HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 08191986 Meeting Sheet
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Box: 21
Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986
Document: PL MINUTES 08191986
CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
• PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
August 111, 1986
1 The meeting was opened at 7:32 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chair
2 Franzese.
3
4 Present for roll call : Hansen, Madden, Wagner, Franzese, and Werenicz.
5
6 Absent: Jones (_arrived at 7:37 P.M. ) and Bowerman (arrived at 7:38 P.M. ) .
7
8 Also present: David Childs, City Manager.
9
10 Motion by Commissioner Madden and seconded by Commissioner Werenicz to approve the
11 minutes for the Planning Commission meeting held July 15, 1986, with the following
12 change:
13
14 Page 5, Line 17: Substitute "to" for "from" between "land" and "Lot 11 ":
15
16 Motion carried unanimously.
17
18 Chair Franzese will represent the Commission at the Council 's August 26th meeting
19 where .the minutes of this meeting would be considered.
20
21 At 7:35 P.M. the Chair opened the hearing to consider the request from Roger Bona,
22 5236 Horizon Drive, Fridley, for a- variance.to allow the construction of a 14
23 foot by 40 foot addition to the north side of the existing Amoco Service Station at
24 2812 - 27th Avenue N.E. with an 11 foot setback from the north property line where
25 the City Zoning Ordinance requires 30 feet. She read the notice of the hearing
26 which had been published in the August 6th Bulletin and mailed to all property
27 owners of record within 200 feet of the subject property. No one present reported
28 failure to receive the notice or objected to its content, and, as he had reported
29 in his August 15th memorandum, the Manager reiterated that staff had received no
30 calls either for or against the request.
31
32 Mr. Childs reported neither his memorandum nor the notice of the hearing had
33 indicated that the .applicant was proposing-a two story addition as indicated on
34 the site plan the project architects had distributed that evening. The Manager
35 verified that the existing station setback of 25 feet on the north side had been
36 grandfathered in with the new Zoning Ordinance and commented .that he perceived
37 the changes Mr. Bona .had made i.n the proposal he had withdrawn in January would
38 keep the building farther away from Kenzie Terrace.
39 .
40 Commissioner Jones arrived at 7:37 P.M.
4 2 The Manager reiterated his memorandum assessment that the triangular shape of the
4 3 station property certainly provided the "unusual circumstances" the City finds to
44 Justify a variance since the configuration of the site "left the owner without a lot
• 45 of choices for expansion" and Mr. ' Childs indicated he perceived there was no question
4 6 of overdevelopment involved in this request. He also told the Chair that the
47 Building .Code rather than. the Zoning Ordinance deals with the placement of storage
tanks.
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1Jens Beck of Beck Architects, 1118 .Sheridan -Avenue South, discussed the site plans
2for the project he had brought with him-that evening. He said the brick would be
3continued across- the front of the building, the south and west sides would be
4stuccoed, and the north side of the new addition would be painted "to look like the
5back of a house". The architect suggested the proposed addition "could be con-
6sidered to be only a cover for the existing parking spaces in that area". The "re-
7sidenti-al home appearance" for the station would be continued by positioning
8carriage -lamps around the east and southern sides of building and providing the
9same type of mansard roof for the rest of the building as is there now, Mr.
10 Beck said the addition would allow Mr. Bona to double his capacity to work on
1 1 cars inside the station and would relieve his mechanises from working on cars
12 outside, as they do now.
13
14 BruceHolton; 2505-27th Avenue N.E. , who said he represented Metro Investments,
15indicated he was a "friend and neighbor of Roger's"who essentially agreed with
16 Mr. Beck's suggestion that the addition involved only putting a roof over the cars
1 7which are parked _in the same area now". Mr. Holton commented further that "after
1 8 two remodeling jobs, the station doesn't look as good now as it would be after
19 the proposed renovation is completed" and, as. a neighbor, said he perceived
20 Mr. Bona's intention to replace 25 or 30 year old storage tanks on his property
21 "had to be a plus for the ecology".
