Politics & Government

Bigger, Taller, More Visible

Planning Board OKs New Sign On Route 35

A newly renovated shopping center at Route 35 and Ocean Road will be allowed to build a new sign six feet taller than allowed in the area.

The Planning Board on Monday voted to allow Sea Girt Center, the owners of the Sea Girt Square shopping center, to build a 21.5-foot sign in front of the renovated building that once housed the Wall library. The maximum height of signs allowed in the area is 15 feet, by ordinance.

But the company was able to convince a majority of the board that their sign, modeled after a clock tower and landscaped at the bottom, would be a better looking addition to the shopping center that would hold its appeal longer.

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Board member Ralph Addonizio cast the sole vote against the proposal.

"It's just think it's too big,'' Addonizio said. "I think there's a lot of signage on this road. I think it clutters the area.''

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Committeeman George Newberry, who sits on the board, had praise for the shopping center generally.

"I really appreciate what you've done with the center,'' Newberry said. "I'm pleased with what I've seen and I know that the ordinance says 15 feet, but empty buildings also are not in the interest of Wall Township.''

Board member Carl Braun said the 15-foot restriction was a jumping-off point, not a fixed number set in stone.

"That's a starting place, and this is a very unique center,'' Braun said. "I don't think we should be chopping it apart. There's been a lot of work put into it. You're not going to be able to tell from the highway that this is 19 and a half feet or 17 and a half feet or 21 feet.''

The shopping center, represented by attorney Jennifer Krimko, argued that they needed a taller and larger sign main than the board has already approved, citing decreased visibility because of the sign’s distance – some 60 feet – from the main highway, as well as a desire to gain exposure for the center’s 15 or so prospective tenants. The center also wants additional interior signs. The center has agreed to work with the town to accomodate those signs.


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