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<br /> <br />Allegiance Fitness Variance Report <br />May 7, 2014 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br />For the Planning Commission to act favorably toward this application, there must be a <br />demonstrated hardship or practical difficulty associated with the property that makes a literal <br />interpretation of the Code overly burdensome or restrictive to a property owner. This is true <br />for all variance requests. State statutes require that the governing body review a set of <br />specified criteria for each application and make its decision in accordance with these criteria. <br />These criteria are set forth in Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2, of the City Code. The Code <br />clearly states that a hardship exists when all of the criteria are met. The individual criteria, <br />with responses, are as follows: <br /> <br />a. The variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of these regulations. <br /> <br />The zoning code limits amounts of signage for aesthetic reasons. The zoning code <br />does not take into consideration the size of the business’s building or the visibility of <br />the building from its street frontages. Due the angle of County Road 10, some <br />businesses located along the highway have more than one visible street front where <br />wall signage could be appropriate. <br /> <br />b. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />While the Comprehensive Plan does not specify signage criteria for businesses, it <br />does support improvements to, and the success of the City’s businesses. The <br />installation of additional wall signage will be helpful to the success of this business. <br /> <br />c. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by <br />this Title or the City Code. <br /> <br />The applicant is asking for the additional wall signage in order for the business to be <br />more visible to potential customers, and to help new customers find their location. <br /> <br />d. Unique circumstances apply to the property which do not apply to other properties in <br />the same zone or vicinity and result from lot size or shape, topography or other <br />circumstances over which the owner of the property since the enactment of this Title <br />has had no control. The unique circumstances do not result from the actions of the <br />applicant. <br /> <br />The unique circumstances of this building are that it has two very visible sides – one <br />side is only visible from County Road 10, and the other side faces the parking lot <br />where the entrances are; and because they are in a business park with multiple <br />tenants, they do not have their own ground signage like other businesses. <br /> <br />e. The variance does not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. <br /> <br />This business is located within a multiple building business park that is on the main <br />commercial corridor that runs through the City. The additional signage will have little <br />impact to the existing character of the neighborhood.