22
2 3When Commissioner Madden asked whether an- investigation had been made to assure
24 the northeast corner of the building, where the stairs are now, could support a
25second floor, Mr. Beck said they had -not involved a structural engineer in the
26 planning up to that time but the proposal was only to add four feet above the
• 2 7 area housing a mezzanine and short flight of stairs which already protrudes four
28 feet above the rest of the building.
29
30 Commissioner Hansen commented that he perceived the new structure would be very
31 attractive and usable but he was certain "more than putting a roof over a couple
32 of parking spots was involved". He agreed the addition would be removing the need
33for parking five or six cars outside but said he had noticed seven or eight cars
34 parked in that area when he drove by that evening, at least two of which, if
35 the addition were already up, would need to be parked off site, perhaps west of
36 the property in -the empty space behind the adjacent meat market building which
37 Mr. Bona also owns. When asked whether he intended to use that area for emergency
38 overflow parking, Mr. Bona stated that he certainly recognized that it would be his
39 responsibility to provide parking space for his customers whether it would be in
40 that area or some other location which he would make arrangements for. The
4 lstation owner said there had rarely been an occasion during the last five years
4 2 when any of h.is customers had been forced to park on the street and sales persons
' 4 3 who happened to park on 27th Avenue were immediately requested to move their
44 vehicles to the center parking area so as not to interfere with customer parking.
45
i 46-The applicant said he had met with hi's neighbors to discuss his new plans with
4 7 them before the meeting, which he indicated he assumed was the reason none of them
4 8 were present that evening. Mr. Bona said one of their main concerns had been the
49 hazards they perceived were created by having drivers and kids on bikes using the
50 area between the station and the meat market for a thoroughway. The only solution
5 the saw to this problem was for him to move the fence along 27th back about 10 feet
! • 5 2 where it wouldn't interfere with the drivers' vision . The station manager said
5 3he had told the neighbors that he agreed with them that his customers should not
54 park on 27th, especially since to have them -do so would interfere with his ability
55 to get customers in and out of his station as quickly as possible.
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• 1 Mr. Bona told Commissioner Wagner he would not expect the new addition to attract
2 new business to his station since it included no new features like a car wash or
3 a dynamometer and there were no plans to extend the hours of operation because of
4 the addition. However, naturally, as a businessman, he certainly wouldn 't want
5 to do anything to discourage business either., Mr. Bona added. Mr. Childs indi -
6 cated the amount of parking spaces provided on the site met the City code.
7
8 The applicant told Commissioner Jones the tanks immediately north of the building
9 would be coming out and that area would be blacktopped along with the rest of the
10 area behind the new addition. The new tanks would be installed northeast of the
11 gas pumps and. paved over to match the concrete in that area. When the Commissioner
12 asked h.im whether he had -ever considered landscaping that .area instead, the
13 station owner -said he had considered it at first but the suggestion had met great
14 opposition from the neighbors who anticipated-problems with paper and other trash
15 sticking- to hedges _or bushes. "They -didn't even want me to change the color of
16 that ugly.white fence", Mr. Bona said." He .then told Commissioner Jones he intended
17 to continue to park cars in the right=of-way between the driveways.
18
19 Commissioner Madden reported he' had also driven by the station that evening and had
20- noticed several vehicles, including the station's truck, .parked close to the pylon
2 1 sign in front. Mr. Bona said he was surprised to learn that because that had
22 been-'strictly prohibited since parking cars in that area would make it difficult
23 for customers to get in and out of the station. The Commissioner told him he had
24 counted nine vehicles north of the existing building as well as the two on the
25 east side which to him gave the appearance of a "very crowded station" and caused
26 him to think in terms of the *need for more sodding and grass.
• 27
28 Mr. Bona responded by saying* he "guessed that was the nature of his business which
29 cannot help but be 'unclean' at best". He said his station has to be "cluttered
30 and crowded" to be successful and if it isn't busy* all the time, he would probably
31 become "as •unsuccessful as it was years ago". Commissioner Madden said it just
32 seemed to h.im that "there could be some greenery somewhere on the site to alleviate
j
33 at least partially, the cluttered appearance-the station gave".
