FINAL ORDINANCE NO. 08-007.1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section 3[Be41. The City Council of the City of Lake Elmo hereby ordains that Section 151.115 outlining the purpose of the municipal sign code is hereby amended to read as follows: (A) The Lake Elmo Sin Regulations are intended to establish a comprehensive and balanced system of sign control that accommodates the need for a well - maintained safe and attractive community, and the business community's need for effective communication and identification. It is not the purpose or intent of these regulations to favor commercial messages or speech over non-commercial messages or speech or to discriminate between types of non-commercial speech or the viewpoints represented therein It is the intent of these regulations to promote the health safety, general welfare, and desirable rural community image through the regulation of signs with the following objectives in mind: (1) Signs shall demonstrate a high standard of aesthetic character and encourage the use of monument and individual letter -style signs, (2) Permit large enough copy/graphic area to effectively convey the intended message but not so large as to unduly distract the reader and insist on lettering large enough to be easily read to encourage simple, uncluttered messages; (3) Signs shall be proportioned to the size of and architecturally compatible with the structures and other sins on the premises: (4) Permanent signs shall only advertise on -premise businesses, services, facilities, etc; (5) Allow temporary business signs for grand openings and occasional sales events and to allow temporary signs to advise the public of the seasonal sale of agricultural and horticultural products in keeping with the City's rural image without creating continuous visual clutter or traffic hazards along streets or at intersections: and (6) Signs shall be properly maintained. (7) Signs that distract drivers cyclists and pedestrians shall not be permitted. Studies conducted by public and private agencies have identified that dynamic signs including multi -vision signs, electronic signs and video displays can be highly distracting to drivers, pedestrians. and cyclists and that distraction is a significant underlying cause of traffic accidents. With respect to electronic signs including video display signs, the City finds that they are highly visible from long distances and at very wide viewing angles both day and night and are designed to catch the eye of persons in their vicinity and hold it for extended periods of time. If left uncontrolled, electronic signs including video display signs constitute a serious traffic safety threat Studies conducted by the Federal Highway Administration Page 2 of 7