The amendment makes two major changes to the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance: “Building Identification Signs” and a new “General Waiver” provision.  (The full text of the amendment is available on the City of Cambridge web site.)

Prior to the passage of this amendment, the Zoning Ordinance permitted three types of signs in business, office and industrial districts: free standing signs, which can be up to 30 square feet and 15 feet above the ground; projecting signs, which can be up to 13 square feet and 20 feet above the ground; and wall signs, which can be up to 60 square feet (or less for smaller buildings) and 20 feet above the ground.

The amendment adds “Building Identification Signs”, which can be bigger (up to 90 square feet for signs at least 100 feet above the ground) and higher (at the roof line) than previously permitted wall signs. The Planning Board can, at its discretion, permit a sign above the roofline on a “solid screen wall of mechanical equipment” if it finds that to be preferable.

A Building Identification Sign must either “identify the building itself” – a concept that is not defined in the amendment – or identify a non-retail tenant that occupies a “significant portion of the building”.  A tenant that occupies at least 25% of the leasable area of a building is presumed to meet the “significant portion” requirement but the amendment explicitly gives the Planning Board discretion to permit a Building Identification Sign for a tenant occupying less space.

The amendment limits a Building Identification Sign to “letters or graphic symbols attached directly to the building face” but does not otherwise restrict the content of such signs.  It does not, for instance, restrict the content to the name of a tenant or the tenant’s logo.  A Building Identification Sign can have “external illumination”, which includes lighting that shines onto the face of the sign as well as so called “halo lighting” which is behind the solid letters that comprise the sign.  A Building Identification Sign cannot have “internal illumination”, such as exposed neon tubing.  The amendment does not limit the intensity or hours of illumination.

Building Identification Signs are limited to buildings of 100,000 square feet located in certain zoning districts located in the western area of the city (west of Alewife Brook Parkway) and in the eastern area of the city (east of either Brookline Street or Windsor Street).  The eastern area stretches from North Point to the BU Bridge and includes major stretches of the Charles riverfront.  (A map showing the affected districts is available on the City of Cambridge web site.)

This part of the amendment provides a new mechanism – Special Permits – for obtaining approval for free standing, projecting, and wall signs that exceed one or more zoning limits. Suppose, for instance, that a building owner or tenant would like to put up a projecting sign with neon illumination. Because the Zoning Ordinance does not automatically permit that sort of “internal illumination”, permission of the city is required. In the past, this permission would take the form of a zoning variance – something that is intentionally hard to obtain and subject to a stringent process. Under the General Waiver provision of the amendment, the Planning Board can “waive” these restrictions and grant a special permit for a neon sign at its discretion.

The General Waiver provision also applies to size limitations. By way of a special permit, the Planning Board can authorize a single sign that is as large as the total amount of signage permitted on the building lot. An example will help make this clear. Suppose a 100’ x 200’ building is located on a corner lot. Under the Zoning Ordinance, such a building has 300 feet of “sign frontage” and can have a total of 450 square feet of free standing, projecting and wall signs on its lot. Under the General Waiver provision, all of this area can be allocated to one huge sign. The Planning Board could, at its discretion, authorize a single 300 square-foot wall sign – five times bigger than the previous limit – or a single 450 square foot free standing sign.