Interesting....
(http://i1.wp.com/cdn.chrisd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ikea-winnipeg.jpg?resize=600%2C310)
QuoteA 100-foot-tall sign planned for the Swedish home-furnishing store Ikea will be visible more than a mile away.
The city gave the company the go-ahead in January after proposals were announced in October.
City Councilman Danny Becton said a normal sign wouldn't have been visible from the interstate. He said the approval of the sign was taken very seriously, adding that the celebrity of Ikea wasn't a factor in the decision.
"Ikea had nothing to do with this [approval]. There's no other facility this size. No facility I've seen with this big a footprint," said Becton, whose district contains the property where Ikea wants to build.
He said the Land Use and Zoning subcommittee, which approved the sign before city council, didn't want to set a precedent for future requests of this kind. Becton said residents nearby shouldn't be able to see the sign from their neighborhoods.
Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2016-02-16/story/massive-sign-planned-jacksonville-ikea-store
Quote(http://mediaweb.fox30jax.com/photo/2016/02/15/City_allows_Ikea_to_build_massive_sign_0_1785937_ver1.0_640_360.jpg)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
Action News Jax is investigating the decision to allow IKEA to build a massive sign that's going up near homes on the Southside.
We've learned the city gave the company the OK even though the sign is more than twice what's usually allowed. Candace Hiers lives in the complex right around the corner from where Jacksonville's new IKEA store will be built. But what she didn't know is how big their sign will be.
"Wow. That's way too big," said Hiers.
One hundred and eight feet tall is more than twice what's normally allowed by the city. The top will have 3 sides, each 50 feet wide. Neighbor Ray Washington isn't opposed to bringing in IKEA and understands why the sign is needed.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/ikeas-sign-will-be-more-than-twice-the-size-of-whats-normally-allowed-in-jacksonville/86311008
Sounds like some crooked city officials got a 10% coupon and a bag of Swedish meatballs. Nice.
Why wouldn't IKEA want to be visible from the highway? What are they (residents) gonna do move?? As soon as that happens, they are a complete afterthought, and with a snap of a finger someone will happily replace them. Some would argue that seeing an IKEA sign is kinda bougie, a very First World problem at worst.
Not that I'd lose any sleep over it but I'm sure McDonalds, Waffle House, Racetrac, etc. would like to be visible from the highway too. Why IKEA and not the others? What makes them so special in our land of "light all signs and billboards" on fire? After all, if it's like the other IKEAs, you'd have to be blind to miss their big gigantic blue box and yellow wall signs driving on I-295 East Beltway.
^^^After reassessing, it seems like those high signs are usually in small townish shopping centers (South Georgia is notorious) along major highways. Maybe that sign height is overkill for a location like the SJTC. In Sunrise they kinda have a similar luxury apt setting, and I don't think that they have a monster IKEA sign. I admit I was offbase.
I believe sign ordinances killed a lot of these tall signs you still see in Georgia. I remember there being a lot more of them around the state 20-30 years ago. Personally, I don't care if IKEA had a 200' sign but I can see it being just want the council member claims it's not:
QuoteCity Councilman Danny Becton said a normal sign wouldn't have been visible from the interstate. He said the approval of the sign was taken very seriously, adding that the celebrity of Ikea wasn't a factor in the decision.
how does approving this tall sign NOT set a precedent?
With the store being right next to 295, how could you not see it from the "highway"? Wouldn't it just be easier to add IKEA to the signs that say what restaurants, gas, etc are coming up at the next exit?
Quote from: Captain Zissou on February 17, 2016, 09:21:33 AM
With the store being right next to 295, how could you not see it from the "highway"? Wouldn't it just be easier to add IKEA to the signs that say what restaurants, gas, etc are coming up at the next exit?
Maybe the intent is to make it visible from I95? :)
^Hahaha Maybe. At 100 feet tall, if you're above the tree line you could probably see it from I-10.
Quote from: mbwright on February 17, 2016, 09:05:50 AM
how does approving this tall sign NOT set a precedent?
They'll try to word it in a manner that makes it unique - visibility to an interstate, etc. However it likely will get challenged at some point. Karma says that the challenger would be a Strip Club, Dildo Store, or Check Cashing place....something that makes the conservatives on the council cringe.
The people that are shopping at the TC will always have IKEA in their subconscious. Smart move by IKEA.