Brewery granted sign variance
Great Northern Brewing Company’s neon
bronco will keep on bucking.
The Whitefish City Council approved a
variance for the brewery at last week’s meeting, allowing the
downtown business to keep a flashing neon sign that depicts a
jumping bronco, a hanging sign for the Draught House above the east
entrance, and the expansive Black Star lettering that runs along
the north side of the building. The brewery requested a variance
because the signage surpassed the square footage allowed in the
Whitefish sign ordinance.
In January 2010 Brewery Manager Marcus
Duffey had the Black Star sign re-installed when the brewery
resumed Black Star production. He added a smaller hanging Black
Star sign on the front of the business and authorized repair work
on the flashing neon sign, all without getting a sign permit.
When the city determined the brewery
signs were in violation of the law, they directed Duffey to either
remove them or apply for a sign variance. The brewery is entitled
to three signs with a maximum of 19.76 square feet; it has four
signs measuring a total of 198.67 square feet, roughly 10 times the
allowed square footage.
During the public hearing, Duffey
explained that their corner brewery “is not a typical building
downtown.” He said the majority of the frontage is not on the
Central Avenue side, but along First Street.
He also argued that the signage is
helping the brewery “sell a look, a feel, a vibrancy of
downtown.”
“As a downtown business that has seen
some real ups and downs,” Duffey said, “the last three years we’ve
worked our tails off to bring the brewery back into a condition
that’s vibrant, that’s active and participating in the
community.
“It’s been my goal to be very loud as a
business downtown, but also to be loud in a respectful way. I
believe that we’ve accomplished that and I don’t believe our signs
are loud in a sense that is disrespectful to the sign ordinance or
a hindrance to our neighbors.”
Jan Metzmaker, who was on the city
council when brewery was built and was on the sign-ordinance
committee, said she was OK with the nonconforming signs because
they are integral to the Black Star business. The Black Star
lettering on the north side of the building helps to break up the
big expanse of that wall, she added.
“I hope you recognize there are some
historical and cool things about our town that maybe we should
allow,” Metzmaker told the council.
Rhonda Fitzgerald, who owns a bed and
breakfast inn, said the brewery was meant to be a signature
building and that the Black Star lettering was an integral part of
the architectural design.
Car dealer Don Kaltschmidt agreed with
both Fitzgerald and Metzmaker, a rare occurrence.
Dru Jackman said her only concern was
that the brewery didn’t go through the sign permit process.
The council quickly agreed to approve
the variance, although John Muhlfeld said he hopes the brewery
respects the sign code moving forward.
The brewery will be required to pay a
$1,980 permit fee and will have to bring an oversized A-frame
reader board into compliance.