Zoning board tackles issues
Big sign allowed in plaza

GUILDERLAND — TGI Friday’s in Stuyvesant Plaza will have a new look, and the Renaissance Floral shop on Western Avenue says it will use its front lawn as retail space.
Zoning board members tackled some substantial issues at their last meeting. They debated whether or not the area surrounding plazas and malls are "neighborhoods,’ or just plain parking lots; what constitutes a sign; and the difference between retail and display areas along Route 20.

The board first listened to a presentation by TGI Friday’s, a popular restaurant and bar at Stuyvesant Plaza, asking for two sign variances. It wants to add two new signs to its building’s new facade. As part of an entire overhaul of the restaurant’s appearance, the signs are to face into the plaza.

The town’s code states that any sign more than 50 square feet needs variance from the zoning board. TGI Friday’s is asking for 317 square feet of combined signs, according to chief building inspector and zoning administrator, Donald Cropsy.

The architectural design surrounding the lettering on the new signs affixed to the building’s northwest side were added to Cropsy’s calculations.
"Why should the architectural element be treated as a sign"" a representative for the restaurant asked the board.

Barber referred to the town’s zoning codes to clarify and answer the question.
According to the town’s code, a sign is "any advertising medium, structure, planting or device which advertises, directs or calls attention to any business, article, substance or service. A sign may be painted, printed, pasted, posted, suspended from or affixed to any building, billboard, wall, fence, railing, vehicle, natural object or structure of any kind on real property or upon the ground itself."
The board’s chairman, Peter Barber, said that the purpose of the sign codes "is to make sure that signs do not proliferate the landscape."

Supervisor Kenneth Runion has shared similar sentiments on signs in town with The Enterprise on several separate occasions.
"I believe, and I think it’s a close call, that architectural design does fall with the definition of a sign simply because of the use of the words in the definition of a sign," Barber said. "It is a structure and it’s used to draw attention to the business."

Board member Sharon Cupoli agreed.
"I don’t see the words, I see the design"To me, it’s all one in the same"I think it’s a sign," said Cupoli.
Board member James Sumner pointed out that the restaurant’s existing sign and the two proposed signs did not match. "Why do you need three different signs to promote TGI Friday’s"" he asked.
"They’re asking for it and there is no requirement that they have uniformity with their signs. They can package it any way they want," Barber responded.

A neighborhood impact"

The board expressed mixed responses to whether the proposed signs within the plaza would impact the surrounding neighborhood.
"Why is this any different from, for example, Crossgates, when there are some signs there that exceed 50 feet"" Barber questioned, saying a previous board had granted those variances. "From my understanding, that was done in part because there weren’t any residents nearby that might be impacted."
Barber said the "community" inside the plaza that would be affected would be the parking lot since the signs would not be visible from either Fuller Road or Western Avenue.
"Hypothetically, if all the impacts are within the plaza, then where is the harm to the character of the neighborhood" The neighborhood is potentially the parking lot," Barber said.

Not everyone agreed.
"I’m not comfortable with that logic," said board member Charles Klaer. "If Stuyvesant Plaza chooses to create a carnival atmosphere within its parking area"does the town care" We haven’t applied any variance on that logic to all the other signs to come before us. Why would this request want us to undo everything that’s come before""

Board member Patricia Aikens sided with Barber’s logic.
"I think, when you talk about the affect on the neighborhood, it is a plaza and I’m not so persuaded that it’s having a detrimental affect of some sort on the neighborhood because of the location and what else is located in the plaza," said Aikens. "It is my opinion, that across the county this is what Friday’s looks like."
"I guess the argument would be, that if you grant this, then you have a tough time saying no to other businesses within the plaza asking for the same variance," said Barber, who added, "But I still come back to, if they did, what’s the harm""
The TGI Friday representative interjected, saying, "The landlord has control of its tenants and what its tenants can do"It has to fit in with the whole scope of what the landlord deems appropriate, even before it reaches this board."
He went on, "It would not necessarily open the floodgates for other tenants to come in and ask for a greater amount (of signs) because the landlord would prevent that from occurring."
"I’m sure that they probably would, but we usually have to be the body that tries to enforce the code on its sign variance," Barber responded. "We have to look at our requirements in terms of what we do."

Klaer agreed with the landlord issue, but not the neighborhood idea.
"There is sort of a community investment in what the plaza looks like that goes beyond, at least from my perspective, the authority of the landlord, and needs to be considered to have some weight," said Klaer.

The board made a unanimous decision, which states that architectural design surrounding the lettering of a business is to be considered as part of the sign.
"I’m going to make a motion to approve the variances," Barber said after the vote, asking for a second to his motion.

Board member Susan Marci spoke up and seconded the motion.
"I am disappointed that there was even a second for that, frankly," said Klaer.
"There were a variety of businesses that have had as compelling, or much more compelling, reasons for extensive signage, and this board was not prepared to do that," Klaer said. "When you add this all up, you’re talking about a significant variance."

The final roll call came down to a 5-to-2 vote.
Barber, Aikens, Cupoli, Merci, and board member Michael Marcantonio voted "yes" while Klaer and Sumner voted "no."
"My question is where does this leave us in the future for substantial sign variances"" asked Sumner. "I’m voting in the negative."
"This is a slippery slope. First of all, I don’t buy into the neighborhood issue. I think it is an impact on this neighborhood," said Klaer. "This request is so substantial that we will have a very difficult time holding any other business to the code."

Floral shop permit

After several years of friction with a floral shop that displayed its wares along busy Route 20, the zoning board this month approved an amendment to the shop’s special-use permit.

Renaissance Floral shop, located at 1561 and 1563 Western Ave., can now add an additional landscape display area, and build a 25-foot by 30-foot storage area.

The admendment was approved 6-to-1, with Sumner dissenting.

There was a misunderstanding between the board and shop owner David Schmitt about the use of retail space along the Western Avenue portion of his store.
"This is my business," Schmitt told the board this month. He added that he intends to sell individual items displayed on his front lawn if someone is interested in purchasing them. Schmitt said he will replace single items on display if they are sold with similar merchandise.
"This has been the same basic discussion for the past three years," Sumner said about the misunderstanding.

The board concluded, saying that Schmitt could not use his display area in the front of the store as a retail shop. Cropsy said there were few exceptions in town where retail display was allowable and he gave the example of Robinson’s Hardware Store, which has been operating on Western Avenue for over 50 years, as an example.

Other business

In other business, the zoning board unanimously approved:

— A privacy fence for Derek Griffin at his 1 Seeley Dr. corner-lot home;

— A single-car garage for Mary Armstrong at her 3298 East Old State Road home.
"I’ve got a PT Cruiser that’s all tricked out and I don’t want to leave it in the rain," Armstrong told the board; and

— A two-week temporary banner for the Cat’s Meow restaurant located on 14 New Karner Rd.