Item 9BCase No.
MSP19-0005
S T A F F R E P O R T
November 12, 2019
CASE NO: MSP19-0005
PROJECT: Master Sign Plan for Varispace Southlake
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY: On behalf of Varispace Southlake, Corgan is requesting approval of a Master Sign
Plan (MSP) at their existing campus (fka Solana – The Vista) located at 1900 W .
Kirkwood Blvd., Southlake, Texas.
DETAILS: The Varispace Southlake campus is located on the northwest corner of W. Kirkwood
Blvd. and SH 114.
On September 1, 2015, the City Council approved a Master Sign Plan for Solana –
The Vista that included two (2) monument signs, a corral portal sign, a tower sign,
five (5) vehicular directional signs; an area marker sign and three (3) pedestrian
wayfinding signs for a total of thirteen (13) signs throughout the campus; ten (10) of
those signs were ultimately erected.
Varispace Southlake is proposing
to use existing sign structures
(monuments (2), corral portal,
tower and vehicular directional
signs (6)) previously used for
Solana - The Vista and add five (5)
new attached upper story building
signs for leasing tenants and two
(2) new attached signs to the
existing pylon structure; for a total
of seventeen (17) signs
throughout the campus.
On November 7, 2019, the Sign Board unanimously approved the proposed MSP
with the following conditions:
signs removed post Sign Board
Case No.
MSP19-0005
• A1 - approved, however, noting the applicant's willingness to present a
modification that is approximately 1/3 smaller to City Council.
• A2 - approved.
• A3 - tabled until the ownership of the proposed sign location is
confirmed.
• A4 - approved.
• A5 - approved with exception to the "easternmost" sign proposed on
Pod C.
• A6 - approved.
• A7 - approved.
The applicant has provided a revised sign packet that proposes an option to the A1
sign that reduces the maximum letter height from 38 inches to 26 inches; removes
sign A3; removes one of the A5 signs; proposes an option to sign A6 with less
panels; and, modified day/night renderings.
Below is a summary of the requested signs following the recommendations made by the Sign Board:
Proposed Sign Brief Description Solana-The Vista
A1 Pylon ID
• Two Options
• Using existing structure
• Two attached signs
• Halo lit and partial side lit letters
• Varispace letter height is
approximately 26 or 38 inches
• Southlake letter height is
approximately 16 or 22 inches
• Sign area per side is
approximately 54 or 115 s.f.
• There has never been signage on the
existing pylon.
A2 Tower ID
• Using existing structure
• One attached sign
• Halo lit and partial side lit letters
• Aluminum letters pin mounted
• Varispace letter height is
approximately 31 inches
• Southlake letter height is
approximately 11 inches
• Sign area is approximately 45 s.f.
• The previous sign for The Vista had a
max letter height of approximately
16 inches mounted to an acrylic
color band that wrapped around two
sides of the structure.
• Halo lit
Option 1 Option 2
Case No.
MSP19-0005
Proposed Sign Brief Description Solana-The Vista
A3 Corral Portal ID
*Removed
• Using existing structure
• Non-illuminated letters
(ground lit)
• Aluminum letters pin
mounted
• Varispace letter height
approximately 17 inches
• Southlake letter height
approximately 9 inches
• Sign area is
approximately 22 s.f.
• Non-illuminated letters (ground lit)
• Solana letter height approximately
18 inches
• The Vista letter height approximately
9 inches
• Logo height approximately 36 inches
A4 Monument ID
• Using existing structure
• Non-illuminated letters
(LED up lighting)
• Aluminum letters pin
mounted
• Sign height 4 feet
• Sign width 28 feet
• Sign area is
approximately 10 s.f.
• LED up lighting
• Pin mounted letters
• Same width and height as proposed
A5 Tenant Building ID
• Total of five (5) four (4)
new attached building
signs on three (3)
buildings
• Smoke grey matte in
color
• Upper story
• Halo lit and partial side
lit
• Aluminum letters pin
mounted
• Maximum sign height is
approximately 60 inches
for each side.
• Maximum sign width is
approximately 14 feet
for each side
• Maximum sign area for
each sign is
approximately 115 s.f.
