Baptist Medical Center Seeks Signage Exception

[tayana42]

Sounds like a bunch of Rick Scott fans; "smells like jobs, etc."  A buildings architecture is not enhanced by signs (check out the Chrysler Building in NYC for example...would anyone want a big neon sign on it?) but by its design. 

For those of you who want to do away with the sign ordance, I encourage you to move to Blanding Boulevard between 103rd St and I-295. 

[urbaknight]

Sounds like a bunch of Rick Scott fans; "smells like jobs, etc."  A buildings architecture is not enhanced by signs (check out the Chrysler Building in NYC for example...would anyone want a big neon sign on it?) but by its design. 

For those of you who want to do away with the sign ordance, I encourage you to move to Blanding Boulevard between 103rd St and I-295. 

I agree, it's not the architecture, if there are things at street level, or a few stories above that are worth the hype of a neon sigh, then let them show off.

Screw Blanding, it's part of the sprawl problem that I'm trying to discourage. Get those businesses out of that area and entice them to relocate downtown.

[acme54321]

Sounds like a bunch of Rick Scott fans; "smells like jobs, etc."  A buildings architecture is not enhanced by signs (check out the Chrysler Building in NYC for example...would anyone want a big neon sign on it?) but by its design. 

For those of you who want to do away with the sign ordance, I encourage you to move to Blanding Boulevard between 103rd St and I-295. 

Who said anything about a sign making a building.... or Rick Scott

Signage just lets people passing by that there is something going on inside the building, enticing people to stop.  Without anything advertising what's there people will just cruise on by. 

And why would anyone want to even drive down blanding, much less move there?

[ricker]

Blanding north of Harlow, ConfederatePoint, Cedar Hills, Wilson Boulevard, through LakeShore ultimately transitions into Park Street at FSCJ Kent at the 17& Hamilton St. flyover, and continues through Avondale and the rest of Riverside into DT.  
www.jacksonvillemarinamile.com
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-jun-suburban-jacksonville-exploring-cedar-hills
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-jul-working-waterfronts-jacksonvilles-marina-mile
www.lapsjax.org

perhaps a bit off topic_but you semed to need an answer, acme.
plunder this resource that is metrojacksonville and other intensely local blogs.

in short: affordability, location, location, affordability, convenience, and location. and affordability.

Maybe oneday we will enjoy our passenger rail stops along the CSX A-line.
The stretch of 21(a.k.a.Blanding bv) from Cassat, north to SanJuan, Saint John's Ave, north into Park St and 17 is not too entirely dissimilar from St.Nicolas - just years behind in locating its motivated stake-holders.

Possibly you are new to Jax?
JEA's addition of a gazillion new cobra-head fixtures from the new Benz, Lexus, Audi, BMW, Subaru dealerships at Townsend north into LakeShore coupled with JTA's "BRT" effectively "cleaned-up" the street scene from Morse to 103rd but eliminated on-street (previously legal parallel) parking with a restriping job which converted the "newly created" outboard lanes to Right Turn Only lanes.  sorta killed the bargain house of fleas, somewhat sadly.  www.jtafla.com / www.ridejta.com

IF and/or when this treatment is continued north, vacancies may vanish to be replaced with expanded vibrancy.

north of Wilson, or Cedar Park Ln, certainly from LakeShore Bv north into 'town,  Blanding could safely carry its load as a 3 lane route with a slightly wider central "suicide" mutual turn lane for passenger vehicles with the 2 outboard lanes of the current 5 used as Right Turn Only lanes as well.
I believe such maneuvers are referred to as lane-diets.

coming soon to a Park St near you?  (200RiversideAve/ Lee St viaduct teardown and replacement / whoknows)

STILL OFF TOPIC SORRY.
uhm sign ordinance.
A certain business owner (Jim's bicycle shop) is not allowed to finish freshening the painted facade of his enterprise even though he wasn't making any real changes.  It now reads "Jim's Bic" on Timothy Ln next to the OrientalFOODstore and TeaRoom.

RIDICULOUS

[Ocklawaha]

With regards to our sign ordnance, seems to me that every time Jacksonville comes up with a good legislation idea we go over the top. As if we decided to regulate shoe strings. Jacksonville would not stop at if one had shoestrings or not, we would add size, weight, color, thickness, fiber, coatings, etc... Just too damn over the top when someone cannot even fix a sign they already have.

OCKLAWAHA

[simms3]

Being a young man (31 is young right??) I feel like some of us are being held hostage to legislation that was passed 20-some years ago, during different times and different circumstances. There is a different mindset now and I think the sign ordinance needs to be reconsidered, even if it's just for the downtown area.

