[TRANSCRIPT]
0:00:00 - (Doug Jenkins): Coming up next on chamber amplified.
0:00:02 - (Matt Cordonnier): So communities are going towards smaller signage that's lower to the ground, kind of emphasizing landscaping and just making a more aesthetically pleasing streetscape for the residents and the people using the businesses.
0:00:21 - (Doug Jenkins): Welcome to the show. I'm Doug Jenkins from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. On each episode of Chamber amplified, we're examining issues impacting the local business community. Whether they be employee recruitment, retention issues, marketing it issues. It's really anything that can be impacting your business. Our goal is to give our members tips each week on at least one way they can improve operations and thrive in the current business environment.
0:00:43 - (Doug Jenkins): So if there's one question I hear from new business owners in Finay, it's about signage and how to get it approved. Obviously, you want to have a design that helps you stand out. And at the same time, the city wants to make sure that Findlay is visually appealing for both people to live and to do business. Well, that can seem like those two positions are at odds with each other. Actually, it turns out a simple conversation can resolve most issues there.
0:01:07 - (Doug Jenkins): Today, my guest is Hancock regional planning director Matt Cordanier, who gives us some of the best practices to keep in mind when you start planning your signage, an update on what city and downtown regulations look like, and some insight on what to do when you're getting started. Thanks again for tuning in. Remember, if you're listening on Apple podcasts or Spotify, you can rate and review the show there. It really does help spread the word.
0:01:28 - (Doug Jenkins): Now let's get into it. So one of the questions we get a lot at the chamber, especially from smaller businesses, is when they want to do signs. What are some of the rules and regulations that they're going to run into? And maybe how do they make sure that they stay in line with those but also expediate the process? So we'll talk a little bit about that today. We appreciate your time on that.
0:01:49 - (Matt Cordonnier): I guess.
0:01:50 - (Doug Jenkins): Let's talk about what are the big questions that you guys hear when people start to work on signage?
0:01:56 - (Matt Cordonnier): Well, the first thing we tell people is to give this city a call right away, you know, before you start making any plans, and that you will talk with Eric Adkins, and he's in the zoning department, 419-424-7110 in general, businesses call us and they want to know what type of signage they can have. The first thing to know, the city of Finay does not regulate wall signs. So what that means you don't need to permit.
0:02:30 - (Matt Cordonnier): Any size, shape or color is permitted when the sign is on your wall. There is one exception, though, and that's in the downtown design review district right there. We have size, color, style, regulations. Those all go before a board and are approved. So if you're within the downtown area, it's definitely important to reach out. So we discussed wall signs. Wall signs, like we said, aren't regulated.
0:03:04 - (Matt Cordonnier): And then there's another group of signs, ground signs. Those are kind of. They're mounted on the ground. Right. And one ground signed is permitted per lot. That gets a little bit tricky, like when you're a mall or you have three, four, five tenants on one parcel. All those people have to share signage on the same side.
0:03:32 - (Doug Jenkins): Can you give an example of a ground sign or some businesses that use ground signs that are within, like what the permits have for that right now, just to kind of be a point of reference?
0:03:43 - (Matt Cordonnier): Sure. The first one, Turkey Hill on Tiffin Avenue, they're a gas station. They have a ground sign. Gas stations, often they want a taller sign. They want to have their prices out there very clearly to be seen. But really the ground signs planning commission. When planning commission, the city have really gone away from pylon signs, which. Those are the older style. Probably the most famous one in Finay is the Menard sign.
0:04:17 - (Matt Cordonnier): It's very tall. It's 80 or 90ft tall. The city of Finay no longer permits pylon signs except by the highway. So ground signs, I'm trying to think Turkey Hill, I believe raising canes a has a new ground. New pylon sign.
0:04:38 - (Doug Jenkins): Yeah, that sounds right.
0:04:40 - (Matt Cordonnier): Dunkin donuts, Starbucks, I believe. But those are limited to being 8ft tall. Okay, so a little taller than your average person and they can be up to 200 sqft.
0:04:58 - (Doug Jenkins): So for those ground signs, like you said, if you have multiple tenants in one space, you have to work on that. But there are plenty of cities that have regulations like this where they have worked around this, and they figured out how to get multiple tenants onto one side and it's not too much of an issue.