34
35 No one appeared ,to speak against the proposal and the Chair closed the hearing at
36 8:03 P.M. after which she commented that. she "really liked the way the addition
37 had been designed with a homelike appearance_ to. fit into the neighborhood".
38 Chair Franzese said she certainly preferred.the new plan over the one Mr. Bona
39 proposed in January, which th.e .Commission perceived would have increased the
40 traffic and parking problems between the station and meat market buildings.
4 2 Commissioner Hansen said he had no objections to the new proposal which "met the
43 ordinance and would bring business into the area". The Commissioner also considered
`C
44 the new plan to be superior to that presented in January and said he perceived
45 "if th.ere' s a problem with off-site parking or: blocking traffic between buildings
46 in the future it will just have to be dealt with by the City".
i 47
48 Motion by Commissioner Werenicz and seconded by Commissioner Hansen to recommend
49 the Council _grant, the request from, Roger Bona for a variance to allow construction
50 of a 14 foot by 40 foot addition to the north side of the existing Amoco Service
51 Station at 2812-27th Avenue N.E. with an 11 foot setback from the north property
• 52 line where the City Ordinance-requires 30 feet, finding that:
53
54 1 ., The petitioner had answered in the affirmative all the questions on the
55 application which are required by statute to be answered affirmatively;
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1 2. The unique characteristics of this triangular shaped property would create
2 an- undue hardship for the owner to try to expand and improve his property
3 under the City Ordinance;
4
5 3. No objections from the neighbors to the proposal were received;
6
7 4. Mr. Bona controls all the property to the west precluding any objections from
8 adjacent property owners;
9
10 5. The property owner has indicated he would be willing to provide overflow park-
11 ing when required on the north side of the existing meat market building which
12 he also owns; and
13
14 6. Granting this variance would not create. a sight line difficulty for adjacent
15 properties since 'the station is bounded on two sides by roadways and on the
16 west by the property he owns which is in a commercial posture.
17
18 Before the vote was taken, the following motion to amend was made:
19
20 Motion by Commissioner Jones and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to require the
21 areas near the station sign and between the driveways on the north side of the
22 property be landscaped and curbed to restrict parking in those areas.
23
24 Commissioner Werenicz indicated he- "would not be comfortable with requiring land-
25 scaping the neighbors had opposed".
26
27 Mr. Bona indicated .he. believed he should be granted some "leniency" when it came
28 to planting the area between the driveways on the north, balancing it out with the
29 fact that. he had been "wil-ling-to spend thousands of .dollars to make my business
30 look like.' a residence to fit it into the neighborhood". The station owner said he
31 perceived th-e back of the station ."would look like the. back of a house to the
32 residents on 27th. " He would have no problem with keeping the area around his
33 sign green but the station owner questioned "how long grass between the driveways
34 would last in Minnesota winters with the abuse it would take from plows coming
35 from four directions".
36
37 Commission Wagner said he had supported the amendment because he is a member of a
38 mark.eting. gro.up who. are promoting the City as a residency for middle income,
39 middle management people who.work :-in large- industries near St. Anthony and the
40 very heart of.* that effort would be to push for the beautification, especially
I 41 landscaping Kenzie Terrace. The ,Commissioner. told Mr. Bona his station would be
j
42 one of th.e focal points of that ,project -as it is approached from Trillium Park.
43 Therefore, to provide the greenery which is requested now would fulfill a request
i 44 the marketing committee intends to make to him eventually.
j 45
46 Commissioner Bowerman said he perceived it might be "unreasonable" to tie in a
47 request that Mr. Bona landscape his property with the granting of a variance
4 8 because .of the condition which exists on- other businesses and restaurant properties
49 in the same area where no conditions related to landscaping have been imposed.
