Illuminated business signs and their traffic safety impact and role in adding too much light to the night sky came under fire from residents at a Cherry Hill Township Planning Board meeting earlier this month.
While no one opposed plans by Caffe Aldo Lamberti on Route 70 to enclose its outdoor patio to add indoor dining space, the restaurant's proposal for a second illuminated sign was strongly opposed by two residents.
The homeowners who closely follow Cherry Hill development applications — Martha Wright and Rena Margulis — told board members they opposed giving the restaurant permission to erect an illuminated sign on Grove Street. The restaurant already has one at the front of its 2011 Route 70 property on the eastbound side.
"What is to stop people from now deciding they need to have two signs?" asked Wright, who said a diner on Route 70 and a restaurant on Haddonfield Berlin Road already have one illuminated sign.
"I feel that it is advancing degradation of the environment. It's a classic example of commercial creep," Wright testified before the board.
Margulis, who noted she represents nearby Cooper Park Village with the Cherry Hill Council of Civic Associations, testified that she was concerned the sign would be a traffic hazard for those who travel eastbound on Route 70 and turn right onto Grove Street and need to cut across several lanes of traffic to turn left onto Park Boulevard.
The residents' objections had no impact on the decision of the Planning Board, which unanimously approved Caffe Aldo Lamberti's indoor dining expansion and second illuminated sign. However, the message on the sign may not be animated and can change only twice a day, according to the conditions of approval, which must be passed in a resolution at the next board meeting.
Board member Anne Madden Tufano said she agreed with the restaurant's contention that an illuminated sign is safer for traffic than the existing sign because it will help customers to navigate to the restaurant entrance.
Another board member, Marlyn Kalitan, who says she regards herself as the "sign police" because she nearly always questions sign requests, said she was not opposed and expects the board to hear from even more businesses that want illuminated signs.
"I think it's true that we are going to see more sign applications for these kinds of signs," she told the board. "And the thought of people getting up on ladders and changing the copy of the signs makes me more and more agreeing that these kinds of signs are the signs of the future."
The outdoor dining area at Caffe Aldo Lamberti, to the right behind the van and at the umbrellas, will be converted to indoor dining, according to the restaurant's plans.
Kalitan also said she is a supporter of Caffe Aldo Lamberti.
"This restaurant is continuing to improve who they are and what they do and has made a great commitment to our town. We need to make a great commitment to them as well," she told fellow members before the vote.
When the restaurant encloses the outdoor patio, which has 30 seats for dining, a total of 387 diners will be able to sit indoors. The architecture of the 1,100-square-foot indoor expansion will complement the existing architecture, according to testimony by those representing the restaurant.
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