A sign variance for a third sign and more square footage requested by the new Olive Garden restaurant on Ga. Highway 85 south of the Fayette Pavilion was denied by the Fayetteville City Council on a 2-3 vote at the Oct. 20 meeting.
The Olive Garden variance request came in two parts. The first asked for two wall signs and on ground sign rather than the one wall sign and one ground sign allowed by the ordinance. The second part of the request asked for an increase of approximately 50 percent in the total square footage allowed under the sign ordinance. The request included a total of 155 square feet rather than the 100 square feet allowed based on calculations of the buildings facade measurements.
City planning staff in addressing the request said the Olive Garden is situated with frontage along the Hwy. 85 north corridor and a second frontage along a private access road connecting to the Fayette Pavilion complex. Consequently, the property sits at the corner of the access road and the highway but does not qualify for additional signage and sign square footage because the access road is not a public street.
That said, staff essentially recommended a compromise. The recommendation suggested allowing a total of three signs with a total of 125 square feet of sign space. The recommendation also included allowing two 45 square foot wall signs, one at the front facade of the building facing Hwy. 85 and the other on the south side of the building, and a 35 square foot ground sign.
This would address the applicant’s concern of helping motorists to see the restaurant signage traveling all directions along the Hwy. 85 corridor, while keeping the scale and size of signage for this structure in concert, the recommendation said.
The motion to approve the request was made by Councilman Paul Oddo and received a second by Councilman Al Hovey-King. The motion was denied on a 2-3 vote with Oddo and Hovey-King in favor and councilmen Larry Dell, Wilson Price and Walt White opposed.
Wilson after the meeting said his vote in opposition was because the restaurant had only one street entrance with the other being a private access driveway within the development.
“We have to draw the line somewhere. It’s not a street,” Price said, adding that, “We’re going to re-evaluate it and look at it again. We’re doing all we can for most everybody we can.”
