HDC sign advisory committee approves projecting sign for 22 Federal Street; staff to pursue sign bylaw codification and outreach

The HDC Sign Advisory Committee voted unanimously Jan. 20 to approve a projecting sign for 22 Federal Street that committee members said complies with the committee’s master sign plan.

The motion to approve was moved and seconded and passed with three recorded ayes. Applicant Jonas described the design as “classy” and “clean,” saying the new cut sign uses the same dimensions as the previous square corner sign and that he had aimed for a 2-inch width.

The approval came early in a brief meeting that shifted to enforcement and the status of a construction-sign amendment. Kathy, a staff member, said she placed advertising for codification last Thursday and this coming Thursday and that the sign codification will appear on the Historic District Commission agenda on Feb. 3. “It’ll be on the agenda for February 3 for the HDC,” Kathy said, and she invited committee members to attend in case there are questions.

Committee members raised continuing concerns about freestanding directional signs used by nonprofits and larger fence-style signage on some construction projects. One member said smaller local contractors’ temporary signs differ in scale from the “hundreds of feet” of signage that appears on large construction fencing and said the committee should address both. Committee members asked staff to collect photos of noncompliant signs and to reach out to organizations that post freestanding signs to request compliance or an appearance before the HDC.

Staff noted a practical enforcement limitation: the construction-sign bylaw has not yet been codified, which restricts formal enforcement of recent updates until the codification process is complete. Kathy said outreach has happened informally in the past and that the committee can resume more formal enforcement once codification is finalized and after targeted outreach to local building and builders’ associations.

The committee approved the sign and then briefly handled remaining business before adjourning at about 9:13 a.m.

Next steps: the codification item will appear on the HDC agenda on Feb. 3 and staff will follow up with photos and outreach to parties identified by committee members.