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FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES _2_ May 5, 2004 POLICY AGENDA: Consideration of enforcement action with regard to U S Bench Administrator Worthington said that in early April, staff notified U.S. Bench that they were in violation of a City ordinance that prohibits advertising signs in the right of way. This enforcement action was the result of a citizen complaint about the location of a bus bench adjacent to the resident's property. The company was given until May 11 to remove their benches. They have removed the bench the citizen complained about. There are two representatives for U.S. Bench in attendance this evening to appeal the City's enforcement action. The City has been looking at a number of ways other cities have dealt with this issue. Mr. Roland Danielson introduced himself and his son Scott, and said that U.S. Bench is a family business that has been in operation for 58 years. One hundred percent of the ownership is in attendance this evening. Their business has served Falcon Heights for 47 years. They provide insurance for their benches and Falcon Heights is covered with a $3 million policy. Their main desire is to work with the City so they will be in compliance and acceptable to the City of Falcon Heights. They work with many communities. Some communities require a special use permit. The Minneapolis City Council votes on every bench location. Saint Paul gives permission through the Public Works administrative system. State statute allows benches to be on State, County and City roads, provided the City permits them. The insurance aspect is very important. Maintenance is the biggest cost. They have several maintenance trucks on routes all the time. Many benches are hit by vehicles during bad weather. The benches provide a public service without public cost. They are very careful about who sponsors the benches. No liquor, no political, no law firm signage is permitted. They look at every sponsor. The community means a lot to them. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are the only two national businesses that they have contracts with; the rest are all local businesses. Council member Lamb asked how many of their benches are located in the City. Mr. Danielson said they have about six and they are located in the commercial and business areas. Council member Lindstrom asked how many municipalities in the Twin Cities ban bench advertising like Falcon Heights does. Mr. Danielson said that 80% of the communities do not on a courtesy bench. The opinion of a former State Attorney General is that courtesy benches are not advertising. Benches are treated differently. Council member Lindstrom said that he agrees it is a public service to have a bench but the advertising adds to the visual clutter of the street. He encouraged the City to look at this and see if the advertising can be toned down in some manner. Mr. Danielson said that the approach they are phasing in now is to just have advertising on the fronts of the benches. As the benches are replaced, the back ads do not go on. The benches are rugged and built for taking a lot of abuse. Income from the sponsors helps pay for that. IG