Cock Robin's sign cock up

Design Review Board chastises the Barlow for installing signage for a new restaurant before the city got a chance to review and approve it

Cock Robin, a new burger place in the Barlow, will be located on the corner of Morris Street and Sebastopol Avenue. (Photo by Laura Hagar Rush)

In the spirit of “Ask for forgiveness, not permission,” the Barlow installed a bunch of new signs for the new Cock Robin restaurant soon-to-open on the corner of Morris Street and Sebastopol Avenue, at Sebastopol’s eastern entrance.

The city’s Design Review Board was not in a forgiving mood, however, and when Cock Robin’s signage package came before them post facto on Sept. 24, they unanimously voted it down, citing numerous infractions of the Barlow’s design agreement with the city.

Cock Robin, a defunct Midwestern burger franchise, went out of business in 2000, but Barlow owner Barney Aldridge, who remembered it fondly from his youth, bought the branding. He is now about to open a new Cock Robin—with an updated menu—in one of the Barlow’s flagship buildings, the corner site formerly occupied by Seismic Brewing.

This site has been the focus of a fair amount controversy recently regarding the historic Bunya Bunya tree (see our articles here and here).

Now Barlow management is in hot water again.

What’s the problem with the signage?

To the laymen’s eye, it may seem like nothing. That is because most laymen have not read the exacting design standards that are supposed to guide the development of signage in the Barlow. These standards, called the Barlow Master Sign Program, were negotiated by the city and the Barlow’s design consultant, Scott AG.

Some members of the Design Review Board found it all the more galling then that the new signage package for Cock Robin—which blew right past all those carefully negotiated design standards—was presented by Michael Burch of Scott AG.

“I’m just a little flabbergasted, frankly, by this application,” said Design Review Board member Melissa Hanley. “That the person who authored the original requirements and plan for the Barlow couldn’t keep to those requirements and then went ahead and installed these before getting approvals is, just frankly, beyond the pale.”

According to various members of the Design Review Board, the signs broke the Barlow’s own design rules in several ways.

According to the Barlow’s Master Sign Program, they are too large for the building. Buildings of different sizes have different sign size allowances—the larger the building, the more signage you’re allowed to have. Burch tried to argue that the building’s outdoor patios should be included in the building’s square-footage—which would have boosted the building into a category where larger signage was allowed. No one on the Design Review Board was buying this.

Design Review Board member Lynn Deedler called that argument “far-fetched.”

“The signs are too massive for the space that they have,” Deedler said. “They’re dominant. They don’t fit very well.”

There were some positive comments. Hanley said, “The logo signage is adorable and colorful and fun. That should be allowed—it’s really a great addition.” But she agreed that “the scale is way out of proportion to the building and not in keeping with the scale of other signage in the Barlow.”

Burch then asked the board to make an exception in this case.

Another signage rule is that businesses are not allowed to have signs listing product offerings, which makes the signs listing “Burgers, Salad, Fried Chicken” out of line.

“How was the use of ‘burgers’ and ‘chicken’ not considered a product offering?” Design Review Board member Cary Bush asked. “And if that’s not allowed in the original signage proposal, how is that construed?”

Burch argued that because Cock Robin was a midwestern brand, few people visiting the Barlow would know what to expect. “Folks are not aware of what the offering is here, so we wanted a clear indication that this is a burger joint, right?”

This reasoning cut no mustard with the board.

Finally, the Design Review Board particularly objected to the replacement of a Barlow identity sign being replaced by an advertising sign for Cock Robin, arguing that it damages the Barlow’s visibility as a destination—and therefore damages the city.

“Going from the Barlow to a tenant name feels like a pretty significant change,” Hanley said.

It turned out that the Barlow pole sign had been left out of the signage package altogether, and Burch indicated that he’d be happy to re-apply specifically for the pole sign. The Design Review Board members made it clear that such an application would be voted down.

The Barlow pole sign was replaced with a Cock Robin sign. (Photos by Laura Hagar Rush)

In the end the Design Review Board voted unanimously to deny the signage package for Cock Robin.

John Jay said the Barlow has a couple of options:

1. They can appeal the decision of the Design Review Board to the City Council for the allowance of the larger signage.

2. They can revise the signage to be in compliance with the approved sign program for the Barlow, which is then reviewed and acted upon by city staff.

“In any case, they would be required to take down the signage that is out of compliance now,” Jay said. “I have spoken with the applicant, and they are working on doing this as quickly as possible.”

“The other monument sign (i.e., the Barlow identity sign) that was removed near the Bunya Bunya tree does need to be replaced as well and put back into working order as that particular sign is part of the Master Sign Program,” he said.

In the meantime, Design Review Board member Lynn Deedler has concerns about Cock Robin that go beyond signage. He says the colorful mature landscaping that was replaced to make way for Cock Robin’s new patio along Sebastopol Avenue was also a part of the Barlow Master Plan. It was designed to be a beautiful entrance not just to the Barlow, but to the city itself. And now it’s gone.