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b. Discussion of some or all of those boundaries; <br />c. Other general discussion relating to the Sign Code, including sizes and types of signs and <br />sign fabrication materials allowable in those areas, and all other provisions applicable to the <br />District; and <br />d. Concept of conducting one or more commissioners “field trips” through some or all of the <br />Kailua Village special design district to view the range, location, appearance and visibility of <br />existing signs in the district. <br /> <br />Commissioners Hetherington, Burns, Dunlap and the Chair presented their recommendations and <br />preferred boundaries. Commissioner Dunlap also shared some photographs he had just taken, <br />saying that he was surprised by the number and repetitiveness of signs, including separate signs <br />advertising each product and/or service that businesses offered. The following points were <br />raised and discussed: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Kona Bay Estates Subdivision should be removed from the Kailua Village Special District <br />(KVSD) due to its irrelevancy. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Businesses may possibly be motivated to eliminate illegal or extra signs, if reasonably large <br />signs are allowed. For example, Kona Commons, which is outside of the KVSD, has larger <br />signs and is not cluttered with additional signs. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />People have different expectations in the industrial area where product signs are actually <br />helpful to shoppers, although those signs can easily result in a cluttered appearance. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />One way to reduce clutter is to more strictly enforce what signs can be made of. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />There are two sets of issues: the size of signs and the number of signs. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />The current Sign Code is too restrictive. One of the goals is to minimize the number of <br />variances that people have to go to the County Council for. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Signage is a safety issue; motorists of all age groups should be able to identify or find their <br />destinations easily. Legibility of directory signs is important. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />The same sign restrictions should apply to both sides of roadway. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Even within the same type of traffic area, the one-size-fits-all approach does not work <br />because of the uniqueness of size, orientation and character of each building. While signage <br />must be aesthetically pleasing, sufficient exposure should be allowed to be fair to businesses. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Even a sign that is larger than permitted or made of undesirable material can be acceptable, if <br />it is installed at the right location, e.g. ground as opposed to roof top, or not accompanied by <br />additional small signs – for example, the yellow arch of McDonald’s on Kuakini Highway. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />The challenge is how to translate these ideas into words; this task can be included in the <br />scope of the prospective committee. <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br />