50 The. Commissioner suggested Mr-.. Bona be encouraged to provide greenery but not
51 make. i,t a condition for granting the variance. He also said he perceived a
} • 52 problem with snow storage with landscaping.
j 53
54 Commissioner Hansen said he perceived the nature of a service station is "to
55 promote a lot of coming and going" and to require shrubs near the driveways might
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1 create a safety hazard. The Commissioner said "one of the ways you keep a gas
2 station clean is to blacktop all around the garage so you can hose it down when
3 necessary". Commissioner Hansen concluded. by saying he wished "half of the other
4 businesses in the area were making even a portion of the effort Mr. Bona is to
5 make h.is property attractive and well maintained", and "if there's any way for
6 him to put grass around his property, I 'm sure Mr. Bona will do it".
7
8 The Chair indicated she perceived the station manager was willing to meet two of
9 the requests for greenery but was asking leniency for the third and "in view of
10 the efforts Mr. Bona had made in -design and maintenance to match the appearance
11 of his station with the residential neighborhood to the west", Chair Franzese
12 agreed that "it would impose an undue -hardship on the applicant to require more
13 greenery that he has already agreed to provide.
14
15 Commissioner Bowerman called the question but withdrew his motion to allow a
16 final comment from 'Commissioner Jones .-who stated the reason he had made his
17 motion was that he knew from observing- the Super America. station on 37th Avenue
18 it was possible to -provide grassy areas around a gas station as an alternative
19 to having the entire station blacktopped. It was his contention that planting
20 grass and- curbing the area-between the north driveways would provide some control
21 over the cars coming and going -from-the- station and not having cars parked in
22 that area would give drivers a better view of that busy- intersection where he
23 perceived a potential existed for "damage to:-the gas pumps from a car careening
!
24 into the station property". The Commissioner said he had also seen the value of
25 having more landscaping provided west of the station but had been willing to offer
26 a compromise which he perceived "theoretically, everybody could live with".
27 Commissioner Jones said he concurred with the marketing- group's goal of eventually
28 having the whole Kenzie .Terrace area upgraded to match the improvements provided
29 by the Kenzington and proposed. for the new office complex which he assumed would
30 also require the owners of the St. Anthony' Shopping Center to landscape behind
31 their stores "if they ever come in with a plan .to upgrade the center". The
32 -Commissioner said he. recogni,zed "there had been many planning mistakes made in
33 that area in the past, which he . "wouldn't want continued by not at least requir-
34 ing a mi:ni,mal of .landscaping forethis project".
35, -
36
5, -36 Commissioner Bowerman again called the question:
37
39 Voting on the motion: --- — ---- ------ ---- --------- ------------ -----
4 0 Aye: Jones and Wagner.
43,42
Nay: Werenicz, Franzese, Madden, Hansen, and Bowerman.
44
4 5 Motion not carried.
4 6 Voting on the original motion:
.4 Aye: Werenicz, Hansen, Franzese, Madden, Bowerman, and Wagner.
49
JI 50 Nay: Jones.
51
52° 5 3 Motion carried.
5455 .The applicant was advised to have someone present for the Council 's consideration
56 of the Commission's recommendations August 26th.
57 At 8:25 P.M. the Chair read the notice to consider the request from B. N. Metro
58
59 Credit Union for a conditional use permit to install a drive-in teller facility
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1 in conjunction with Unit #110 in the Northgate Office Center on Highway 88 which
• 2 would require a variance from the City Ordinance setback requirements for the
3 structure to be located within 8 feet of the property line where 30 feet is required.
4 A separate hearing on the signage for the business had been scheduled later that
5 evening.
6
7 Notice of the hearing had been published in the August 6th Bulletin and mailed to
8 all property owners of record within 350 feet of the subject property. No one
9 present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content.
10
11 In his August 15th comments on all three requests, Mr. Childs had addressed the
12 conditions the Commission could put on the permit and pointed out the fact that
13 the City maintained a grassy right-of-way which .extended from 48 to 73 feet at
14 different points between the property line and the highway which he perceived
15 might somewhat alleviate the non-conformance of the setback from the ordinance.