Get rid of the sign ordinance. Maybe it wouldn't have a huge impact but it certainly couldn't hurt.

I like this.

[ChriswUfGator]

My problem with the sign ordinance is the unequal treatment. If you're some mega-Corp, you can do whatever you want. 40 foot high lighted letters? No problem! Joe Schmo wants to put a sandwich board out on the sidewalk to attract one of the pathetically few people Downtown? $200 fine.

[tufsu1]

My problem with the sign ordinance is the unequal treatment. If you're some mega-Corp, you can do whatever you want. 40 foot high lighted letters? No problem! Joe Schmo wants to put a sandwich board out on the sidewalk to attract one of the pathetically few people Downtown? $200 fine.

The same rules apply for everyone...seek a variance...like Baptist is doing

[Bativac]

uhm sign ordinance.
A certain business owner (Jim's bicycle shop) is not allowed to finish freshening the painted facade of his enterprise even though he wasn't making any real changes.  It now reads "Jim's Bic" on Timothy Ln next to the OrientalFOODstore and TeaRoom.

RIDICULOUS

This is the kind of crap I'm talking about. I remember when a friend of mine re-did the singage for his bookshop, he had to be extremely careful not to exceed the square footage allowed by the sign ordinance, or face fines. The hoops businesses have to jump thru to try to promote themselves on the sides of their buildings are absurd. It's not that I think getting rid of the sign ordinance is going to magically transform Jacksonville, but it will at least remove one of the hurdles businesses face when trying to operate in Jacksonville.

To the poster who mentioned Rick Scott, I'm not sure what he has to do with anything. We aren't talking about defruading Medicare here. We're talking about allowing businesses to advertise themselves on their buildings, particularly in downtown Jacksonville. Talking about the architectural quality of the buildings is all well and good but I think we all realize that ain't nobody building anything in downtown Jax anytime soon that doesn't involve the words "court" and "house."

If people are concerned about billboards contaminating the pristine vistas of Jacksonville, then write a billboard ordinance. Regulate freestanding billboards. But get rid of the existing sign ordinance. Or at least put it to a vote and let us younger people, who are interested in seeing downtown Jacksonville become an interesting place to be, make our voice heard.

[tufsu1]

The hoops businesses have to jump thru to try to promote themselves on the sides of their buildings are absurd.

well Bativac...it is quotes like this that relate to Rick Scott....just check out the brainstorming of his his economic development and regulatory reform teams.

[Ralph W]

Let's have some signs...


http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_16463535
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_16632214
http://www.livedowntowndenver.com/LDDBlog/?p=1713
http://www.ellmanco.com/denver.aspx

[Bativac]

Ralph W, I found this hilarious comment from one of your linked articles:

"Chip Fu wrote:What's up with all the Debbie Downer comments? Jeez. You all need to find some joy in your lives. The screens will be fun and make downtown more lively. This is another small move of many that is helping to revitalize downtown and change Denver from the asphalt parking lot wasteland of the 1980's that was a ghost town at 5 PM on Friday into something more bright and interesting."

I don't think there could be a better, more direct parallel to the Jacksonville of the 80s and 90s (and today??).

On the other hand, many of the other comments sound like what Jacksonville residents must have sounded like back when the sign ordinance was passed. I guess it isn't just Jacksonville.

[ChriswUfGator]

My problem with the sign ordinance is the unequal treatment. If you're some mega-Corp, you can do whatever you want. 40 foot high lighted letters? No problem! Joe Schmo wants to put a sandwich board out on the sidewalk to attract one of the pathetically few people Downtown? $200 fine.

The same rules apply for everyone...seek a variance...like Baptist is doing

That's the problem, not only does Joe Schmo's sandwich shop lack the resources to hire Paul Harden, but COJ always grants variances for megacorps and rarely for everyone else. Unequal.

[urbaknight]

The answer is to vote out the current leadership.

[Bativac]

The answer is to vote out the current leadership.

That is certainly part of the answer. But if the new leadership hears the same griping from people that they "don't want no big ol' signs" downtown and caves, then we'll be in the same boat.

I wish there was a way to magically change the mindset of some of the local residents. Or, un-consolidate and let Mandarin and the Southside pass their own sign ordinances. (Yeah, that'll happen.) This isn't even a conservative versus liberal issue, like so many things are turned into. At least I don't think it is. There's no funding involved. This is just wanting local government to ease restrictions on people being able to build a sign and advertise their business, whether it's a Christian bookstore or a gay dance club (or both).