By Carl Helton, Lakeland Currents staff member
It was three+ hours of presentations and questions Wednesday (2.5.20) for a work session of the MPC/DRC (Municipal Planning/Design Review Commission) at City Hall dealing with a sign package for The Lake District (TLD).
The cornerstone of the 33-page TLD sign package is a 70-foot tower along the interstate which elicited the most questions and commentary from MPC/DRC members and residents present. After some initial discussion, TLD developer Yehuda Netanel asked that the tower sign be removed from the package for purposes of discussion.
Chair Susan Mitchell asked that public discussion be deferred until after presentations, but the meeting got a bit out of hand as audience members asked their questions and offered their opinions anyway. Those addressing the TLD team and City staff members from the floor and the lectern included Bill Morgan, John Brown and David Abbott. Another resident, Jeff Roman, was stopped by Mrs. Mitchell when he attempted to join other citizens in the discussion. He complained, saying that those in favor of the project were being required to hold their comments while those opposed were allowed to participate at will.
Because it was a work session, there was no vote on the package and it will be back to the MPC/DRC at the regular monthly meeting Feb. 20th.
Link to agenda: https://tn-lakeland.civicplus.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/909
Link to sign proposal: https://www.lakelandtn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8865
The package submitted for approval includes a 70-foot tower, backlit with a slowly rotating TLD logo at the top and the word “Lakeland” spelled vertically on the tower which is to be placed near the interstate. MPC/DRC members had concerns about the visibility of the tower, its adherence to City code and the brightness of the lighting. The package also addresses building, door, window, roof and monument signs throughout the development.
Presenting at the work session were Forrest Owens, city planner, as well as partners with TLD and developer Yehuda Netanel: Jim Atkinson with A2H and Maureen Yarborough with Sign Matters Inc. Also in attendance with Mr. Netanel was Maggie Gallagher, TLD director of development. City Manager Shane Horn, City Engineer Emily Harrell and City Attorney Will Patterson were available to field questions about the project, which is a Planned Development, and City ordinances.
Mr. Owens addressed the board and gave a brief history of the project.
Mr. Atkinson introduced his presentation by explaining that the Lakeland sign ordinance from 2003 didn’t anticipate projects as large as TLD. He said the ordinance was amended in 2016 allowing flexibility and more latitude on PUDs. Board members were provided the staff report and the sign package.
Link to A2H slides: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CVanxwAroLxoHMGb6
Ms. Yarborough
began her report with the proposed 70-foot sign to be located on I-40 east of the Canada Road overpass. The proposal is for a simple vertical sign with vertical letters spelling Lakeland. The top will have TLD logo in a sphere shape to “slowly rotate and provide an elegant presence,” Ms. Yarborough stated.
During her presentation MPC members asked if residents would be able to see the tower from their homes, whether light from the sign would meet City lighting requirements and if the tower would be visible driving toward Lakeland.
Mr. Morgan directed questions and concerns as well as comments on Lakeland’s history with signs to Ms. Yarborough, MPC members, Mr. Patterson, Mr. Owens and others throughout the meeting from his seat in the audience. Others in the audience questioned the height of the tower sign and expressed concern over whether those on Garner Lake would be able to see it.
Mayor Mike Cunningham questioned the scale of the presented drawings, saying one particular rendering was not an accurate scale.
Citing his background with technical graphics, the Mayor said if one drawing was inaccurate, he could not have confidence in the rest of the package.
Mr. Netanel came to the podium saying he thought the rendering was a good representation. When the Mayor disagreed, Mr. Netanel said he would provide a balloon on a tether or ball on a crane to demonstrate the sign height in relation with surroundings. He said this “marker” will be in place a few days for pictures to be taken from several locations.
The Mayor agreed this exercise would be helpful and Mr. Netanel said he would set up the experiment.
MPC member Todd Laessig asked Mr. Netanel how many times he had come before the MPC Board. Mr. Netanel said he had come many times and didn’t know the exact number. Mr. Laessig specifically wanted to know how many times Mr. Netanel had come before the current MPC Board, which met for the first time in January 2019.
Again, Mr. Netanel said he didn’t know the exact number. Mr. Laessig said it was three times and all three times, Mr. Netanel’s requests were approved.
Then Mr. Laessig asked Mr. Netanel about his comments at the January Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce meeting. Mr. Netanel was named Outstanding Community Partner at the meeting and during his acceptance, he said City officials and MPC members didn’t understand the sign package.
Mayor Cunningham jumped into the conversation and demanded that Mr. Netanel apologize for his comments at the Chamber luncheon. Mr. Netanel said he apologized privately to City staff at that luncheon and he asked Mrs. Harrell and Mr. Horn to verify his comments to them. The Mayor said the comments were public and the apology should be public, not private.
Mr. Netanel apologized to the board and City staff, if they had been offended by comments he made previously. He said wanted to move forward with a better relationship with all parties. The Mayor accepted the apology and thanked Mr. Netanel.
The meeting returned to the focus of the sign package. Mr. Brown
spoke from the audience and was asked to come to the podium. His concerns were the sign lights reflecting off the lake and disturbing the lake life. At that time Mr. Roman spoke up and said the noise from the interstate would be more disturbing than any lights that may possibly reach all the way over to the lake. The two men started speaking back and forth and the Chair spoke up saying she needed to get the meeting under control. Mr. Roman protested that Mrs. Mitchell was allowing opponents of the TLD proposal to question and comment freely from the audience while those wanting to speak in favor of the TLD plan could not.
The meeting resumed with presentation of the sign plan by Ms. Yarborough as MPD/DRC members and Mr. Morgan questioned her. Mrs. Mitchell asked about advertisements on windows. Ms. Yarborough stated this was an upscale development and window signage would depend on the tenants which occupy the space.
Mr. Owens stated that the ordinance had an allowance for these types of signs. Mayor Cunningham asked if they would be like “70 percent off going out of business” advertisements. Mr. Owens said that was not allowed. Other board members as well as Mr. Morgan had questions concerning types of signs on the buildings and whether would they be facing I-40 or visible from Canada Road. TLD team members said the sign plan for the buildings that are in the “town center” of the development are not visible beyond that area of the project.
Mrs. Mitchell called for public discussion toward the end of the meeting.
During public discussion, Mr. Morgan said he had concerns about the I-40/Canada Road sign height. He said he was in favor of the other signs in the package.
Mr. Roman had to leave the meeting before public discussion was called for by the MPC/DRC chair.
Commissioner Richard Gonzales, Jr. thanked the developer for the presentation. He said he felt it was the first great overview he has been able to see.
The 5:30 p.m. meeting ended at 8:45 p.m.
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