16 The Manager reported the only response staff had received to the notices had been
17 an inquiry from Commissioner Wagner about whether the condominium agreements for the
18 office park allowed an installation of this type in the complex. Mr. Childs said
19 he had subsequently learned the B. N. Metro Credit Union had an easement agree-
20 ment, binding on all members of the condominium association, which would allow
21 the installati.on. Only the complex owner .and not individual condominium owners
22 had been formally notified of the hearing, he told Commissioner Bowerman.
2 4 The only logical and reasonable location for the drive-in teller to be installed,
25 the Manager said, would be close to the property line where it would not eliminate
26 any of the 66 parking spaces which had been provided and where the optimum traffic
•
27 flow could be accomplished.
28
29 Frank Stieve, Treasurer and Manager of the Credit Union told Commissioner_ Bowerman_
30 the underground pneumatic tubes for two video and audio, but not manned, type
31 servicing stations would be dug in to make the connection between the teller and
32 the office before the parking lot is paved over but only one station would
33 actually be erected at this time. He said the hours of operation would probably
34 be from nine in the morning until six at night with no plans for opening Saturdays .
35
36 Mr. Stieve told the Chair the Credit Union, which services only Burlington Northern
37 members at this time, had recently moved their offices from 3710_ Central Avenue
38 N.E. in anticipation of being awarded a community charter which would enable them
39 to add members from the St. Anthony area to the railroad membership which is
40 rapidly diminishing in numbers. However, the Credit Union Manager indicated
41 that even with a second teller facility, he would not anticipate their customers
42 would cause any traffic difficulties for other businesses in the center.
43
44 Henry Ratzke, 7409 Aldrich Avenue South, who said he was a consultant who worked
45 with the' Credit Union, discussed the .proposed traffic flows and stacking of
46 vehicles waiting to be serviced at the two stations with Commissioner Jones . He
47 said he would guess that the estimated 150 business transactions the Credit Union
48 now expects to make at the drive-in facility each week would be no more than
49 doubled with the charter and, therefore, the-provision for stacking' 10 vehicles
50 at both. tellers should be more than sufficient. Commissioner Bowerman agreed that
51 only minor traffic could result from that many transactions a. week.
52
•
53 When Commissioner Madden suggested the existing flag pole in front of the offices
54 might interfere with siting of the teller facilities, Mr. Stieve agreed with
55 the Manager that the pole could be relocated in the triangle west of the area
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1 proposed for the facilities. The Credit Union Manager assured Commissioner Jones
• 2 that appropriate directional signage would be installed if traffic problems evolved.
3 The Commissioner was also told the parking plans for the office- center had already
4 been approved by the City.
5
6 Mr. Stieve told the Chair the drive-in facility would be designed by a Kansas City
7 company to meet all City standards and to blend in with the architecture of the
8 office center at the same time it could be easily seen by both the existing customers
9 and persons from the community who might become customers if the charter is granted.
10
11 The facility would have to be lighted enough to enable the person in the office
12 handling the transaction to see the- person making the deposit through the video
13 camera- but Mr. Stieve said he "could see no. reason for having the facility lit
14 after the office closes". He also said he would give serious consideration to
15 Commissioner Jones ' suggestion that a barrier might be erected to prevent cars from
16 racing through the facility after -i't is closed at night.
17
18 It was noted that the July 31st site plan for the drive-in facility which had been
19 attached to the conditional use permit and variance request in the agenda packet
20 differed from the site plan dated June 10th which had been attached to the sign
21 request, which the applicant had indicated should be considered the accurate one.
22
23 There was no one present to speak in opposition to the proposal and the hearing was
24 closed at 9:00 P.M. for the following:
25
26 Motion by Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to recommend
•
27 the Council grant a conditional use permit to B. N. Metro Credit Union to allow
28 the installation of* a drive-in teller facility at the Northgate Office Center in
29 conjunction with the unit identified as #110, 2500 Highway 88, finding that:
30
31 1 . Granting the permit would allow a use of the property which would be compatible
32 with the other commercial development of the center; and
33
34 2. Would fit into the same format as previous approvals of similar facilities
35 for the National Bank of St. Anthony and the Twin Cities Federal Savings and
36 Loan Association.
37
.38 3. The proposal meets all three conditions required by statute to- be satisfied
39 before a conditional use permit can be authorized.
