north.
According to a revised table of proposed sign bands, approved unanimously by county commissioners during their May 27 meeting, the top wall sign plan allows for the placement of up to five wall signs facing PGA Tour Boulevard from Veranda buildings A and F.
