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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 26, 2009 Page 6 1 in the School District policies as to the oversight of the signage. He stated the plan would be 2 related to the CUP, as opposed to the ordinance amendment. The ordinance amendment provides 3 a pathway to get to the plan. 4 5 Mayor Faust suggested a plan stating the long-term ideas of the School District and SABA. Mr. 6 Brever replied that SAGA has gone through a number of fundraisers and is reaching the end limit 7 of the fundraisers. This is an opportunity to be creative. 9 Councilmember Thuesen asked whether the text amendment could be worded to limit signage to 10 the baseball field. City Attorney Gilligan responded in the affirmative. He advised that another 11 option would be to expand the 250 -foot distance limit from a residential district to an area 12 beyond the football field. 13 14 Mr. Brever clarified that the hockey rink would currently not be allowed under the proposed text 15 amendment because it is within 250 feet of a residential district. The only other location allowed 16 would be the visitors' side of the football field. 17 18 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to approve the First 19 Reading of Ordinance 09-004, a Text Amendment to Title XV, Section 155 Signs; Allowing 20 Temporary Signs to be Posted on Fences in the Recreational Open Space Athletic Outfields. 21 22 Councilmember Thuesen stated his support of limiting signage to the varsity baseball field with 23 no opportunity for signage at the football field. 24 25 Councilmember Stille stated he is not in favor of this for a number of reasons. The time allowed 26 for the signs to be up started at four months and has expanded to six months. The limit was at 24 27 square foot signs, and at the last Planning Commission meeting it was up to 60 square foot signs. 28 The current banners are 28 square feet; the signs will be over twice that size if this moves 29 forward. He stated going from Palm Field to the football field is something they need to be 30 mindful of as far as where this could go in the future. He stated the Planning Commission 31 struggled with this. The vote was not unanimous and a lot of the members cited monetary 32 reasons. From a Planning Commission perspective, the decision should have been based on 33 whether there should be commercial advertising in the park or not. He stated he has gone to a 34 few baseball fields and has played baseball. One of the examples used by SABA is the 35 Minnetonka park. However, that park is secluded and tucked behind the school; there is a dome 36 practice facility next to it and there are not any residential areas that can see the area. That is the 37 kind of place where they could get the baseball nostalgia. This is a city park with a baseball field 38 in it. They need to accommodate and not have clutter in the park. Not everyone cares about 39 baseball and they need to be mindful for the rest of the community about what door they open. 40 I -Ie stated there is another Minnetonka baseball park next to a city facility where there is not any 41 advertising. This was likely the rationale for some of the discussions that went into advertising at 42 one Minnetonka park and not the another. He stated his support of going to bat for the School 43 District with non -city grant funding opportunities if this ordinance amendment does not pass. 44 45 Councilmember Thuesen stated this afternoon he walked the perimeter of the park to get an idea 46 as far as the visual look if signs were permitted. On the west side there is the connnunity center, 51