• There has never been signage on the
existing tenant buildings.
Case No.
MSP19-0005
Proposed Sign Brief Description Solana-The Vista
A6 Tenant Monument ID
• Two options
• Using existing structure
• Non-illuminated
• Seven (7) or Ten (10)
sign panels
• Sign height is 12 feet
• Sign width is 7 feet
• The previous sign for The Vista was
the same size and was approved for
five (5) tenant panels in addition to
the top two identifying panels shown
in this photograph.
A7 Vehicular Directional
• Using existing structures
• Non-illuminated
• Sign height is 6 feet
• Sign width is 3 feet
• The previous signs for The Vista were
exactly the same as what is being
proposed.
ACTION NEEDED: Consider Approval of Master Sign Plan
ATTACHMENTS: (A) Background Information
(B) Vicinity Map
• Presentation
• Revised Signage Packet
STAFF CONTACT: Dennis Killough (748-8072)
Lorrie Fletcher (748-8069)
Option 1 Option 2
Case No. Attachment A
MSP19-0005 Page 1
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
APPLICANT: Corgan
OWNER: Varispace Southlake
PROPERTY SITUATION: 1900 W. Kirkwood Blvd.
HISTORY: 11/19/1985 - City Council approved Ordinance No. 319, annexing
approximately 210 acres of MTP-IBM property (including this site) into the
City of Southlake and zoning the land “HC, Heavy Commercial.” The zoning
ordinance in place at this time was Ordinance No. 261.
8/19/1986 - City adopted a new zoning ordinance (No. 334).
1987 - Council “reclassified” non-residential properties on the zoning map
from the old Ordinance No. 261 nomenclature to the new district
classifications found in Ordinance No. 334.
6/2/1987 - City Council approved Preliminary Plat of Block A, Lots 1 -
4 and Block B, Lot 1, MTP-IBM Addition No. 1, being 36.069 acres.
6/2/1987 - City Council approved Site Plan for Block B, Lot 1, MTP-IBM
Addition No. 1, being 20.207 acres.
6/16/1987 - Ordinance No. 334-A approved which established cumulative
non-residential zoning districts and established new parking regulations:
parallel spaces (8’ x 22’); head-in spaces (9’ x 18’) and permitted 50% of
required spaces to be compact spaces (8’ x 16’).
7/7/1987 - Council approved Final Plat of Block A, Lots 1 - 4 and Block B,
Lot 1, MTP-IBM Addition No. 1, being 36.069 acres.
8/4/1987 - Council approved ZA87-15 and Ordinance No. 334-12, rezoning
MTP-IBM from “HC, Heavy Commercial” to “R-1, Retail One District, R-2,
Retail Two District, O-1, Office One District, O-2, Office Two District, and
CS, Community Service District, PUD Planned Unit Development” in
accordance with the previously approved site plan and permitting four (4) off-
street loading spaces for the 400,000 s.f. (or less) structure instead of the
required five (5) off-street loading spaces.
9/19/1989 - City Council adopted a new zoning ordinance (No. 480) and new
zoning map and reclassified the zoning for Lot 1, Block B, MTP-IBM Addition
No. 1 from ‘R-1’, Retail One District, R-2, Retail Two District, ‘O-1’, Office
One District, ‘O-2’, Office Two District, and ‘CS’, Community Service District,
‘PUD’ Planned Unit Development to ‘C-3’, ‘CS’, ‘PUD’.
01/20/1998 – The City Council approved a zoning change from ‘C-3’, ‘CS’
and ‘PUD’ Planned Unit Development with “C-3” General Commercial
District and “CS” Community Service District uses to ‘NR-PUD’ Non-
Residential Planned Unit Development District with “C-3” General
Case No. Attachment A
MSP19-0005 Page 2
Commercial District, “CS” Community Service District and “O-2” Office
District uses under Planning Case ZA97-164 (Ordinance No. 480-269).
12/17/2013 – The City Council approved a zoning change and site plan for
the Solana Parking Garage from ‘NR-PUD’ Non-Residential Planned Unit
Development District to ‘NR-PUD’ Non-Residential Planned Unit
Development District for the development of a five level parking garage and
additional surface parking under Planning Case ZA13-131 (Ordinance No.
