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Clear Channel Variance Request July 7, 2004 Page 2 Discussion: At the February 2004 City Council worksession meeting, Clear Channel presented the City Council with an alternative design and location plan and informed the Council of the anticipated loss of hundreds of trees associated with the implementation of the billboards. The alternative design was brought forward for Council consideration after it was determined that the original design would be too much of a disruption to course play. In addition, it was pointed out that former golf course management had counted on a nine-hole expansion of the course as the source for the amount of fill needed to create the earthen berms upon which the billboards would be located. There are no plans for an expansion of the golf course and the City no longer desires the berm, which would have given the signs the additional ten feet of height currently being requested by variance. The billboard design now supported by the City Council is shown below. Height: Mounds View’s City Code limits the height of a billboard to no more than 35 feet above the grade of the adjacent roadway. There are many trees within and alongside the MnDOT right of way that would block the view of the signs if their height were limited to 35 feet. (Originally, the height of the trees was not considered an issue as the height of the berm had elevated the billboard faces above the tree line.) Because the City is no longer pursuing an expansion of the golf course and is no longer interested in constructing an earthen berm in this area, Clear Channel requests an additional ten feet in height to make up for the loss of the berm. The benefit to the City of the increased height is two-fold: most of the existing trees will be preserved and the taller sign faces become less of a physical and psychological impediment to golf play. To aid the Commission’s review of this component of the request, Clear Channel has submitted graphics illustrating the height differences between 35 feet and 45 feet. The new design incorporates a single pole construction with a brick façade column and brick trim under the sign face. This design minimizes the extent to which the billboard face projects into the golf course. Because the cart paths could be located under the billboard, there would be little disruption to the facility and no need to relocate cart paths.