Board finds proposed buildings too industrial
To enhance community character, Ramona Design Review Board asked Jiffy Lube proponents for a less industrial-looking building and sent those representing McDonald’s improvements back to the drawing board.
Both projects are within the boundaries of the Ramona Village Center Form-Based Code, adopted two years ago to promote a walkable, viable community by requiring that businesses do not place parking lots in front and architectural elements complement the rural character of Ramona. Listed in the code are design, signage, lighting and landscaping standards for developers of new projects or remodels.
Representatives for a proposed Jiffy Lube at 1850 Main St., next to AutoZone, asked the board for a waiver to put one American with Disabilities Act parking spot in front of the building instead of in back. The board approved the waiver request, but not the plans for the building.
“You’ve got a block industrial look there,” design review chair Rob Lewallen said at the July 28 meeting.
Brian Charles, development project manager for Boos Development West LLC, said they could add a tower and stone, which was supported by members. The board tabled approval of the project requiring the following: adding a 4-to-5-foot tower element, placing stone around the building’s base, extending a canopy across the building, details for signage and lighting, and landscaping placement.
McDonald’s Corporation is in the process of creating new building designs for its restaurants, and representatives for the company presented plans for an exterior remodel for the 1660 Main St. location in Ramona. However, some board members said it looked like a box.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with the flavor of Ramona,” said member Jim Cooper, calling it a modern, stark, bare industrial building.
“We like the old one better,” commented Lewallen.
Members were OK with a dining room remodel, but said the sign with the 3-feet-6-inch arches, and 24-inch “M” and “D” are not in compliance with the sign code. The form-based code allows lettering to be 12-inches high, said Lewallen.
He noted that design review boards in different communities have different requirements. The arches for a McDonald’s on Prospect Street in La Jolla appear as a 12-inch decal, he said, while in Sedona, Ariz., the McDonald’s letters are in turquoise instead of gold so they won’t clash with the sunsets. In Monterey, he said, the arches are black “for a more sophisticated look.”
Representatives for the remodel said they would see what direction the company wants to take on the Ramona restaurant.
Also at the meeting, Greg Freman, owner of Resurrected Rustic, 948 Main St., which is in the form-based code boundaries, presented plans to re-do his store sign. Two months ago the board told him the sign is too large for the building and not in compliance. Freman said he took a suggestion from the previous meeting about creating a barnwood façade with the “Resurrected Rustic” lettering directly on the wood so it would not constitute as a sign. He also said he removed floodlights and put in low-intensity lights.
However, because the facade resembled three panels separated by vertical boards across the front, Cooper said it still looked like a sign. Freman and the board came to a compromise that he would have no vertical boards, and lights would only be above and below the lettering with a canopy shielding the top lights.
No candidates showed up to be considered for the vacant board seat. The board voted to keep the same officer slate: Lewallen, chair; Darryl Larson, vice chair; and Scotty Ensign, secretary.