09-13-07 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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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@nacpla nning.com MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada Planning Commission FROM: Stephen Grittman DATE: July 5, 2007 RE: Little Canada -Dynamic (Electronic) Sign Ordinance FILE NO: 758.10 - 07.01 Background and Analysis This report forwards a draft amendment to the City's sign regulations that would address the use of "dynamic" signs. The amendment material was drawn primarily from the recent Minnetonka ordinance and the study supporting that process. It is important to remember that Minnetonka's ordinance was drafted as a component of a settlement with major billboard operators in the City as a result of the City's action to disable some of those signs. Other cities' ordinances and reactions to the advent of such signs have also been researched, and those experiences have been incorporated into the proposed language. In addition to the dynamic sign issue, this proposed amendment addresses other changes to the sign ordinance that are intended to minimize challenges to the City's regulations on content-based grounds. As a general rule, a city is not permitted to regulate signage based on the content of the sign, due to a potential violation of First Amendment interests. There are some limited exceptions that permit such regulation, but ordinances must avoid this unless there is a compelling governmental interest, and the regulation are "narrowly drawn" to address that interest. As such, the second set of amendments to the sign ordinance in this proposal are intended to alter concerns in this area. Dvnamic (Electronic) Signs. The changes proposed in this amendment are as follows: Add additional language to the Purpose Statement at the beginning of the section to address signage as a means of the public to find its way to locations in the City.