John Coffelt, Editor

The Manchester Historic Zoning Commission disapproved during the Feb. 6 meeting the part of the site plan that for an LED sign for a proposed Peoples Bank and Trust ATM on the corner of Irwin St. and Murfreesboro Highway.     

The commission, citing relevant city ordinances for sign regulations in the historic district, felt that presence of the sign was not appropriate with the historic atmosphere of the downtown area.

Manchester City Ordinance 1461 includes language that prohibits signs that “incorporate any manner of flashing, moving or intermittent lighting, excluding public service signs showing time and temperature.” 

“It’s not really the concern about the sign,” said Historic Zoning member Ellen Briggs, “It’s that it’s written in ordinance and it’s written twice. It’s there for a reason.”

“It’s out of our hands, the state would have to be consulted,” she said.

Two of the options left for Peoples, is to request a change to the city ordinance which would require the recommendation from an appropriate committee, public hearings and two readings by the board of Mayor and Aldermen, or Peoples can request a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals.  

The Coffee County Historical Society Board submitted and read a letter during the meeting that said changing the ordinance would create bad precedence.

“The moving lights of the… sign are in conflict with city ordinance and granting a variance can only by accomplished by changing the language of the ordinance…. This change would set and untenable precedence of changing the ordinance on an ad hoc basis,” Historical Society President Larry McIntosh read.

Historical Zoning member Ken Seuberling said it’s always a tough decision about bringing 21 century things into “the old fabric and maintain the fabric.”

“There’s a right way to … not replicate history but be sensitive to history and a wrong way to do it,” he said.

Seuberling said the LED sign is not the appropriate way to connect to the 21 century.

“To me it’s not the right solution to this area,” he said.      

The Planning Commission unanimously approved in October the site plan for the ATM located in a C1 commercial zone, with a punch list item that plans be submitted to Historic Zoning for approval because of the lot’s location in the historic district. Historic Zoning in December approved the overall plan but deferred the matter of the sign until the Feb. 6 meeting.

Peoples Bank President and CEO Philip Calahan told the committee Feb. 6 that the sign would  be located between the ATM and the highway,  facing  the highway. It would primarily promote community events and not be used to advertise things like CD rates. He noted that the proposed 4 by 8 foot sign is significantly smaller than the one at the Peoples location on Hillsboro Boulevard but the content would be similar. 

“We view this as a keystone corner of the historic downtown area that we were a part of for over 100 years,” Calahan said. “We feel like this is a huge investment for our community, for the bank and something we want to be proud of for years.”

Calahan said the sign is a tool to help drive traffic onto the square. He said the city’ small sign in the median near City Hall that alerts drivers to the historic district is easy to miss.

“This is an opportunity to really put downtown back on the map,” he said. “We’re really trying to do something positive for the community.”

Peoples will likely submit a request a variance for the sign from Board of Zoning Appeals.

 During the October Planning Commission Meeting, surveyor and former Historic Zoning Member Kenney Sadler said the project was the brainchild of  Peoples Marketing Director, the late Rob Clutter.  

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.