With the use of paper ballots, the El Dorado Historic District Commission voted Thursday in favor of a request that had been tabled for two months.
The vote — five in favor and one abstention — followed a lengthy discussion regarding a Certificate of Appropriateness request for a new sign at the First Financial Music Hall at the Griffin, formerly the Griffin Music Hall.
EHDC chairman Linda Rathbun was unable to attend the meeting.
The COA application was tabled during the commission’s October meeting, with commissioners asking questions and expressing concerns about the proposal to install an illuminated roof-sign denoting the new name of the music hall and helping to delineate the entrance of the music hall from the Griffin Restaurant.
Both function in the same building at 101 E. Locust. The building is a part of the Murphy Arts District.
Blake Dunn, of CADM Architecture, Inc., presented the COA on behalf of First Financial in October. COAs are required from the EHDC for most exterior work that is proposed within the city’s commercial historic district.
Dunn explained then that the sign would bear the name of First Financial and include a musical note, telling commissioners that the bank received naming rights for a significant contribution it made when the development of MAD got under way.
While reviewing the proposal in October, commissioners pointed to several concerns, including the placement of the roof-mounted sign, possible obstruction of some of the architectural/historic features of the building and the potential for sign clutter and confusion about what type of business is housed within the building.
Dunn told commissioners that CADM was not involved in the planning and design phase of the project and he would take their concerns to First Financial.
The EHDC did not meet in November.
On Thursday, Dunn returned with a request that the COA application remain the same as was initially submitted.
In his conversations with First Financial and MAD, Dunn said he learned that the blueprint for the project had undergone several iterations before the groups arrived at the final design.
Referring to the EHDC’s concerns about sign clutter and confusion about the function of the building — known historically as the Griffin Auto Building —, Dunn said those matters were taken into consideration in the planning of the project.
“What they found is when people come to town, they don’t know what they’re looking for. There’s confusion. They’re going to the restaurant while looking for the music hall,” Dunn said.
He added that such confusion persists, even though there is existing signage that marks the music hall box office on the west side of the building.
Concerns
Commissioners previously expressed concern that visitors may assume there is also a bank inside the Griffin building with the installation of a First Financial Bank sign.
Dunn said Thursday that First Financial removed the word “bank” and its traditional logo from the initial design to clarify the issue
Moreover, Dunn said the performance venue is now being marketed as the First Financial Music Hall at the Griffin, and adding the First Financial sign would help direct visitors to the box office and appropriate entrances for the music hall.
The bank and MAD also considered placement of the sign to avoid covering key architectural features of the Griffin building, Dunn said.
He also addressed commissioners’ concerns and EHDC design guidelines about the number of signs that are allowed on buildings within the commercial historic district.
“My thinking is the number of functions in the building. There is a sign for the restaurant and there needs to be a sign for the music hall,” Dunn contended.
He pointed to the Armstrong building as an example, noting that the building on the corner of Main and Washington houses several businesses and offices — including PJ’s Coffee, The Spot, the El Dorado Creamery and others —, all of which have signage.
“This meets the needs of the users of the building, it’s consistent with how they’re marketing the building and it improves wayfinding for visitors,” Dunn said of the COA application for the Griffin building.
He also offered some words of advice, recalling his tenure as a former member of the EHDC.
“I’m a designer, and with many applications that came before the commission, I would look at say, ‘I may have done this a different way,’” Dunn said.
“I had to suppress my personal preferences and ask if it meets the intent of the (EHDC design) guidelines, which is not to allow anything detrimental into the district,” he continued.
Dunn said the attachment for the roof sign would be placed behind an existing parabola wall and the installation would not harm the historic Griffin building.
Commissioner Ken Bridges inquired about a timeline for the project, and Dunn said he was not sure, but the project could be completed in March, with manufacturing typically taking about eight weeks and installation approximately a week.
Commissioner Doug Stanton asked if there is a limit to the number of signs that can be placed on a building in El Dorado.
Other commissioners and Dunn said that while there is a city ordinance that addresses a limit for temporary signage, they have not been able to find a city code with such a regulation for permanent signs.
Added Dunn, “It’s a unique location. You have to take into account the location is remote from the street. It’s added for clarity that is relative to the function of the building.
Another point of concern was the scale and proportion of the First Financial sign.
Dunn argued that the sign is proportionate to the entire building.
He acknowledged that the sign may not appear to fit the scale of the building when considering only the portion of the building that houses the box office and music hall is taken into consideration.
Staff recommendation
Elizabeth Eggleston, executive director of the historic district commission, laid out the EHDC staff recommendation in a four-page report that addressed commissioners’ questions and concerns and listed the applicable EHDC design guidelines for each point.
Eggleston included in the report a question that is commonly asked when COA requests are presented to the commission.
“Does the commission have real legal authority?” Eggleston asked before responding with language in the city ordinance that regulates the commission and the commercial historic district.
“Signage must conform to all city codes and must have approval from the ‘Historic District Commission’ prior to installation,” Eggleston read.
Pointing back to Dunn’s earlier comments about “personal preferences,” Commissioner Ann Trimble said she can see some details of the COA request more clearly, partly due to hearing the new name of the music hall over the past several weeks.
“I think our concerns last time were very viable, and I think this is going to be a good addition to the historic district,” Trimble said.
Stanton referred to the EHDC design guideline that prohibits roof-mounted signs within the commercial historic district, unless they are approved by the commission in accordance with standards set forth in the design guidelines for sign design and placement.
“The problem I have is the guidelines don’t seem to support this COA. I don’t feel this COA complies with any other standards in the guidelines,” Stanton said.
He cited concerns about scale, proportion, clarity, identification, and legibility.
“In general, the guidelines talk about maintaining the character and image of the historic district and I didn’t feel like this proposal did that,” Stanton explained after the meeting.
“Two months ago, I thought we gave constructive criticism and it’s disappointing that not even a baby step was made to address our concerns,” he continued.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.