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City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop Notes -February 24, 2004 Present: Commissioners Heideman, Harris, DeLeo, Lageson, Maher, Tracy, Council Member Lindstrom, Staff Liaison Jones. The workshop commenced at approximately 7:10 p.m. Summary: Commissioners are reading and discussing the City's zoning code in preparation for a revision expected this year. The sign code received additional attention this month, as the Commissioners gave some thought to issues of visual design in general and City identity, as presented in the "streetscape," in particular. The Commissioners also spent some time in discussion of the Housing Code, Chapter 10. The review and revision process will revisit each section of the zoning code more than once. We are now on a "first pass," highlighting areas of concern and pointing out topics that need particular attention, discussion and research. Discussion: Website Phenomena In response to a question from Commissioner Lageson on the lack of recent variances to consider, Staff Liaison Jones said that the addition of zoning ordinance information to the City website, along with the growing technological sophistication of homeowners, has led to a streamlining of building permit process and major savings of staff time and cost to the City. Residents are coming forward with plans that already take the rules into account and producing site plans of almost professional quality. Commissioner Heideman complimented the website for clear and • concise information. Ms. Jones said the information was shaped by the inquiries received from residents and contractors, the things they most want to know. Another important recent development in technology resources available to residents is a public access website where residents can make their own maps of their own lots, to use as a basis for a site map. The website (http://maps.metro-inet.us) is sponsored by the Ramsey County GIS User Group, of which Falcon Heights is a member. Ms. Jones said that the site is not quite ready to open to the public, but she will email the address to Commissioners if they would like to try it out. The website also has 2003 aerial photos. Bus Benches Ms. Jones distributed copies of Roseville's bus bench ordinance, passed in September, 2003, and related her conversation with Dennis Welsch of the Roseville staff. Falcon Heights may not need to go through anything like the three year process in Roseville because, according to the City Attorney, the benches are covered under the current City advertising sign ordinance and can be dealt with administratively. The City Administrator plans to send a letter to the bench company seeking voluntary removal; the Commission will be kept informed. Signs The Commission revisited the sign discussion Commissioner Heideman did some research on sign ordinances in other cities, including Roseville and Eden Prairie, and had some comment on how these codes are organized. They tend to be more inclusive than Falcon Heights, which • distributes some rules on signs to other sections of the code. Some of these codes are also much longer and more comprehensive than we have. Eden Prairie has a maximum size of 80 square feet. Roseville's size requirements are similar to ours, with a much larger maximum. Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop, February 24, 2004 Page 1 of 3