Red Hat Signage up for debate today

By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
The battle still continues this morning at City Hall over whether a hand-painted mural is allowable on leased space above the Red Hat building, facing Cambridge Street.
In question is signage on the two exterior walls of 9 Bowdoin Street, which face Cambridge Street.
The zoning board of appeals meeting is at 9:30 am in room 801 today, for those who would like to weigh in.
The applicant, Michael Schifino, and Commonwealth Avenue-based Sponsor Spot had applied to erect two 875-square-foot signs on a Cambridge Street façade two years ago, a project denied by the Beacon Hill Civic Association and the city’s Board of Appeal. In response, Sponsor Spot filed suit against the city, arguing that the decision infringes upon First and 14th Amendment rights. “The city is serving as a landlord to conglomerates like Clear Channel and JC Decaux,” said Damien Jacob, co-owner of Sponsor Spot. The vinyl signs affixed to 9 Bowdoin Street, which houses Red Hat, would cover almost all of the building’s exposed brick, Jacob said.
“We have been seeking signs on the Red Hat for years and have always welcomed dialog with anyone from Beacon Hill who had an interest in our plans,” said Jacob. “We’re not in the architectural historic district, we has a permit from the 1990s, that says it is not within the historic district. We didn’t write the zoning code, we deserve our rights. When we came to do this, we looked at the zoning codes, we looked at the zoning map, and picked the best property that would be allowed.”
While many area residents oppose the sign, Jacob argues that there are other billboards in the area, including the city’s sidewalk billboards: “If you’re standing close to it, it’s just as big as the building,” said Jacob. “It’s all visual perception.”
Many residents were surprised that the meeting was being held today, and scrambled to discuss the meeting and to gather people to attend.
As a result, the BHCA expressed concern and voted to oppose the application, and any proposal that would increase signage on Cambridge Street. Many wish to preserve the historical integrity of the district.
Cambridge Street is not in the historic district, but the building itself is, says Karen Cord Taylor, former chair of the Cambridge Street Study Committee (and former BHTimes editor).
The proposed billboard is a few feet, “perhaps even inches” —of an important historic district, and the Red Hat building itself is within that district, Taylor says. “To enjoy the higher value conferred on their building by the historic district and at the same time acting against the principles of the historic district is, frankly, selfish, and without consideration for neighbors.”
Taylor says that over the past 40 years, the growth of billboards are a “blight” to the business community, “thereby reducing growth and prosperity” and “degrade a street that is finally looking good.”
A successful appeal would reverse a trend that had seen several billboards removed from Cambridge Street.
“Interestingly, no other building owner has made the argument Schifino’s lawyer makes that he has the right to install a billboard. If his argument holds, there is nothing to stop the Davis Companies, the Beacon Hill Athletic Club owners, Suffolk University and a host of other building owners from mounting their own billboards,” says Taylor.
“People felt strongly that advertising signage (whether or not it's a 'billboard') detracts from the desired appearance of Cambridge Street and that billboards should be eliminated, not added,” said Tom Clemens, a BHCA member. “This is especially important to the neighborhood because we are now finally seeing the fruits of three decades of effort to upgrade the street and make it an attractive gateway to Beacon Hill and Government Center.”
Jacobs says notice is only required for applicants seeking relief from the zoning code. “Since we are not seeking a variance or conditional use permit, but rather a correction by the ZBA from an erroneous ISD decision, we are not required to notify anyone,” said Jacob. “Nonetheless, there were conversations between Sponsor Spot and Councilors Ross, Turner, Feeney, Eric from Connelly’s office as well as William Onuoha from Neighborhood Services. Councilor LaMattina’s office was unable to schedule a meeting after many attempts.”
“We are trying to make an honest, simple living,” said Jacob. “This is the oldest form of communication. Since the 1700s you just hung your message on the side. It’s always going to be the most powerful form of communication.”
“Furthermore, there are Beacon Hill residents who believe creating a sponsored mural in the genre of historic Commercial Art similar to the Quaker Oats mural on the corner of Cambridge and Grove Streets would add a great deal of character and color as well as safety through illumination,” said Jacob.
He contends that the problem that many have with the billboard is not the board itself, but the “spider web of steel,” and so he says he’s willing to “to keep the doors of communication open with Beacon Hill residents” and “to assist them in their signage policy objectives.”
But his bottom line is that this project is a bright light in a poor economy. “During this tough economy, there should be a desire from everyone to create jobs. Our small business is trying to survive and this project directly impacts our livelihood as well as those who work with us. When the Zoning Code allows something, a person should take security in knowing that it is allowed; this is America and there should be Equal Protection of the Laws.”
Jacob’s group contacted residents in the “immediate vicinity,” including John Hazzard from 10 Bowdoin Street. Hazard lives across from the Red Hat building – as he says in a letter about the subject, “the proposed signs will become a part of my family’s daily life, more so than most other residents on Beacon Hill.” Hazard says he and his wife do not know the owner of 9 Bowdoin Street, but after talking with Jacob, he says he supports the billboard.
Hazard said that there are more pressing neighborhood issues than this sign, such as “vandalism, rowdy drunkenness, violence and the unresponsiveness of police,” as well as the “median landscaping that has been allowed to overgrow.” After those considerations, Hazard writes that the signage would “add safety with lighting, and attract attention to a neglected corner, while at the same time adding color … The proposed signs are on a commercial building, in a commercial area, do not face toward any residence and the vinyl or painted mural will be flush against the walls, so there are no obstructions or shadows cast. The banners or
painted murals will contribute to the scenery, experience, and the environment of living in Downtown Boston and will add to the quality of life on the corner of Bowdoin and Cambridge Street.”
Taylor contends that the street is already well lit by the new street lights that accompanied the reconstruction of the street, and the new drug store across the street. “A lighted sign about thirty feet from the street and above the Dunkin’ Donuts will not increase light on the sidewalk at all,” says Taylor. “In fact, nearby neighbors on a higher floor might consider it a nuisance.”
Says Jacob, “These signs mean a lot to me and I am saddened that we are so polarized in our views that we cannot find any common ground. There are people who think a hand-painted mural would look fantastic on the Red Hat and bring us back in time to a simpler place.”
The issue has been in play for two years. “Since then large banner signs or wallscapes have become commonplace throughout Boston, and now there are even plans to erect an illuminated LED display 3 stories high on Somerset Street,” says Jacob. “Some Beacon Hill residents have expressed a fondness for the hand-painted murals companies commissioned in the 1800s and early 1900s.
“I and others were very shocked and outraged by the total disregard for the law, due process, and the Constitution, at the ZBA hearing in Oct. ‘06, where I was not permitted to state our case or even read the Zoning Code,” says Jacob in an email. “As ironic as some may think it to be, the Boston Zoning Code allows the use of billboards/ advertising devices on this property, and this is the reason for our pursuit of signs at this location.”