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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 2009 Page 4 1 however,there is not a specific threshold. They would like to have the appearance of ivy 2 showing through. They would insure that they are respectful of the City's fence ordinance, which 3 states that any sign placed on the fence cannot obscure the whole wall. 4 5 Commissioner Jenson questioned if the ivy cover would restrict visibility. Mr. Brever replied 6 there are ways of letting the ivy grow around and moving it from behind the signs. 7 8 Commissioner Jenson asked if SABA has met with the School Board. Mr. Brever replied SABA 9 has not met with the School Board. The Activities Director has met with the Superintendent and 10 they have met with members of the School Board informally, who have expressed support for the 11 proposal. The Activities Director will be submitting the variance application to the City. 12 13 Commissioner Crone inquired about businesses that would advertise through the proposed 14 signage. Mr. Brever replied Tracy Printing and Foster&Brever, PLLC have expressed interest. 15 Other local businesses would be approached as well. The broader community would only be 16 approached for advertising after the local businesses. 17 18 Chair Stromgren indicated he supports the signage proposal in concept. He expressed concern 19 regarding how the hardship standard would be met with the variance request. He suggested this 20 may need to be approached differently as an amendment to the code language, and noted that 21 allowing a variance would open this up to other applicants. 22 23 Mr. Brever stated the concern of SABA is that the ability of colleges and universities currently 24 using the facility would diminish without the maintenance, which has non-economic hardship 25 aspects. The argument they are trying to apply is that a reduction of the overall interest in the 26 facility would cause less use over the long run, which would prevent the kids in the community 27 from being involved in the game. 28 29 Chair Stromgren noted that another variance requirement to be met is that the situation is unique 30 and not created by the owner. This is a fairly new field, and it is difficult to argue that this was a 31 preexisting condition. He reiterated the recommendation to go through a different mechanism 32 than a variance process, such as an ordinance amendment. He noted the field is on school 33 grounds, so they know there will be limits placed on the type of advertising that is allowed. He 34 pointed out that the football field has fences around it also, and from the City's perspective they 35 would like to cover the bases from all these possibilities down the road. 36 37 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes indicated that the schedule could possibly remain the same 38 if they were to proceed with an ordinance amendment. An ordinance amendment requires three 39 readings,although the Council has the ability to waive the first two readings and go directly to 40 the third reading. The signage program could proceed by May if the ordinance revision is 41 approved. 42 43 Commissioner Heinis inquired if the other groups that use the field pay for the use of the field. 44 Mr. Brever replied that there are fees coming in that cover part of the field maintenance. 45