10-24-2011 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Item No: 07E Meeting Date: Oct 24, 2011 Type of Business: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 864, an Ordinance Amending Chapter 1008 of the Mounds View Municipal Code Pertaining to Dynamic Display Signs Introduction: The City amended its sign code on January 12, 2009 to include operational requirements and conditions for the use of dynamic display signage with the adoption of Ordinance 816. The ordinance instituted several regulations regarding such signs as well as creating a conversion process by which billboard companies could install a dynamic display billboard face if it removed two-full faces elsewhere in the community. The City Council discussed potential revisions at its work session on September 6, 2011 and directed staff to prepare an ordinance for first reading, which occurred on September 26, 2011. Discussion: Since the adoption of the ordinance in 2009, it has become evident that that the amount of time that each unique message must be held on dynamic signs was more than necessary. The intent of the original ten second hold requirement was to prevent the sign’s message from becoming a distraction to motorists. It has become clear that the hold time is much longer than it needs to be. As a means to assess a more appropriate hold time, messages on the City Hall sign have cycled every three seconds, every four seconds and every six seconds. The four second hold time appears to allow optimum cycling of the messages without becoming a distraction. In addition, the ordinance includes several updates which articulate specific luminance standards for dynamic display signs. The standard is based on “Nits” (candelas per square meter) and limits such signs to no more than 500 Nits at night and up to 7,500 Nits during the day. No sign erected subsequent to the adoption of the ordinance will be permitted that has the capability (as certified by the owner) to be brighter than 7,500 Nits. Also, the Code presently allows dynamic display signs to be located on school grounds, church property or other institutional land uses within a residential district upon approval of a conditional use permit. One of the conditions added is that the color of the lights be amber, which is much “softer” than the harsh red such as found on the City’s sign or the Walgreens’ sign. Finally, the ordinance will require that any dynamic display sign that has the capability of accessing and utilizing MN Amber Alert technology shall display such messages as they are made available by the MN Dept. of Public Safety or other responsible agency.