Creating signage requirements that fit the character of Princeton Junction and other specific districts within the township was also on the January 30 Planning Board agenda.
The discussion came as Zoning Board members were preparing to, yet again, continue a hearing on February 7 (after the News went to press) for a sign waiver for the Rite Aid Pharmacy and retail center at the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road. Discussions regarding signage at the site have spanned over four Zoning Board meetings, and an accumulated 10 hours.##M:[more]##
The site plan there calls for a 14,”673 square foot Rite Aid, and an additional 6,”000 square feet of retail space that could include a Starbucks coffee shop and an Italian restaurant. The Dreher Group of Princeton already has approval from the board, but wants a sign with 36-inch lettering for the main Rite Aid building. Currently, there is no letter-height specified in the ordinance for signs in the Princeton Junction zone.
The Planning Board had begun discussing revisions to its sign ordinance earlier in January, saying that signs should be tailored to their settings and contribute to the distinctive style for each of the corridors or districts in which they are located. The specific districts the board is looking at regulating include Princeton Junction, the Route 1 corridor, and other non-residential properties. Officials said the current sign ordinance is old (from the 1980s) and needs to be updated, especially with recent development efforts in the Princeton Junction area.
Township Planner John Madden suggested one inch of letter height in the signs for every 50 feet of sight distance. On roads with two lanes with speeds between 30 and 40 miles per hour, that would come out to 8-inch lettering and a total area of 35 square feet.
Madden showed pictures of the types of signs in neighboring towns, including Plainsboro, Cranbury, and Robbinsville. It’s A Grind Coffee House in Plainsboro’s Village Center, had wall signage with gooseneck lighting. The sign was contained within a specified band area, and allowed for business creativity, while keeping its size consistent, he said.
He also noted the specially designed street signs in the village center area, and that buildings along Schalks Crossing Road displayed their addresses on plaques on the outside of their buildings — an idea West Windsor officials might want to consider.
In Cranbury, he pointed to the wall, window, and hanging signs of Cranbury Delights pastry shop that were color-coordinated, in scale with the building, and that are legible to both pedestrians and drivers. And the canopy sign for Pat’s Decor in Cranbury was also creative and respected the building’s architecture and scale, he said. Robbinsville’s InJeanous sign kept in scale with building architecture but also allowed for expression of its business brand image.
The board first began discussions over what it wanted to see in the Princeton Junction zone — a zone it considered a priority, especially given the Zoning Board has already been dealing with Rite Aid and other applications requesting various sizes for their signs. Madden first went through examples of existing signs in the district, including the PNC Bank on Route 571, which board members agreed was proportional to the building facade. Its internally lit lettering was attractive and legible, Madden said.
He also pointed to the sign for the Princeton Junction Professional Center, which is not part of the overlay district, but was a good example of a monument sign that was framed by landscaping.
“We’re not recommending monument signs for Princeton Junction, except in instances where the building is set back 50 feet,” Madden said. “Now, the buildings are redeveloped and we’re going to move them forward, so there would be no monument signs in Princeton Junction on Princeton-Hightstown Road.”
In cases for buildings that are set back more than 50 feet, however, Madden recommended a maximum area of 30 square feet for monument signs, with the maximum height set at 6 feet above grade. He also said the base of the sign should be landscaped with plants that extend a minimum of two feet in all directions.
Madden’s other recommendations for Princeton Junction included that the types of signs be limited to those with internally-lit raised letters, those with back-lit raised letters, and those with signage boards with gooseneck lighting, like those in the examples from other towns.
“We’re recommending for wall signage that the maximum signage for a wall would be 35 square feet, and 8-inch height,” he said. Currently, signs are permitted to be a total of 12 square feet with no letter height specified.
Madden also said window lettering and signs should be allowed, but should be limited. He suggested only up to 15 percent of the window should be covered (currently, 25 percent coverage is allowed). The board should prohibit those that are illuminated, have moving images or text, and blinking and flashing lights.
Letter and logo heights shouldn’t exceed 5 percent on canopies and awnings, and should not exceed one-third the valance or vertical flap, he suggested.
Zoning Board members in attendance requested guidance from the board with regard to signs in the Princeton Junction area, so they know how to approach the Rite Aid application.
“I am glad that there is no sign at MarketFair telling me what every movie is playing at the Multiplex, and that is because of the efforts of the Planning Board, Council, and township officials that we don’t have signage like that,” said Zoning Board member Curtis Hoberman.
Hoberman also suggested allowing for individually cut letters on a solid surface with front-lit or gooseneck lighting, similar to what has been approved for the ERA real estate building behind Chase Bank. He also asked the board to address the use of L.E.D. lighting in signs, especially those with movable text. Recently approved plans for the Jewish Community Center on Clarksville Road allow L.E.D. lighting, but Madden said it was a special case because the messages on that sign were going to be related to community functions, not alerting the public to sales and store promotions.
“I’m fearful we’re going to be getting more applications coming our way that are going to want L.E.D. signage,” Hoberman said.
Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman said she felt requiring the letters to only be 8 inches high could, at times, be “a little tight,” especially given that PNC Bank’s sign letters are 18 inches. She also said limiting the amount of coverage on an awning or canopy sign to 5 percent for a business logo was a little small, and examples depicted in the pictures were much larger, but reasonable. “To me, if you make it 5 percent, its going to look like a little dot,” she said.
Planning Board member Marty Rosen suggested that hanging signs, like one depicted at Cranbury Delights, could also be nice for the Princeton Junction area. “I think it adds character to the store and adds it adds a dimension to the streetscape,” he said. Otherwise, the other three types of signs would create a two-dimensional look.
A majority of the discussion, however, centered around letter height, pending the Rite Aid hearing. Rite Aid officials have argued that since the building has a lot of wall space, the lettering should be proportionate to the size of the wall, Madden reported. However, “we’re saying that an 8-inch lettering is adequate in Princeton Junction because when you’re 15 to 20 feet from the road, you can see that lettering. It’s going to be legible.”
“I really want to work with these people; I want to be helpful, but I don’t want to deal with something that would be out of character,” Madden added.
Planning Board member Diane Ciccone said most of the signs in the area seemed to have letters between 12 and 24 inches, and that since the PNC Bank is right across the street, other signs, including Rite Aid’s should be consistent.
Said board member Simon Pankove: “It’s our town, and we need to enforce reasonable signage for the Princeton Junction Overlay. They’re also on a gateway. You’ve got PNC Bank across the street. There should be some consistency as far as I’m concerned.”
Board Attorney Gerald Muller suggested balancing the scale and proportionality of the signs to the buildings’ walls, as limiting the size, in some cases, would make it seem disproportionate.
Board members ultimately decided they would like to see an 18-inch maximum height in the Princeton Junction Overlay zone, and that signage height, letter height, and area would all relate to building setback. That wording would be drawn up by Division of Land Use Manager Sam Surtees and Madden in a draft of the ordinance slated to be reviewed on Wednesday, March 19. The draft will also include language that would include Madden’s three suggestions for types of signs and the recommendations from Hoberman and Rosen.
The Planning Board said it would send a memo to Madden and Surtees directing that a draft be written up, and that the two professionals inform the Zoning Board of the Planning Board’s intentions.
The rest of the discussion on the Route 1 and other non-residential zones, as well as illegal signs, will continue at the board’s meeting on Wednesday, February 20.
