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HPC GUIDELINES CONTENTS
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Historic
Preservation Commission GUIDELINES
BUSINESS
SIGNS
GRAND RAPIDS
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Guidelines
For Historic Districts And Designated Historic Properties
- Topic: Business
Signs.
- Definitions: For
purposes of these guidelines
These guidelines,
business signs mean any outdoor sign, display or message intended to
advertise or inform, which is secured to, or painted on a structure or an
accessory structure such as a garage, awning, or canopy, or posted in the
ground adjacent to the structure.
- Policy
The Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for
Rehabilitating Historic Buildings recommended against:
"Introducing any
new building, streetscape or landscape feature that is out of scale or
otherwise inappropriate to the setting’s historic character," or
"Introducing a
new landscape feature or plant material that is visually incompatible with
the site or destroys site patterns or vistas."
The following
guidelines concerning business signs are provided to assist in
interpreting and application of the Secretary of the Interior’s
Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitation Historic
Buildings.
Business signs should
be consistent in style and appearance with the neighborhood or
individually designated landmark where the sign is to be located.
Business signs shall
be of a style, size, material and appearance consistent with the
architecture of the main structure on the property.
Signs should be
limited in size, scaled to be legible at the slow travel speeds of
residential streets where applicable, and small enough that they do not
dominate buildings originally designed for a non-commercial purpose,
impose on pedestrian traffic or disturb the continuity of the streetscape.
Designs should be simple and should not attempt to create a
pseudo-historic appearance.
- Guidelines
- Size, Shape and
Proportion
- Applicable Zoning
Code provisions limit the size and location of business signs. In
residential and certain other zones, the Zoning Code imposes stricter
limits.
- Two (2) major types
of sign placement are used:
- For those signs
affixed to a structure, size and proportions must be sensitive to
the style and proportions of the structure, and the size must comply
with the sign provisions of the Zoning Code. Buildings built as
residential structures normally will allow a sign no larger than
four (4) square feet. If the structure was originally built for
commercial or institutional use, there may be larger blank wall
areas on which a somewhat larger sign would be consistent with the
architecture. This must be judged on an individual basis and again
is subject to the Zoning Code. Whenever a sign is affixed to a
building, it must be installed to avoid damaging the structure. For
example, when a sign is affixed to a masonry structure, it should be
attached to mortar joints, not the brick or stone.
- For signs posted
in a yard, next to a structure, the zoning limit should be observed.
As an example, in a special residential zone this would allow a sign
three (3) feet high and four (4) feet wide, which should provide
ample space for business identification. A smaller size may be
required depending on the size of the structure, the space available
in the yard and the location of the sign in relation to the street,
sidewalk and other structures. The size of the sign must be
proportionate to the main structure. For instance, where a former
residence is now in commercial use, a smaller sign may be required.
Larger sized may be appropriate for some types of signs, such as
state historical markers.
Materials
Historically
appropriate materials include wood, cast metal, and flat sheet metal.
Use of unfinished pressure treated lumber is not recommended.
Historically
appropriate techniques for creating lettering and designs generally
include:
- Paint or gilding on
a flat surface;
- Individual letters
or logos cut-out and mounted on a smooth sign surface or building
wall; and
- metal castings of
the entire sign.
Techniques generally not
historically appropriate include:
Sand-blasting of wood
(or other methods) leaving raised letters on a heavily-textured
background; and
Painting by spraying
or air-brushing, yielding letters and designs which are not clearly
defined.
Details
For most situations,
one (1) of two (2) basic styles of sign is recommended:
- In the case of a
commercial-style building with appropriate wall areas, separate
letters mounted to the wall of the structure, though care must be
taken to minimize damage to wall areas in affixing the letters or
- A flat painted sign
with a simple square or rectangular shape mounted in the yard.
Colors used should be
consistent with the color scheme of the structure to which they relate.
Lighting the surface
of the sign may be acceptable, depending on the character of the main
structure and adjacent buildings. Interior illuminated, neon signs,
flashing lights and back-lit awnings are normally not
recommended. Any lighting must also comply with the sign provisions of
the Zoning Code.
The sign lettering,
decoration, logo, design, or any other element, must be consistent with
the scale, design and appearance of the structure to which the sign
relates.
These guidelines were
approved by the Michigan Bureau of History as of May 24, 1995 pursuant to
Section 5.(3) of Act 169 of 1970, as amended (Local Historic Districts
Act).
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