PL MINUTES 09201983 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

4_ When Commissioner Bjorklund recalled the tremendous amount of opposition_ • from the neighbors which- had been generated when this' sign was ori- ginally approved, Commissioner Wagner told him he believes that to be history now and noted that not one expression of opposition had been demonstrated during any -of the hearings on the proposal which had been held since the Commission' s August 16th meeting, not even from any of the residents in the neighborhood who had been notified that a hearing was scheduled on the proposal . Chair Makowske noted that the City. was not telling TCF they could not have the same message displayed somewhere else on the site and indi- cated she believed it would be inconsistent for the City to permit this signage to be lit all night when other businesses in the same district have been permitted lighted signs only while their establish- ments are in operation. Mr. Shannon told her he was certain TCF would be amenable to turning the lighting on the panel off at midnight or 1 :00 A.M. since such a sign is generic, and very few people do their banking all night long. Commission Bjorklund indicated he intended to abstain from voting on the variance because he had done some business for TCF in the past, but cautioned the Commission members .that he perceives they should advance some very strong .justifications. for establishing such an unusual precedent,- where a non-conforming sign, of -a type not custom- arily permitted in a commercial area, is permitted to be increased in size, doubting whether there had ever been another instance where a • non-conforming sign had been permitted to be enlarged. He also agreed with. Mrs . Makowske that the City might have - little or no control over any change in message which a future owner of the bank building might put on the existing sign. Commissioner Bowerman agreed that enlarging a non-conforming sign be taken seriously, . not at the same time , he perceives the Commission has to take into consideration that a similar circumstances in a changing industry are .bound to come up and it might not be fair to prevent the bank from .competing with others in the same industry. He also believes the Commission should take into considera- tion the fact that TCF is certainly a fine addition to our community; the bank building is aesthetically pleasing and the sign message would not be perceived to distract from its appearance. The Commissioner recalled during World War II when almost all businesses stayed open 24 hours a day to accommodate the war- plant workers . Mr. Childs told Commissioner Franzese the City 's sign ordinance is considered more -strict than average when compared with other municipalities . Motion by Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to recommend the .Council grant a variance to the Sign Ordinance to Twin City- Federal Savings and Loan, 3899 Silver Lake Road, which would permit them to add 12 . 6 square feet, as proposed, to their existing display, specifically for a numeric and lettered double-sided sign -- r-eadi-ng"24-HOU-R-T-ELLER",-on-the--condition-that sign not be illuminated from 1 : 00. A.M. to 6 : 00 A.M. , finding that: • (1) Granting such- a variance could not be considered to be detrimental to that particular corner where a banking facility has already been estab-lished on a large plot -of land which is surrounded by com- mercial development.