Restaurant again in trouble over 'steak' sign that was changed to 'tea'

A "Tea" sign, which looms over Panda North in Brattleboro, Vermont, has already been the subject of an Environmental Court decision after the town tried removing it when the former steakhouse became a Chinese restaurant and the sign was changed from "Steak" to "Tea" by removing an "S" and a "K." It will once again be discussed at a Development Review Board hearing as the town contends that it is finally time to tear down the non-conforming structure. But the owners are not going without another fight. Brattleboro Zoning Administrator Brain Bannon has determined that the sign is in violation of the town's zoning code because it is not in good repair. Panels are missing, portions of the letters have broken away and the lighting fixtures are exposed to the elements, Bannon wrote in his violation notice.



Furthermore, the sign is both larger and taller than the current zoning code allows, and while it is "grandfathered" in as a nonconforming structure under the zoning code, the sign must be maintained, Bannon said. Bannon issued a violation notice to Panda North and the restaurant is appealing the notice to the DRB, which will hear the appeal at its July 20 meeting. Under the town's zoning code the sign is "grandfathered" in because it was erected before the most current zoning regulations were adopted in 1988. The town zoning code, however, requires that any "grandfathered," or nonconforming, sign that is damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing or restoration will exceed one-third the replacement value must be taken down. Bannon, in his letter, says the town considers signs and support structures separately, and given that half the sign panel is missing and portions of the text have broken away, the sign has sustained damage that exceeds one-third of its value.

Panda North could face fines of $200 per day if the sign remains and the appeal is denied. The sign was built in 1962 and originally displayed the word "Steak $5.99" before the letters "S" and "K" and the numbers were removed in 1990 shortly after the former steak house became a Chinese Restaurant. The town, back then, wanted Michael Lacroix, the then-owner of the property to remove the sign because steak was no longer being sold at $5.99. He instead changed the sign to "Tea." The town was not amused and took him to court, but an environmental judge found in 1998 that the "Tea" sign could stay. "I don't think the town ever got over that," said Bruce Hesselbach, a Brattleboro attorney who is representing Panda North. "They've been mad ever since and now they are going after it again." According to Hesselbach, the town needs to consider the complete value of the sign, including the supports, and not just use the sign when determining the value.



"When the (zoning code) uses the word "sign," it clearly means the entire sign including the frames and supports," Hesselbach wrote in the appeal. "Otherwise it would lead to the absurd result that the written part of the sign is allowed but the frame and supports have to be removed. The Environmental Court has already held that this sign could stay. The court did not rule that only the written part of the sign could stay." Hesselbach said his clients agree that the sign is in disrepair but he said Panda North wants to either repair the sign or replace it with a newer sign that reads "Panda North." "They did not want to get into another fight with the town, but they are being forced into it," he said. Bannon said he made his determination of the damage to the sign during a routine inspection, and he said the structure was both unsafe and an eyesore.. "As they long as they maintain the sign they can keep it," Bannon said. "But once it is damaged at one-third of its value it has to come down."