Unless armed with a GPS system, compass or machete, it's pretty hard to find the Weis Market located at the intersection of Route 512 and Crawford Drive. "It's almost like the building is in a forest," remarked Hanover Township Zoner Vincent Horvath. Surrounded by a forest of 20' evergreens, a 14' high pole-mounted sign buried among all those trees is all but invisible. And that's why Weis Market Director of Architecture David Gill was before the Zoning Hearing Board on August 26.According to Hanover Townshiip Zoning Yvonne Kutz, those trees are sacred. Zoning regulations prohibit their removal unless they are diseased or damaged. So Gill asked zoners to allow Weis Markets to replace what he called a "commercial gas station lollipop" with two 7' high monuments, both located near the Route 512 and Crawford Drive entrances. He argued the "visibility of this store is really important to the success of this store." He complained it is already starting to "trend down because nobody can see it." Gill was supported by Pointe North Shopping Center owner Larry Dienar, who told zoners that Rite-Aid Pharmacy left over a year ago, and he's still unable to rent the space. "The main problem is visibility," he said. "We want to have a viable shopping center but we can't do it if nobody can see it."
Gill indicated these monuments would be safer because drivers would be able to identify an entrance instead of suddenly braking. Finally, he argued that monument-style signs are aesthetically more pleasing.
Hanover resident Bill Stein, whose back yard faces the Crawford Drive entrance, liked the idea of a smaller, internally illuminated sign. "It'll be nice," he said.
Zoners unanimously approved the monument markers conditioned on Weis' agreement to identify other tenants in the shopping center.
Weis Markets, which originated in Pennsylvania, employs 120 people at its Hanover Township location.
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