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Planning Case No. 452-96 • New Apostolic Church; 3025 County Road H September 4, 1996 Page 16 Access Points The curb cut on County Road H is 41 feet and the curb cut on Pleasant View Drive is 34 feet. The maximum width allowed in the R-1 district is 22 feet. The maximum allowed for business and industrial uses is 30 feet. Given the size of this church facility and its location in a residential neighborhood, staff feels at curb cut of 22 feet is appropriate. A contingency has been included that these access points be reduced to 22 feet. Landscaping This issue has been discussed earlier under the Conditional Use Permit section of this report. In summary, with the exception of the White Cedar(Arborvitae), all of the landscape materials proposed are acceptable. The applicant's plan shows a close to continuous screen of evergreen trees along the north and east property line, with a double row of trees in the most critical section of the north side. Flowering ornamental trees have been used to accent the building and create an attractive setting. Many of the existing mature trees have been retained as part of the landscape plan. The plan shows a commitment to create an appealing site. Staff regards the landscape plan as acceptable, • with the substitution of Black Hills Spruce for the White Cedar, and changing the height specified for all of the trees to 6-7 feet rather than 4 or 6 feet. Staff is also recommending that a note be added to the landscape plan specifying that a sandy topsoil be used in the grassed areas and these areas be seeded rather than use sod. Signage The Zoning Code is close to silent on the question of signage for churches. Community facilities such as churches, schools, community centers and recreational buildings, and some businesses such as day nurseries are allowed in residential zoning districts, but the sign regulations for these districts only pertain to residential uses. Staff has noted that the other churches in the community have signs. The closest regulations would be for the neighborhood businesses (B-1). This district allows signs not exceeding 100 square feet of total area combined. The applicant is proposing a sign and cross on both the east and west walls of the church, and a plaque at the entrance which would list the times of the services. On the east end, the sign is 18.15 square feet and the cross is 24 square feet for a total of 42.15 square feet. This represents 5.7% of the building face. On the west end, the sign is 29 square feet and the cross is 44 square feet, for a total of 73 square feet or 10% of the building face. The overall total is 115 square feet which is more than the 100 square feet used in the B-1 • district for neighborhood businesses. The applicant has indicated that they want to