Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Monday, May 17, 2021 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 4 of 6 <br /> <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton said they could reduce the height of this sign by eliminating the height of the two signs. <br />The expectation from Marathon is that they would like to see a minimum of 7-foot sign at this location <br />and if they can get an 8-foot wide, they have enough roadway to see a larger digit from farther away. <br />Proportionally, if he was going to make an 8 foot wide sign he would not have it lower than a 20 foot <br />sign. Most standards run between 20-24 feet in height. <br /> <br />Gettman asked of that 20-24 feet, how much height is used for the sign itself? <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton stated it depends on the location, but 50-75%. <br /> <br />Gettman said about 10-18 feet. Back to the canopy sign, is there any requirement from Marathon on <br />those? <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton noted this is the new look of Marathon, so the whole fascia is illuminated; if the City denies <br />that, then it goes down to a hard metal (ACM) like most canopies and the Marathon would be channel <br />letters. <br /> <br />Kirchner said Marathon has branding standards that allow for a non-lit canopy. <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton replied they do. <br /> <br />Libby asked about the monument sign – they are truly numeric rather than alpha-numeric – they simply <br />change the gas prices, there is nothing streaming, no video, no motion. By standards the City has set and <br />Staff has recommended, is there anything detrimental about conforming with Orono’s sign ordinance? <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton stated they went through it in a meeting and noted the 14 foot sign is very small, even with <br />an electronic gas pricer, and put a Marathon on the top; Marathon will look at it and say it is too small <br />because of their standards. Can he shrink it down to 40-45 square feet? Yes, but monetarily he does not <br />think it is worth it for the customer to put a really small sign out there and battle with Marathon in saying <br />all they can do is 45 square feet. <br /> <br />Libby said that is not a really small sign, especially with LED digital lighting 24/7. The idea is they are <br />better off to have a sign that meets and complies with the City ordinance than have no sign at all that <br />would be changeable and go back to getting on a ladder to change the numbers. He sees a win-win if they <br />can come to some terms together. He asked if there is any sort of marketing deprivation from having a <br />canopy that is not lighted versus one that is. <br /> <br />Mr. Hamilton replied driving down the road and seeing Marathon illuminated canopies, people will say <br />“wow.” It is all marketing and he pointed out it is not shining lights throughout the community, it is <br />illuminating the canopy and when one drives down the road they say “I want to stop there.” He said the <br />electronic message center will really help with the tenants that are not getting noticed there, also. <br /> <br />Mr. Rosha clarified there is a stone base. When one contemplates 22 feet high for a service station sign <br />and then limit it to 45 square feet, that is a 2-foot-wide sign. It is a challenge with an independent fuel <br />station, as they must have a relationship with a quality fuel supplier. They could have it down to <br />Marathon, Regular, and the price; but there would be no local branding (Orono Station) and would not <br />have the ability to draw people in like the competitor down the road has. The station down in Navarre has