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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2008/01/07 (2)PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOT Special Meeting January 7, 2008 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 7:04 P.M. 1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL: Marry, Stigney, Hull, Flaherty, and Mueller NOT PRESENT: None 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A. Monday, January 7, 2008 City Council Agenda MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Flaherty. To Approve the Monday, January 7, 2008 City Council Agenda as Presented. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. 5. PUBLIC INPUT None. 6. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUISNESS None. 7. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. Public Hearing to Consider the Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 801, an Ordinance Amending Chapter 1008 of the City Code Regarding Requirements for Signs and Billboards Interim Administrator Ericson noted that the reason for the special meeting is to consider the second reading and adoption of Ordinance 801, an Ordinance amending Chapter 1008 regarding Signs and Billboards. Council heard the first reading of this Ordinance on December 10, 2007, Mounds View City Council January 7, 2008 Special Meeting Page 2 and additional information has been provided to Council for review. After the Council reviewed this matter the Planning Commission reviewed the documentation and the Ordinance and adopted Resolution 881-07 recommending approval of this Ordinance. Interim Administrator Ericson noted that this is in response to the adopted moratorium providing a moratorium on any new signs, permits, billboards, and any signs in Mounds View due to the concerns with dynamic display billboards and the research that needed to be done. Research has been completed and Staff has provided that information to Council. Attorney Riggs explained that the Staff memorandum covers this issue well. Attorney Riggs indicated that Clear Channel representatives are present and would like to speak to this Ordinance. Attorney Riggs indicated that other issues would need to be addressed with regard to the sign code but this amendment addresses dynamic billboards. Mayor Marty opened the public hearing at 7:10 p.m. Tom McCarver from Clear Channel Outdoor addressed the Council and said that he is speaking to this as they are one of the two billboard companies in the market and they are the only digital provider for the larger billboards in the metro area. Mr. McCarver indicated that he has spoken to various City officials on this matter before and they are willing to work out a partnership with the City. Mr. McCarver explained some of their partnerships involving Mn/DOT weather and traffic issues and amber alerts. Attorney Riggs indicated that he has discussed the option of a closed session with legal staff Mr. Jim Baffin of 2332 Laport Drive said that this is an issue he never would have thought about before involving light pollution from Medtronic. He then asked how much light the electronic billboards put out. Mr. McCarver explained that Clear Channel billboards are constructed to be seen easily which is different from an on premise sign. He then said that there are louvers that direct the lighted message to the target area. He further explained that their standard billboards have a light that reflects off and they are trying to use different lights to focus the light but with an LED there are louvers that direct the light. Mr. Baffin said that this sounds like intriguing technology with things to minimize the impact but, he would like whatever Ordinance that goes in to take into account the proximity to residential areas where their homes are. Attorney Riggs explained that the public record would include the Minutes of the December 10, 2007 meeting, materials provided at the December 10, 2007 meeting, materials from the Mounds View City Council January 7, 2008 Special Meeting Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting and the testimony and materials from this meeting. The testimony at the previous meeting involved driver distraction and that is the information before Council with regard to the specific Ordinance. Hearing no further comments, Mayor Marty closed the public hearing at 7:27 p.m. Council Member Flaherty explained that the Ordinance is something for the City to have on dynamic signs. The information provided to the City was a lengthy study commissioned by the City of Minnetonka approved by the League of Minnesota Cities done by SRF Consulting. He then said that he agrees that this comes down to driver distraction. Council Member Flaherty indicated he would be open to further discussion but this is necessary to protect the City at this time. Council Member Mueller said that she used to drive for her employer and she knows the traffic and times have changed and there are more and more driver distractions. She then said that she had to drive to Monticello to pick up her son recently one evening, and on the way back she was greatly influenced by some very bright digital signs that she had not paid attention to before and she found them very distracting. She further said that she does not feel that this type of electronic display boards would be appropriate for the community in the locations available for them. MOTION/SECOND: Stigney/Flaherty. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Ordinance 801, an Ordinance Amending Chapter 1008 of the City Code Regarding Requirements for Signs and Billboards. Council Member Stigney indicated that the moratorium is going to expire and the recommendation of the Attorney was to approve this Ordinance and allow time for other issues with the dynamic sign industry to be worked out. Mayor Marty said that Clear Channel provided a lot of information to the Council for review. Mayor Marty said that the federal study results are expected to come out in 2009. He then said that if the City were to approve any billboards and the study comes out indicating that they are a distraction then the "cart is before the horse." He further said that he does see the need to put an Ordinance into effect in order to protect the City. Mayor Marty indicated that the few digital billboards that he has seen really caught his attention and were distracting. He then said that he would be amenable to discuss, at a later time, a proposal with Clear Channel. Mayor Marty indicated that he is in support of this Ordinance at this time. Council Member Stigney indicated that the state needs to come up with some regulations for these signs yet. Mounds View City Council January 7, 2008 Special Meeting Page 4 • Attorney Riggs indicated that 2009 is the earliest date that has been mentioned for results of the study and, in his opinion, this is a time consuming study and it may take a lot longer. ROLL CALL: Flaherty/Mueller/Stigney/Hull/Marty Nays - 0 Motion carried. Ayes - 5 MOTION/SECOND: Stigney/Many. To Authorize Publishing of a Summary of Ordinance 801. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. Council Member Mueller asked whether the documents provided regarding this matter are available for residents to review. Staff indicated that they are available for review at City Hall. 8. CONSENT AGENDA None. 9. JUST AND CORRECT CLAIMS None. 10. APPROVAL OF MINUTES None. 11. REPORTS A. Mayor and Council B. Reports of Staff C. Reports of City Attorney 12. Next Council Work Session: Next Council Meeting: Monday, January 7, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. Monday, January 14, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. 13. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Transcribed by: Joan Lenzmeier, Recording Clerk Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.