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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 1005.000 1996-1998 111 East Puainako Street • Hilo, Hawaii 96720- - - Telephone: 18081959-3555 FAX: (808) 959-3655 September 22, 1998 Chairman James Arakaki and Other County Council Members County of Hawaii Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Chairman Arakaki and Council Members: This request is for a sign variance, relating to Chapter 3 of the Hawaii County Code regarding Advertising and Signs, for the merchants of Prince Kuhio Plaza. An illuminated ground sign of 100 square feet is being proposed which is larger than the 32 square feet allowed by the current ground sign code, Section 3-29 Commercial and Industrial Districts. No other sign code variance associated with a marquee, projecting, roof or wall sign is being requested. Prince Kuhio Plaza is the largest enclosed regional mall on the Big Island. It houses over seventy merchants on a 43 acre site enclosed by Makaala Street on the North side, Ohuohu Street on the East side, Puainako Street on the South side and Kanoelehua Avenue (Highway 11) on the West side. Merchants of the Plaza include: Sears, J.C. Penney, Liberty House, Wallace Theaters, Bugle Boy, Safeway, Longs Drug, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Blockbuster and Hilo Hatties, to name a few. According to the current code, Section 3-25 Type and Number of Signs Permissible, and Section 3-29 Commercial and Industrial Districts, each merchant or business is allowed "a sign of each type prescribed in this division which conforms to this article shall be permitted to be erected or maintained upon any building, lot, or parcel of land. Where any building, lot, or parcel of land is adjacent to two or more streets, the number of signs permitted for each business on each building, lot, or parcel of land shall be increased by the number of adjacent streets; provided that no more than one of each two types of permissible signs shall front upon any one of the streets." The allowable signs for commercial and industrial districts per Section 3-29 are: a ground sign, marquee sign, projecting sign, roof sign and wall sign. If interpreted literally and understood correctly, this allows each business located at the Plaza numerous and a variety of potential signs, thus flooding the landscape and view around the Plaza area with signage. 6m,m. No. AD-0-E VAS ADV ~11e No. It is important to note that Section 3-1 Legislative Findings states, among other things, that: 'In the past few years there has been a marked increase in the number and size of signs advertising business activities in the County; The increased number and size of signs, coupled with the increased use of motor vehicles, make it imperative that the public streets and highways be kept free from signs which distract motorists' attention from driving, and which detract from the attention which should be devoted to signs promoting traffic safety; The indiscriminate erection and maintenance of large signs seriously detract from the enjoyment and pleasure of the natural scenic beauty of the County, which in turn injuriously affect the tourist trade and the economic well-being of the County; The construction, erection, and maintenance of large outdoor signs suspended from, or placed on top of buildings, walls, or other structures constitute a direct danger to pedestrian traffic below the signs, especially during periods when winds of high velocity are prevalent; The natural beauty of landscape, view, and attractive surroundings of the Hawaiian Islands, including the County, constitutes an attraction for tourists and visitors; The indiscriminate erection and maintenance of large signs seriously detract from the enjoyment and pleasure of the natural scenic beauty of the County, which in turn injuriously affect the tourist trade and the economic well-being of the County." Additionally, Section 3-5 Variances, states that "the council may grant a variance from the operation of any provision of this article to an applicant for a sign permit when the council finds that the enforcement of the provision would work a hardship upon the applicant, and that the granting of a variance would not be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this article and the public interest." It is Prince Kuhio Plaza's view that by granting a variance for a single sign of 100 square feet that many of the Legislative Findings of Section 3-1 would be upheld. Please see Figure 1 for a detailed rendering of the proposed sign, and please note that the color scheme shown is just an example and that there is not a message board that would tend to distract drivers. Also, as shown in the Figure, the sign is not similar to any state or county highway sign that would tend to confuse drivers and represents the operation of businesses and services on the premises. Figure 2 details the location of the single sign for the entire plaza which also, by its proposed location, upholds several aspects of the Legislative Findings of Section 3-1. It is also Prince Kuhio Plaza's belief that the granting of a variance would not be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this article and the public interest. The granting of the variance would potentially eliminate numerous ground, marquee, projecting, roof and wall signage around the Plaza area, thereby, reinforcing the Legislative Findings. Please review this request for a variance that supports the County of Hawaii Advertising and Sign code. If you have any questions concerning this, please contact Jeff Johnson, Operating Manager of Prince Kuhio Plaza at 959-3555. Thank you for your consideration of this variance. Keep up the great work and have a good day. Sincerrely, Jeff S. Johnson Operating Manager Prince Kuhio Plaza FREESTANDING GROUND SIGN lie H, I' PRINCE K.U. 0 P I..A'? 16' S'H0PPlNG GE NTER TENANTS TENANTS NAME.... TENANTS NAME TENANTS NAME TENANTS NAME TENANTS NAME TOTAL OF 100 SQ. FT. 6'3" ORCHID YELLOW / PURPLE ORCHD W LL BE FABMCATED WITH .040 ALUMINUM REVERSE CHANNEL: FACE WILL BE FABRICATED WITH 3/16" PLASTIC. ORCHID WILL BE ILLUMINATED BY USING 6500 WHITE NEON. PRINCE KUHIO PLAZA PATINA LETTERS WILL BE FABRICATED WITH ,040 ALUMINUM REVERSE CHANNEL: PRIMED WITH SELF ETCHING PRIMER; PAINTED TO I WVE PATINA TEXTURE; LETTERS WILL BE ILLUMINATED BY USING 6500 WI ITT[ NEON. SHOPPING CENTER PURPLE LETTERS WILL BE CUTOUT ON THE SIGN FACE AND WILL BE ILLUMINATED BYUSING 600 MA FLUORESCENT BULBS TENANTS NAME PURPLE aACK W/ WHITE LETTER TENANTS NAME PLATE WILL BE FABRICATED WITH 3/16" WHITE PLASTIC OVERLAY WTiH TRANSPARENT PURPLE VINYL TENANTS NAME TO BE CUTOUT SHOWNG VMTE LETTERING; ILLUMINATED BY USING 600 MA H.O. FLUORESCENT BULBS SIGN STRUCTURE PURPLE FRAME WJ LT. PURPLE FACE SIGN STRUCTURE WILL CONSIST OF METAL FRAME C0,1=RED WTH.060 ALUMINUM SHEETS; PRIMED WTH SELF ETCHIN. PRIMER: PAINTED WITH ACRYLIC BASE ENAMEL TO HAVE LONGEMTYAGNNST U. V. WAYS. ® vun PRINCE KUHIO PLAZA PUAkJAKO Custom Sign o7/ouva CLENlSflPRM1 cA.cnor+ Jw CCDE A I / ~ No? b A \pa,~ NDIsa35 F ~ I ~ ~ii yam s, i s ~ 6 4 4 4 4 1 \ ~ I I !RUCK ARKIA rRVO! AREA , f BU/[DWG ill! fl iii n 'I J m o II 3 :tr $ 9a 3 E 1 i aa~~nO~C ^Oi 0~ y a I "4: 9 S. 4 4 8 9 ^m°°~~o dpi aZ Ym d d cd c~ M c~ d M~ o `~v~a x c o a