07-12-07 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Meeting of June 14, 2007 Page 7 Subject: Dynamic Signs No sign may be of such intensity or brilliance that it interferes with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, device or signal. The ordinance includes a process that allows city staff to make the initial determination, but allows a sign owner to appeal this determination to an independent panel. The appeal panel would consist of one person selected by the city, one person selected by the sign owner, and one person selected by the first two people. This approach was discussed at a meeting with sign industry representatives and appears to be generally acceptable. The ordinance currently does not prohibit the use of pure white light, but staff is hopeful that industry representatives will help staff define that term. Application to Existing Signs The ordinance provides that existing dynamic displays must comply with the operational standards. An existing dynamic display that does not meet the percent of sign face requirement may continue as anon-conforming development. An existing dynamic display that cannot meet the 10 inch minimum size requirement must use the largest size possible for one line of copy to fit in the available space. Incentives The ordinance also includes incentives to encourage the removal of non-conforming outdoor advertising signs. The advent of dynamic technology creates an important community planning opportunity. A single dynamic sign can serve the function otherwise performed by multiple traditional billboards. Thus, outdoor advertising companies ought to be encouraged to use dynamic sign displays to consolidate such activities in appropriate locations while removing traditional billboards from areas where large signs are not appropriate. The city of Minnetonka previously made a determination that off-premise signs are no longer allowed in the city because they are inherently distracting and do not serve the need of property owners to identify themselves and their businesses. Those signs remain now as non-conforming uses. State and federal laws severely limit the city's ability to require the removal of those signs. The ordinance allows an off-premises sign to use 100% of the message area for dynamic messages and an eight-second message display time if the owner removes two other off-premise signs and commits to keep another sign without dynamic displays, subject to certain minimum size and other conditions. This trade would offset the distraction of a larger message area by removing the inherent distraction from another sign and would reduce the number of non-conforming signs in the city. Because outdoor advertising signs do not have the need for on-premises identification and also will not proliferate since they are not allowed, this approach appears appropriate. 7-