0:05:19 - (Matt Cordonnier): That's correct. Very familiar with many cities sign codes. You know, I think of Dublin, Ohio would be very strict, very restrictive. We're kind of in the middle. We have somewhat strict guidelines for ground signs, but a lot of feedback from the business community say that's offset by us not regulating wall signs. So, for example, raising Cannes s new building has quite a few ground signs, or, I'm sorry, wall signs.
0:05:59 - (Matt Cordonnier): They. Several different sayings. A lot of different. Lot of different words and messages on their building. And they said, you know, in most places they'd have to get a variance for what they normally do, but, Finlley they did not.
0:06:17 - (Doug Jenkins): Obviously, the pylon signs are the larger ones, the more traditional gas station signs. I think what we were all familiar with growing up and everything for people who wonder why phasing out, why work to phase that type of sign out or sunset that type of sign, however you want to phrase it, what's kind of the impetus behind that?
0:06:37 - (Matt Cordonnier): So really it's a movement that's kind of spread kind of throughout the country and it's trying to create a more aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. You know, I hope in 25 years when you go down Tiffin Avenue, you know, I hope that some of the power lines are buried and that you just don't see sign after sign after sign, you know, 30, 40ft tall. You know, it's kind of a Las Vegas look, if you will. So communities are going towards smaller signage that's lower to the ground, kind of emphasizing landscaping and just making a more aesthetically pleasing streetscape for the residents and the people using the businesses.
0:07:26 - (Matt Cordonnier): One thing about the pylon signs, we did install kind of a sunsetting clause in the last update. And what that says is that theyn, the pylon signs will lose their grandfathered status on December 31, 2033. So about nine years from now. So let's just look at one example. Let's say, well, Company A, we'll just use a hypothetical. They have a pylon sign today. They can change out the sign. It can go from company a to company b to company c.
0:08:08 - (Matt Cordonnier): No issues after in the year 2034, they can'they, cannot do any changes to their sign. Once they change it from company a to company b. After 2034, if they want to make that change, they have to take the pylon sign down and put in a ground sign that meets the standards.
0:08:31 - (Doug Jenkins): Okay, that makes sense. So right now there's still a grandfather clause, but eventually that will go away.
0:08:35 - (Matt Cordonnier): Then eventually, yeah, in about ten years that will go away.
0:08:39 - (Doug Jenkins): So we'll get into a little bit about how people can work within the regulations, everything. But I do want to focus on the downtown district because there are some different regulations there. First, let's just talk about how that came about and why downtown has some different regulations than the rest of the city.
0:08:55 - (Matt Cordonnier): Sure. So, you know, about ten years ago, one of the restaurants was being switched over and I kept getting asked questions like, hey, what? What's that going toa be? And I said, I have no idea. You know, they're not. They didn't need any permits. And so there was a lot of concern that not even the city knew what was going in to our downtown at times. So in 2014 or so, we got to work and looked at what other communities did, and over a two year period, we created downtown design guidelines.
0:09:36 - (Matt Cordonnier): The way I best describe them. We're not, we're not trying to pick and choose colors of every sign, and we're just trying to prevent the 5% of designs that are just really bad. You know, someone that wants to put up giant flamingos, neon, or paint their building gold, yellow, you know, so that that's really the emphasis of it was just to give the city some say in the design that's occurring in downtown.
0:10:07 - (Matt Cordonnier): You know, there's a lot of investment from large corporations, different businesses downtown, and downtown's really the heart of the city. When people come visit, they're going to go through our downtown, and then we want to have a welcoming, nice place for them to visit.
0:10:25 - (Doug Jenkins): I'd have to. If somebody has a design that they want to bring to the committee, is there some back and forth that can happen there? I'm thinking down in Belfountain, I know that they have a section in their downtown called Rainbow Row, which I just saw for the first time a couple of months ago. And the nice thing about it is it stands out, but not so much that you're like, wow, that is a radical departure from everything else down here.
0:10:48 - (Doug Jenkins): It seems to flow within the design of the rest of the downtown area. But I would imagine there was probably some conversation before they started to do that.
0:10:57 - (Matt Cordonnier): Yeah. So anyone? So the designer view board's overview is the exterior of any building, any commercial building in downtown. Single family duplexes and triplexes are exempt from the design guidelines. So our staff at regional planning, myself and Laura Ewing are the staff members for the design review board. So I think the first thing to do is just give us a call or email us, say, hey, I'm interested in doing this, and then we can work through the process with them.