40
41 The Planning Commission also recommends the-Council grant the requested variance
42 from the City Ordinance setback. requirements which would allow the drive-in
43 facility to be constructed eight .feet from the southeast property line (Highway 88
44 right-of-way) where 30 feet are required,. finding that granting the variance:
45
46 1 . Would not be detrimental to the rest of the building complex;
47
48 2. Would not destroy any sign lines for adjacent properties;
49
50 3. Would provide a business convenience for the .Credit Union 's customers.
51
• 52 The Commission finds further that:
53
54 4. The drive-in facility is allowed by an easement agreement between B. N. Metro
55 Credit Union and the condominium owners association; and
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1 5. The City's right-of-way which averages 62 feet in that area would not only
• 2 supplement the eight foot setback but would provide sufficient green area
3 between the facility and Highway 88.
4
5 Before the vote was taken an -amendment offered by Commissioner Hansen to restrict
6 the hours of operation was withdrawn and the following motion to amend defeated
7 as follows :
8
9 Motion by Commissoner Wagner and seconded by Commissioner Jones to require the
10 lighting for the drive-in facility to be shut off after business hours.
11
12 Commissioner Hansen disagreed wi-th the motion, saying he perceived this particular
13 drive-in teller was "unique in itself" as compared to other teller facilities in
14 the Village in -that it could almost serve as a "night light for the parking lot".
15 Commissioner Bowerman agreed, saying "there are probably 40 other lights burning
16 all night on that building now and I 'd be reluctant to restrict the same safety
17 measure for this business".
18
19 Commissioner Wagner tried to amend the wording- of his motion -to indicate that "the
20 lighting should be reduced to a security level after hours", but Commissioner Madden
21 said he perceived that woul-d be "amending an-'amendment which would change the
22 entire meaning -Qf the original amendment and would not be in order".
23
24 Voting on the original motion to amend:
25
26 Aye: Wagner and Jones.
27
28 Nay: Bowerman, Madden, Hansen, Franzese, and' Werenicz.
29
30 Motion to amend not carried.
31
32 Commissioner Wagner di'd -not restate the amendment and Commissioner Bowerman called
33 the question on the original motion which was carried unanimously.
34
35 At 9:10 P.M. the. hearing was opened to consider the request from B. N. Metro Credit
36 Union for variances to the Sign Ordinance which allow three identification signs
37 for their office at 2500 Highway 88 (4110 Northgate Office Center) .
38
39 The notice of the hearing had also been published in the August 6th Bulletin and
40 mailed to all property owners of record within 200 feet of the subject property as
41 required by the Ordinance. In the same August 15th memorandum as he had addressed
42 the applicant's request for a conditional use permit and setback variance, Mr.
43 Childs had indicated he perceived the requested signage would be extremely minimal
44 since all three- signs would be profile and understated in keeping with other
45 signage on the building.
46
. 47 Th.e Manager reiterated that staff had received no calls related to the .signage which
48 he identified as one 16. square foot sign to be installed under the "2500" (to be
49 raised up to accomodate the sign); a 9 square foot sign on the back of the building
50 to provide identification for the credit union office from the shopping center side;
_91 and a 4 square foot�si.gnfacing Highway 88 to be erected on the drive-in facility
52 the Commission had just recommended the Council approve. Mr. Childs reiterated
53 that the total square footage of all three signs would only be 29 square feet ,
54 where the ordinance allowed 40 square .feet, which he perceived was very deceiving
-55 when it came to this particular office space which contained 2,200 square feet where
56 other units averaged 400 square feet, making it the "anchor" business in the office
57 center.
