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Commissioner Hasegawa asked if any other signs are grandfathered into our current <br />• code. Jones said there could be some but they would be very old, and signs are <br />replaced often enough that it is unlikely there are more than a few. The roof sign for <br />The Source Comics and Games is nonconforming. In response to another question <br />from the commissioner she confirmed that city sign codes do not apply to the State <br />Fair and the university campus. <br />Commissioners had several questions for the city attorney Jamnik regarding the <br />city's potential exposure to legal challenge if different levels of restriction were <br />imposed, from making the moratorium permanent (a complete prohibition) to <br />restrictions based on zoning districts. <br />Mr. Jamnik said it might be possible to construct an argument that a complete <br />prohibition would restrict free speech unduly. In fact he knows of no city that has a <br />total ban on these signs, nor has he seen a city ordinance challenged. Although his <br />answer is speculative, he said, he felt making the moratorium permanent would <br />place the city at risk of challenge and having the ordinance overturned, because the <br />moratorium is so restrictive. He said that not only traffic safety can inform and <br />support a city's regulation of this matter but also protection of the "peace and quiet" <br />of residential zones with classic "time, place, and manner" restrictions that are <br />content neutral. Such restrictions could address, for instance, the brightness of signs, <br />or their proximity to residential property. <br />• <br />INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: None <br />ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. to a short workshop. <br />Respectfully submitted, <br />Debora Jones, Staff Liaison <br />WORKSHOP: <br />The Commissioners met briefly after the adjournment of the formal meeting to ask <br />more questions of the city attorney, begin informal discussion of the issue and <br />formulate research requests for staff. Commissioners asked for sample ordinances <br />from other cities which have already addressed this issue in their codes. <br />C <br />City of Falcon Heights -Planning Commission Meeting of Apri122, 2008 -Page 3 of 3 <br />