0:11:34 - (Matt Cordonnier): I would say, like I said, 80% to 90% of the designs that are brought forward will get approved, no issue. It's just, it's just the most kind of extreme cases that then there, there's, there's a conversation between the board and the applicant, and really s, there's an effort to try to meet halfway, you know, if you want to use bright colors, hey, can we use them as an accent rather than the main body of your building?
0:12:07 - (Matt Cordonnier): Or if you have a certain type of sign that you want and it doesn't exactly meet the guidelines. You know, can we meet in the middle somewhere?
0:12:15 - (Doug Jenkins): But the important thing is there is conversation and it's not a, here's our verdict. And you, I imagine at some point it maybe comes down to like, all right, well, this is kind of where we're at, but not from the get go. It's not a, here's my application, yay or nay?
0:12:31 - (Matt Cordonnier): Correct. There's a lot of conversation. Usually I will have three or four conversations. You know, I look at the guidelines. I try to anticipate, you know, I've worked with a board for eight years now and anticipate their concerns and their questions and try to guide them so that their first time at the meeting is a quick and easy yes and they can move on.
0:12:56 - (Doug Jenkins): So what are some best practices for businesses who are looking to update their signs? Maybe they're a new business and they're looking to do that first sign. Like you said, you know, the first thing is to get in touch with the city. But are there other things that they can be doing to get through the process in an efficient manner?
0:13:15 - (Matt Cordonnier): Well, the good news is getting a signed permit anywhere in the city does not take very long. Usually a turnaround. A lot of times they'll have it the next day. If you turn it in today, you'll get it by lunchtime the next day. I just. I can't stress enough giving the city a call early just because, you know, signage is there. There's 101 different scenarios. And the sign code is actually one of the larger sections in our zoning code.
0:13:52 - (Matt Cordonnier): Just because it tries to anticipate all, there's just a lot of different scenarios. So reaching out, you know, before you contact a signed company, before you do anything, call the city and, you know, let them know where your, what your address is, what you're looking for, and we can give you the exact guidelines to work within. And then you can contact a sign company and tell them, hey, I need a sign that's, you know, 4ft tall, 6ft long.
0:14:22 - (Matt Cordonnier): This, this, this, you know, and I.
0:14:25 - (Doug Jenkins): Would think the, the local sign companies, at the very least, they are probably familiar with the codes and everything as well, and probably would point them in that direction, but can also help guide them through it as well. And I'm not going to ask you to speak on behalf of every sign company in town, but I'm sure you've dealt with many of them.
0:14:41 - (Matt Cordonnier): No, the. Many of the signed companies in town and even a few out of town are very good, almost teammates with us that, you know, they know our code and, and sometimes they tell the, the business owners what our regulations before we get a chance to. And so that's, that's very helpful for us and for them. You know, there's nothing worse than someone, someone has purchased a $10,000 sign to then find out in their particular case they can't use it.
0:15:17 - (Matt Cordonnier): Then they can either try to go to the board of zoning Appeals for relief. And all in all, it's an unpleasant situation for, for everyone involved. So if we can get on the same page early, then, then we're, it's much easier and faster for everybody.
0:15:33 - (Doug Jenkins): All right, Matt. And again, the number to call to.
0:15:35 - (Matt Cordonnier): Get that process started is 419-424-7110 all right.
0:15:45 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it.
0:15:48 - (Matt Cordonnier): Thanks, Doug. Have a great day.
0:15:53 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again to Matt for joining us. And if you know of someone whos getting ready to start a business or maybe they're just looking to change their signage, pass this episode along to them. It really could save them a headache down the line. Chamber amplified as a free podcast for the community thanks to the investment of members from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. Because of our robust membership, we're able to focus on providing timely information to the Finay and Hancock county business community while also running leadership programs for adults and teenagers, being an advocate for the area while also providing tools to help local businesses succeed.
0:16:24 - (Doug Jenkins): If that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, just let me know and we can talk about how an investment in the chamber helps strengthen the community. That'll do it for this week's episode. If you have any ideas on topics you'd like to hear covered on future editions, just send me an email d jenkinsindlayhanncockchamber.com dot remember, if you're listening on our website, you can have each and every episode of Chamber amplified delivered straight to your phone. Just search for us in your favorite podcast cast player.
0:16:49 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on chamber amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.