GRAND RAPIDS, MI – New lights on the dome atop McKay Tower have come under city scrutiny because of their ability to display messages and images.

New owners of the 18-story building at 146 Monroe Center NW earlier this year installed 1,200 LED lights on the 70-year-old dome, but that technology has the capacity to violate city code by turning the dome on downtown’s fifth-tallest building into what Grand Rapids zoning law considers a sign.

Grand Rapids officials notified the building owner that using the lights to display a message or logo is illegal.

The building owner, Steadfast Property Holdings, “would like to be allowed to have any message or logo on the dome at any time,” according to an application filed with the city’s planning department.

“It not only will attract visitors to the city, but also support the city’s events,” the application states. “We expect visitors will ride the Amway (Grand Plaza Hotel) elevators for the specific purpose of seeing the dome.

“Preventing the dome from using moving, lighted images prevents the building from celebrating its uniqueness.”

The city Board of Zoning Appeals has scheduled a hearing for 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at the city's Development Center, 1120 Monroe Ave. NW to consider the owner's request.

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Steadfast Property Holdings wants a zoning variance “to display scrolling messages and logos along with changing colors,” according to a hearing notice. Rooftop signs are not allowed at the location.

“It’s not a matter of whether or not the dome can be lit. It’s that with the LED portion it can actually go from being an architectural element to a sign,” said Suzanne Schulz, city planning director. “We do want to make sure that you don’t see (corporate logos) up there that are commercial in nature. We want to make sure they cannot do off-premise advertising on the dome.”

Schulz said it might be possible for the zoning board to permit display of certain non-commercial messages atop the dome while still prohibiting commercial images or messages.

Matt Vande Bunte covers government for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at mvandebu@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.