Ross Dress for Less to Move Into Former Borders Building, Wants Sign Variance

Ross Dress for Less, the business that hopes to move in to the former Borders Bookstore building at 1660 S. Randall Road, will ask the Geneva Plan Commission tonight (Thursday, Sept. 13) for permission to put signs on all four sides of the building.

The request is one of three public hearings scheduled for tonight's Plan Commission meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at . The other two include a request for a sign variance to allow two free-standing directional signs for the , 200 S. Third St., and a request by Roquett Properties to re-zone about 6 acres of land from farming to light industrial use at 2211 Innovation Drive.

According to the application, Ross Stores Inc., the parent company of Ross Dress for Less, operates more than 1,100 stores nationally. If it can get taht sign amendment, Ross Dress for Less will occupy the 24,641-sqaure-foot former Borders store and hire more than 50 full-time and part-time employees. The average sales volume per store is more than $7 million annual, the report says.

The applicant is asking for an amendment to the Randall Square PUD "to allow single-tenant freestanding buildings with a gross floor area in excess of 24,000 square feet to place façade signson all four sides of the building."

The hearing is continued from the Aug. 9 Plan Commission meeting. Presently, stores in Randall Square are allowed signs on any two sides of the building.

City staff's opinion is that the requested façade sign on the south elevation would not be visible because the south side of the building is heavily screened with landscaping. At the public hearing, the applicant was not able to answer questions from the commission regarding how landscaping along the south side of the building would be treated, according to the staff report.

The applicant has since removed one of the trees, a Greenspire Linden, but planted additional shade trees along the east property line to offset the loss. The removal of the tree improves the visibility of the desired sign location on the south façade.

Ross Stores Inc. also noted that the nearby Crate and Barrel at 1102 Commons Drive is allowed signs on all four sides of the building. However, the Crate & Barrel store is located in the Fisher Farms PUD, "which like the Randall Square PUD, established a unique and site specific set of sign regulations," the staff report said, adding that the Crate & Barrel store does not set a precedent for all shopping center outlots on Randall Road.

The report says city staff will provide a recommendation at the conclusion of the public hearing. The next steps are subject to change, but are tentatively set as follows:

1. Sept. 24, 2012 – Committee of the Whole review and recommendation to City Council on the desired sign location.

2. Oct. 1, 2012 – City Council consideration of requests.