08-14-2014 Planning Comm. Agenda

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NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS, INC. 4800 Olson Memorial Highway, Suite 202, Golden Valley, MN 55422 Telephone: 763.231 .2555 Facsimile: 763.231.2561 planners@nacplanning.com MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada Planning Commission FROM: Stephen Grittman DATE: August 8, 2014 RE: Little Canada — Kaposia Sign Design Exception FILE NO: 758.09 — Background and Analysis Kaposia, a tenant in the London Square office complex at 223 Little Canada Road, is seeking an exception to the Architectural Guidelines requirements related to the prohibition against white -background signs. The purpose of this provision is to limit the impact of sign glare to public streets and other neighboring properties. The glare problem is most prevalent along Rice Street where several freestanding signs had been constructed over the years with internally lit sign cabinets that were dominated by white backgrounds and limited message area — the strong glare interferes with general visibility in the corridor, and in many cases, makes the sign messages unreadable. As a result, the Architectural Guidelines were written, and have been enforced routinely now for several years, to require that new signs be designed to "reverse out" the message from a dark background. The proposed Kaposia sign is a 6 square foot wall sign on a corner of the office complex that is not visible from the street — only the parking area serving the facility. Moreover, the sign is a metal panel structure that is not lit, either internally or externally. In both of these ways, the sign is not typical of the signs which the guidelines were intended to address. In addition, the City has approved other signs that have white backgrounds but which did not illuminate the white areas of the sign. As such, it would be reasonable to consider this sign for an exception to the Architectural Guidelines sign design criteria.