As construction progresses on the first mixed-use development to emerge north of the Herndon Metro station, the town has finalized guidelines for signage to identify that project and those that follow.
The Herndon Town Council voted unanimously and without discussion on May 26 to adopt a zoning ordinance amendment with a sign plan for the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core (HTOC), an approximately 38-acre area on the north side of the Metro station, bounded by Van Buren Street, Herndon Parkway and the Dulles Toll Road.
“There are no zoning standards for signs there right now, which means we cannot issue any signs,” Herndon Zoning Administrator David Stromberg told the town council.
With Fairfield Residential’s Nell at 555 Apartments expected to finish construction in 2027, Stromberg said the town needs to have sign standards in place so the developer and future businesses can apply for permits.
Replacing an office building at 555 Herndon Parkway, Nell at 555 will feature 399 studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments supported by 14,000 square feet of private amenity space and approximately 5,000 square feet of publicly accessible retail.
“They have a sign package in, ready to go, but are stuck in a holding pattern until we can have the zoning in place which would allow us to issue permits to their sign package,” Stromberg said.
Planned as a mixed-use urban center, the HTOC is envisioned as a gateway into the town from the Herndon Metro station with a promenade and the town’s most intense level of development. A plan adopted in 2012 projected that the area could support up to 4.1 million square feet of office, retail and hotel development and 2,357 homes by 2035.
According to Stromberg, coming up with sign standards for mixed-use development “is a little bit more complex than other parts of town,” since apartment buildings, for example, have different needs than offices or retail businesses, but they still need to look visually cohesive.
Among other criteria, the newly adopted sign plan limits all electronic displays in town — not just the HOTC — to a maximum brightness of 100 nits from dusk until dawn.
Under the amendment, the HTOC has the same sign standards as the Transit-Related Growth Area, which encompasses about 93 acres north of Herndon Parkway and is intended to serve as a transitional zone between the high-density development adjacent to the Metro station and existing single-family neighborhoods.
As part of the amendment, the town has introduced standards for several new sign types, including freestanding signs, parapet and tower signs installed at the top of buildings, and smaller plaque, projecting banner and A-frame or sandwich board signs.
Freestanding signs are divided into two categories: primary signs — previously named monument signs — that are larger at 32 square feet and intended to catch the attention of drivers, and secondary signs, which are allowed a maximum of 18 square feet each and must be “scaled for pedestrian messaging.”
Parapet signs will be permitted only on buildings 60 feet or taller with a maximum size of 150 square feet, while tower signs can be larger, depending on the building’s height, but must face the Dulles Toll Road.
Plaques, projecting banners and A-frame signs are intended more for individual businesses or tenants, rather than the overall development. Businesses are permitted one plaque each as well as unlimited number of projecting banners and A-frame signs, though they still have to meet size and height standards, and the latter has to be located in front of the establishment without blocking pedestrian passages.
“[Those are] all types of signs to make mixed-use projects more successful,” Stromberg said.
Supported by both the Herndon Planning Commission and town staff, the new sign plan took effect as soon as it was adopted by the town council.