480-269a).
9/1/2015 – The City Council approved a master sign plan for Solana – The
Vista. (MSP15-003)
SIGN BOARD: November 7, 2019; Approved (6-0) subject to the Staff Report dated
November 1, 2019, with the following conditions:
• A1 - approved, however, noting the applicant's willingness to present a
modification that is approximately 1/3 smaller to City Council.
• A2 - approved.
• A3 - tabled until the ownership of the proposed sign location is
confirmed.
• A4 - approved.
• A5 - approved with exception to the "easternmost" sign proposed on
Pod C.
• A6 - approved.
• A7 - approved.
STAFF COMMENTS: City Council approval of the proposed signs does not eliminate the
requirement for appropriate sign application submittal prior to the installation
of the sign. Please contact Seantay Carpenter at 817-748-8215 or
scarpenter@ci.southlake.tx.us for sign application processing and pre-install
inspection.
Design Guidelines - Master Sign Plans:
Commercial signage is an integral part of the urban design fabric of Southlake. It is absolutely
necessary and shall be deemed as a tool that helps promote the health, safety and welfare of the
general public by providing guidance to both the vehicular driver and pedestrian. Due to its visual
prominence and effect on the overall design character of our city, signage as part of master sign
plans must be considered on the broader scale of community rather than on an individual site basis.
Signage is an integral part of the visual urban streetscape and shall not be designed to visually
compete with its surroundings, but rather serve to build on the quality of the traveler’s and
pedestrian’s experience. The basis for submitting a master sign plan application sh ould not be to
have larger signs or logos permitted by ordinance but should clearly be related to the sign design
goals listed below:
Design Goals
1. To develop organized hierarchies of signage design types that help identify the
location and size standards for individual signs without infringing on the capability of
creative design.
Case No. Attachment A
MSP19-0005 Page 3
2. To establish design criteria that promote the overall visual quality of the streetscape
environment for the general public while providing reasonable and improved
standards for identification of individual properties.
3. To improve the overall visual cohesive appearance of the site through signage
guidelines, with strong consideration that the visual streetscape.
4. To promote a “sense of place” for the City of Southlake while promoting creative
design for individual developments.
5. To promote signage as an architectural complement rather than being visually and
thematically disconnected.
Master Signage Plan Application
The master signage program application shall include, at a minimum, the following
to be deemed a completed application:
A master site plan showing a location of each of the proposed signage type(s).
Dimension and label the sign types and include distance measurement of the sign’s
location from the nearest public right-of way.
Provide signage elevations (dimensioned and labeled) indicating proposed text
areas, materials, material finishes, colors, lighting and identifiable references as to
how the signage design relates to the proposed architecture. Identify any
landscaping elements proposed.
For all signage is to be mounted on building façades, provide accurate building
elevations that show signage dimension, signage location, text areas, materials,
material finishes, colors and identifiable references as to how the signage design
relates to the proposed architecture.
If the applicant is requesting any variances from the current regulations as part of
the master sign plan, please indicate the location of the variance, what the variance
request is for and specific reason/justification for the variance and how the variance
promotes are adheres to the design goals provided.
A master sign plan application will be considered by the City Council following a
recommendation by the Sign Board. The Sign Board’s recommendation will be
forwarded to the City Council for their consideration.
The sign design guidelines are designed to help ensure quality signs that
communicate their message in a clear fashion; however, the “guidelines” are not as
strict as sign “standards.” The review authority may interpret the design guidelines
with some flexibility in their application to specific signs/projects, as not all design
criteria may be workable or appropriate for each sign or project. In some
circumstances, one guideline may be relaxed to facilitate compliance with another
guideline determined by the review authority to be more important in the particular
case. The overall objective is to ensure that the intent and spirit of the design
guidelines are followed.
N:\Community Development\MEMO\Signs\Conditional Sign Permits\MSP19-0005 - Varispace Southlake\City Council\Item 9B.docx
Case No. Attachment B
MSP19-0005 Page 1