Schaumburg OKs LED signs at Streets of Woodfield
After a further month of research and consideration, a majority of Schaumburg trustees Tuesday agreed to a request for two large LED signs and an increase in the number of ground signs at Streets of Woodfield shopping center.
If approved by the full village board next week, the requested changes would be added to others already being planned for Streets of Woodfield this fall.
In order to convince skeptical trustees about the two 20-by-20 LED signs requested for the north side of the parking garage facing Loews movie theaters, the center's owners arranged a demonstration with a smaller test model.
The village has previously banned LED signs largely for their brightness and ability to district drivers. But these signs will automatically dim under darker skies and change their non-moving ads only every 15 to 30 seconds.
The biggest selling point the center's owners made was that the signs won't be visible on Route 53 or Higgins Road.
Schaumburg's Assistant Director of Community Development Matt Frank also tried to allay trustees' concerns that approving the signs wouldn't set a precedent requiring their approval elsewhere.
"We think it would add to the atmosphere and ambience of Streets of Woodfield without setting a precedent," Frank said.
"I'm much more comfortable with the sign, or signs, than when they were first proposed," Trustee Tom Dailly said. But he cautioned that he wanted them less bright than the Allstate Arena's tollway sign in Rosemont.
Dailly also remained the most concerned about increasing the number of ground signs in the center's parking lot and along the roadway. He likened it to putting signs that should be on the buildings down on the street.
Representatives of the center said they want to make it easier for first-time visitors to know where to enter the lot for the stores they're looking for and remember where they parked.
Trustee Marge Connelly said she liked the idea - even if other properties like the larger Woodfield Mall nearby requested the same.
Other changes at Streets of Woodfield will include a more subdued color scheme.