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What's Brewing

You can't miss this new sign

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published February 25, 2005

As someone who started wearing glasses at age 7, I don't pretend to have the best eyesight.

Even with contacts, my nighttime vision is fuzzy and the ruts between my eyes reveal plenty of squinting.

But I have no trouble seeing the sign for the new Fifth Third Bank at Swann and Fremont avenues in Hyde Park.

That's because it's enormous.

THE SIGN WENT UP as part of Fifth Third's conversion last week of 27 bay area First National Banks. You can't miss it along Swann, between the Crosstown Expressway and Kash n' Karry.

"It's huge. It's monstrous," said James Talton, who passes the sign on his way to work to every day. "When you go by it, it's kaboom!

"Everyone is talking about it."

Just ask Jeanne Holton Carufel. As president of the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, she was "inundated" with calls and e-mails last week from members and residents upset about the sign.

One person said you can see it from outer space. (Holton can't confirm that but isn't ruling it out.) Others called it an insult to the neighborhood and the Hyde Park Historic District, which is a block away.

"They are very affronted by the sign, whether or not it meets code," she said.

CITY INSPECTORS say the sign does indeed meet regulations. Officials approved the plans in late December.

The lighted black, red and white sign measures about 17 feet at its widest point and about 15 feet tall, documents filed with the city show. Another sign attached to the side of the bank spans 25 by 41/2 feet.

That's a lot of signage for a small, one-story bank.

But apparently not too much under the city's sign code. The ordinance allows ground and pylon signs up to 450 square feet, depending on the amount of frontage land.

One look around Tampa and it seems obvious the sign code needs tightening. Signs of every shape, size and color clutter Kennedy Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway. You think the Fifth Third sign is bad, check out the new Amscot sign on Kennedy next to historic Plant Hall.

Debate over signs is nothing new but recently resurfaced when CVS opened at Kennedy and Dale Mabry. The store had pole signs, a wall sign, advertising in the windows and electronic messaging, most of which was legal but excessive.

Ron Rotella, executive director of the Westshore Alliance, called it a good example of why the city needs to rewrite its sign code.

"The city, throughout, is ugly because of the proliferation of signs," he wrote in a letter to the City Council. "The question I pose to council is how much advertising is enough?"

In response, the council decided to form a committee to look into the sign rules. Councilwoman Rose Ferlita, who owns a drug store, took the helm and is in the process of appointing 12 members.

Ferlita plans to start meeting in March and hopes to present the council a draft ordinance in a few months that accommodates neighbors without hurting small business owners. In the case of the Fifth Third sign, the rules might be too lenient, she said.

"It's offensive. It's too distracting," said Ferlita, who has received complaints about the sign. "I almost hit the curb."

Bank officials admit the sign caused more of a stir than expected. Although the bank generally tries to get as big a sign as possible, the Hyde Park branch might warrant a smaller one.

Brian Keenan, head of the Tampa Bay Fifth Third branches, said they are looking at swapping the sign for a smaller one to appease residents.

"We want to be a good community partner," he said. "We want to fit the character of the community."

In other words, the bank - a result of a merger of Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank decades ago - wants to attract customers not repel them.

While a more discreet sign would come as welcome news to neighbors, it doesn't get at the heart of the problem. The city shouldn't have to rely on benevolent businesses to remove objectionable signs. It should be the standard.

THE LAST DROP: In related news, members of the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association and the Mayor's Beautification Program are teaming up to plant several trees across the street from the bank. Holton's 15-year-old son, Carson, has taken it on as his Eagle Scout project. Expect to see the trees in May. I suspect Fifth Third would get some brownie points if it follows their lead.

Susan Thurston can be reached at 226-3394 or thurston@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:35:09]