10-29-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 29, 2018 before the amendment, the Public District was not specific to the number of signs that could be installed, but limited the total sign area to 32 square feet. The Associate Planner stated that two freestanding signs exist on the property today and have a combined 40 square feet of sign area. She noted that prior to the code amendment, it was determined that the two freestanding signs are considered to be legal non -conforming signage since they exceed 32 square feet. The Associate Planner explained that when the amendment was being considered, the Church had begun working with city staff on a sign permit to allow their freestanding sign with the manual reader board to be upgraded. She reported that the upgrade would include replacing the manual reader board with an electronic message center, plus installation of a new cabinet on top. She noted the Church will be using the existing stone monument columns since they are'historic to the congregation, but by using these columns, the Church is limited to how many square feet of sign area they can increase. However, given the signs are legal non -conforming this means they can replace the signs "as is", but cannot increase the non- conformance. The Associate Planner stated that the Church could upgrade either freestanding sign, but would have to stay at or below a combined total of 40 square feet of sign area between the two signs. She explained that the proposed signage has a slightly smaller message center, but the top cabinet is larger due to visibility concerns. Overall, the sign area is proposed to be approximately five square feet larger. The Associate Planner stated that the new Public District standards would allow the Church to increase the sign area since commercial districts allow signage up to 15 percent of wall area, but the code now specifies the number of signs. She explained that a corner property is allowed one freestanding sign, plus one wall sign per street frontage. She noted that the code amendment has shifted their legal non -conforming portion to be the number of freestanding signs since the sign area now complies. Therefore, St. Johns Church of Little Canada is seeking a variance to allow two freestanding signs. The Associate Planner stated that the proposed variance does not create any negative impacts. She explained that it is city staff s opinion that the special conditions and circumstances were not a result of the actions of the applicant, which supports a finding of fact for a variance to allow St. Johns Church of Little Canada two freestanding signs. She reported that two free standing signs were allowed with the old Public District standards. She noted that the proposed sign is consistent with the City's Architectural Guidelines and is in character with the mix of residential/commercial uses along Little Canada Road. The Associate Planner stated that planning staff is recommending approval of a variance to allow two freestanding signs based upon a finding that the circumstances were not a result of actions of 1!