CVS Pharmacy will have to wait on that scrolling letterboard sign.
The Commerce City Council voted unanimously Monday night to turn down the recommendation of its planning commission to change the zoning on three parcels of land, including the CVS tract, which would allow CVS to get a sign similar to that of competitor Walgreens.
The rejection was not based on the technical merits of the zoning change, but on the technicalities of the request.
“Our ordinance requires that the request (for a zoning change) come from you, the city council, or the affected property owner who wants to change his property,” explained city attorney John Stell.
The planning commission’s recommendation came not from CVS or the property owners (CVS does not own the building), but from the planning commission.
The planning panel proposed to redraw the northwest boundary of the central business district to remove three tracts — the CVS site, the house directly behind it and Hardee’s — from the central business district. That district has more strict sign requirements than the adjacent district, where Walgreens is located.
CVS believes that not being able to have a scrolling sign like Walgreens puts it at a competitive disadvantage.
Normally, when a zoning change is rejected, the party seeking the change must wait 90 days before refilling a request. But since the property owners were not involved in the request, Stell said they need not wait 90 days to file such a request, which would go back before the planning commission.
