BY ELENI HIMARAS
reporter@ltview.com
The Bee Cave City Council approved a new comprehensive sign package for the Shops at the Hill Country Galleria that does not include a last minute request for special signage on the rear of the building for a possible farmer’s market grocery.

 ”The Shops is committed to promoting our smaller tenants and restaurants,” Shops Attorney Jim Bellevue said in a letter to the council. “In the interest of maintaining the financial health of these smaller tenants, one request is for a secondary monument sign at the entrances.”
In addition to the secondary monument signs, the shops would be allowed 10 directory signs, seven internal monument signs restricted to small tenants and restaurants and a secondary monument sign for restaurants only. The rest of the signage would have to be applied for by individual businesses and conform to the current sign ordinance.
“I think these designs are excellent and I think judging by the appeal from the tenants it’s something they really want,” Councilman Steve Braasch said.
The negotiations started on a rocky note as Bellevue inserted a provision for the farmer’s market sign after his last meeting with Councilman Mike Murphy.
“I’ve been involved in almost every negotiation dealing with development since 2000. This is the first time I’ve had a party unilaterally alter what had been agreed to then submit it as a proposal,” he said.
Bellevue apologized for having put the notification of the amendment only in the cover letter, but not calling Murphy directly.
“I want to apologize to Mr. Murphy. When this opportunity came about it was a last minute opportunity and I didn’t want to miss out on it,” Shops Owner Greg Christopher told the council.
Christopher said that attracting restaurants to the location has been a laborious process involving rent concessions and doing much of the construction without the help of the incoming businesses. When the bid for the farmer’s market came in last minute, but the business owner had concerns about the visibility, he put the provision in at the last minute.
“That one sign is more important than everything else to me because it yields us some revenue,” he said. “I know it’s stressful and I’m very sorry about the rush but I didn’t want to lose the opportunity; it’s so difficult now to exist.”
Murphy was not swayed by the proposal.
“I’m not going to make guesses about the success or failure of a store, that is the individual tenant’s risk,” he said. “And I am not going to gut the sign ordinance for the shadow of a hope that the savior has arrived for the hopes. I don’t buy it.”
Mayor Caroline Murphy said she’d be willing to work with the tenant up to and including an additional internal monument sign but would also not support the sign on the rear of the building.
Representatives from the shop requested that Bee Cave councilmembers vote on the sign package without the farmer’s market sign provision, but asked that they have the opportunity to work with staff in the future.