Too bad. The twitch results in a poorly conceived precedent that allows a retailer a larger store sign than it needs.
Twice, Collier Commons, a retail center under construction at State Road 54 and Collier Parkway in Land O'Lakes, sought permission to increase its stand-alone roadside signs. Twice, the county held firm.
But 12 days ago, the Development Review Committee, consisting of the county's top administrators, acquiesced and allowed the plaza's main tenant, Publix, to exceed the limits established in the county's new sign ordinance.
The ordinance caps wall signage on one side of a store at 150 square feet. Publix representatives, arguing the store sits 750 feet from SR 54, advocated an exception, saying smaller signs would be dwarfed by an expansive storefront. A majority of the DRC agreed and allowed the store to install more than 200 square feet of signs.
The decision may seem minor, but it opens the door for others to make similar requests and it runs contrary to recent county positions on reining in roadside clutter. Two weeks ago, commissioners declined to reconsider their controversial new sign ordinance that bans a litany of temporary placards, banners, flags and other attention-getters. It is a wise move, despite the threats of potential litigation, and complaints from businesses.
The intent is to try to beautify Pasco's roadsides. Visual clutter does little to enhance Pasco's business community and, over the past four years, commissioners have banned new billboards, reduced roadside bus benches, and required new rules for commercial signs.
So, what happens when the next retailer comes before the DRC requesting an exception? Actually, we should have seen this coming. Eleven months ago, the County Commission overruled the DRC and granted a variance to Dillard's, allowing the store to more than triple the allowable signage at Gulf View Square mall. The ruling, based upon Dillard's changing locations within the mall and being allowed to maintain its oversized signs, contradicted earlier stands by the DRC to limit sign size.
It shouldn't happen again. Collier Commons should be a one-time exception. DRC member Doug Bramlett, an assistant county administrator and resident of Land O'Lakes, correctly noted Publix's publicity supersedes its sign needs.
"Anyone within 20 miles of that area," Bramlett said, "knows a Publix is going in there."
Indeed. It is hard to miss the banana yellow exterior.
Loud colors. Bigger signs. The effort to beautify the face of Pasco just produced a pimple.
