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11 <br /> City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br /> • January 9, 2001 <br /> Page 11 <br /> 1 requirements. Mr. Kalscheur noted that Walgreens is unique in.being a stand alone <br /> 2 retailer with 15,000 square feet, much smaller than other stand alone retailers such as <br /> 3 Target. He stated if a 15,000 square foot strip center were proposed, the Ordinance <br /> 4 would allow for a 150 square foot monument sign as opposed to a 64 square foot . <br /> 5 monument sign. He suggested that their signage needs do not fit the typical signage <br /> 6 needs which the Sign Ordinance does a good job of addressing. He stated that 50 square <br /> 7 feet per side would better fit their signage needs. Mr. Kalscheur noted the unique <br /> 8 characteristics of this site including a 20 foot wide utility easement on the eastern side of <br /> 9 the building which resulted in having to push the building farther back from Silver Lake <br /> 10 Road than is typical. Also, if traveling southbound on Silver Lake Road, the trees along <br /> 11 the railroad tracks block the view of the building. If traveling northbound,the residential <br /> 12 homes make the view difficult as well. In addition, the elevation falls from east to west <br /> 13 so their floor elevation will be five to six feet lower than the elevation of Silver Lake <br /> 14 Road. Mr. Kalscheur stated they want to be sensitive to residents so the building signage <br /> 15 used is not very intense. He suggested that their situation is unique and they feel making <br /> 16 a sign variance request is more appropriate than requesting an ordinance revision. Also, <br /> 17 they feel the proposed sign will be in better scale with the building. <br /> .18 Mr. Ialscheur pointed out the location of the proposed sign on the southeast corner in an <br /> 19 east/west orientation. <br /> 20 Hodson asked if a 15,000 square foot multi-use building would have the ability to get 150 <br /> 21 square feet of signage. Morrison explained that if the building has multi-tenants, the <br /> 22 ordinance contains a provision to exceed the sign square footage. <br /> 23 Hodson noted that a Walgreens business includes a pharmacy, photo shop, etc. which is <br /> 24 somewhat of a multi use. <br /> 25 Mayor Cavanaugh noted that approving this variance would result in setting a precedent <br /> 26 and raising the "bar" for others to request the same. He stated that would move off the <br /> 27 established standard and asked the Council if they want to consider establishing that, <br /> 28 precedent. <br /> 29 Horst stated that approval of a variance cannot be considered lightly and a hardship must <br /> 30 be found to consider approval. <br /> 31 Mayor Cavanaugh noted the Planning Commission recommendation, on a split vote, to <br /> 32 maintain the standard. He stated he is uncomfortable with changing the "bar." <br /> 0 33 Thuesen stated he understands the justification for the request and some of the rationale <br /> 34 seems logical. However, he is also uncomfortable with approving the variance use due to <br /> 35 the future requests that may be received. Thuesen stated the City needs to have flexibility <br />