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Germantown, TN Study
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Section 7:
Aesthetics
This request is written so to assist Germantown in realizing its aesthetic and long term planning goals. It is axiomatic in an environment where change is constant, that if you prohibit the visual communication component of your retail sites to be flexible, and to augment and increase the retail site, it is only a matter of time until the retail community cannot afford proper design, maintenance and the design, fixtures and merchandise needed to survive in changing competitive economy. So if aesthetics, upkeep and improvement of the environment are in fact part of the city's goal, which it states in the general plan, it is reasonable that our request be granted. Although aesthetics are completely subjective we believe that Pier 1's signs meet the aesthetics requirement. We have included a color copy of some of our logo signs for your review.
We also have included a copy of the customer survey (mentioned earlier) to determine what percentage of the people would look to the sign for traffic safety and if they consider it to be out of context with the zone it is found in. According to the survey conducted by Market Development Associates, the customers of Germantown's Pier 1 found that the form and function of the visual communication device (signage) were appropriate in appearance and were helpful as a safety tool. Please see the attached results of the enclosed survey. We believe that our request is not only acceptable in terms of safety and economics, it enhances and does not detract from the design and aesthetics of Germantown, Tennessee.
As we have explained, there is a substantial argument to be made that without this requested signage, the aesthetics of the Pier 1 Imports building will not identify it as a retail site and will in fact, cause the customers of this store to go other places and/or will not allow us to use this site as effectively. When consumers shopping in a city cannot use a retail area effectively as it is zoned because they do not identify a site as a retail activity, the city needs to zone more areas of the city for retail/commercial use. This condition eventually leads to urban sprawl which is actually directly against the aesthetics, maintenance and upkeep of Germantown.
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This study is also downloadable in PDF format here.