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MEMORANDUM DATE: 09/09/03 MEETING DATE: 09/16/03 TO: Planning Commission Members FROM: Susan M.H. Hall, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Northgate Office Park Ground Sign Requested Action: Northgate Office Park, located at 2500 Highway 88, has submitted a sign variance request for a proposed ground sign. The variance request is for a three-foot setback variance to allow for a 12-foot setback from the roadway. Background: In July, the applicant proposed a, pylon sign for the front of their building. At that time, the applicant also presented other variance requests. In July, the City Council denied the application because it veered too far from the City's sign ordinance. This time, the applicant is returning to the City with an application for a ground sign and is asking for one variance for a three-foot setback variance from the roadway to allow for a 12-foot setback. The variance request is necessary because city ordinance states that ground signs be located at least 15 feet from any street or other easement. The applicant states this setback is from the east property line and is necessary so the sign does not interfere with traffic flow. The applicant states that no further signage are proposed is the foreseeable future and the unsightly former drive up teller, which occupied 'a portion of the lot, has been removed. City staff sees this as an improvement to the site. The application states "interior lighting by means of six vertical fluorescent high-output tubes mounted vertically on twelve-inch centers is proposed. Lighting is anticipated to be from dusk to midnight." It will need to be clarified if this lighting mentioned is for the inside of the sign, or what the applicant is referring to. Finally, the applicant states landscaping will be essentially unchanged except for the addition of small shrubs or bushes around the base of the sign support. On the current sign plan, landscaping is not shown. The City will require a landscape plan prior to building permit approval. Ground signs must be landscaped. Landscaping may consist of shrubs, plants, rocks, or other decorative materials located around the pedestal. On the last plan, the applicant proposed minimal landscaping. The petitioners' showed the proposed sign with a shrub, evergreen tree, and decorative rock distanced a part from the sign. The idea is the landscaping should surround the base of the ground.sign.