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1 Commissioner Hansen questioned whether the signage for that project had not been
• 2 restricted to only one large sign to identify the office park with only small .placards
3 over the doorways to identify the various tenants when approval was given to Jerry
4 Isaacs to remodel the existing motel for offices and, even if it weren 't a part of
5 the actual approval , if Mr. Isaacs hadn't stated "over and over again" during both
6 hearings on his proposal that signage would be provided in this manner. The Manager
7 said he perceived that agreement had been kept with all the -other units with the
8 exception of the tanning facility which had been given signage for two sides of
9 the building.
10
11 Commissioner Jones said in its present state "the credit union" i.s. a busi_ness_-with
12 an 'ongoing' relationship with its members and not a one visit business like an
13 antique shop, and probably needed identification= on the drive-in facility but not
14 on the other side of the building which was more of an employee entrance". The
15 Commissioner indicated he wouldn't want to encourage. si-gn,age on what would eventually
16 be the residential- side of the building and he did not perceive there was a need
17 to provide identification for the office itself as long as the business was identified
18 on the teller facility. Commissioner Hansen agreed.
19
20 Mr. Sti eve said if the credit union got i°ts community charter, they would certainly
21 want people in the 600 units of housing west of them to know they were there. ' He
22 also reported the credit union 's current members who approach the office from the
23 shopping center side have indicated they have a great deal of difficulty in
24 finding out where the office is. However; the Credit Union Manager conceded
25 that he had been "aware. of the requirement for -and had anticipated having to seek,
26 a variance for the signage they desired before they had made the decision to move
•
27 their offices to. that . location. -
28
29 The hearing was closed at 9:28 P.M. for the following:
30
31 Motion by Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to table action
32 on the request from B.A. Metro Credit Union for the variances to the Sign Ordin-
33 ance requirements to erect a one foot by 16 inch sign under the number "2500" on the
34 Northgate Office Center and the nine foot by 12 inch sign on'the northwest side of
35 the building facing the shopping center until staff has researched the minutes of
36 the meeting where the Council originally approved the office complex to see if
37 sign restrictions were imposed on that' approval or if the condominium association
38 agreements'-for the building had addressed signage.
39
40 Motion carried unanimously.
41
42 The. maker of the, motion said he considered the remaining sign would be the one which
43 the ordinance allowed the owner to have.
44
45 Commissioner Jones raised the question of whether the new facility in itself might
46 actually constitute "a free standing sign" which required a variance under the Sign
47 Ordinance.
48
49 Motion by Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by' Commissioner Jones to recommend
50 the Council grant a variance to the Sign -Ordinance which would allow the B. N.
51 Metro° Credit Union to install a six inch by eight foot sign facing Highway 88 on
•
52 the proposed- drive-in teller facility, finding that the sign would provide appro-
5 3 priate identification of the business and would facilitate the use of the teller
54 facility which the Commission had recommended by motion and vote for Council
55 approval .
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• 1 Commissioner Bowerman resisted the Chair.-'s suggestion that the motion be amended
2 to inform the Council that the Commission was interpreting that sign to be the
3 one which the applicants would be allowed- under the ordinance because "to do so
4 would be precluding the Credit Union's right to return to request the variances
5 which had been tabled". The Commissioner said he perceived the motion had
6 granted the applicants the right to erect a free standing sign (a sign on 'a free
7 standing structure) which requires a variance under .the Sign Ordinance.
8
9 Commissioner Werenicz stated that he still believed all signage should be tabled.
10 Commissioner Jones indicated he might later be willing to look at a signage
11 request in a different light if it were for a communi"ty charter open to the public
12 which might require a new name- to designate more than Burlington Northern members
13 were being served by the credit union. Commissioner Bowerman. said he moved to
14 table the action on two of the signs with an eye to researching the matter which
15` could lead to reconsideration of two .of the signs at a later date.
16
17 The motion passed unanimously.
18
19 Mr. Childs said he perceived the applicants would have preferred to have the sign
20 on their office space if that was the only signage they would be allowed, which
21 he said he had assumed the Commission had also realized when they made the last
22 motion. He then requested direction regarding the possibility that the credit
23 union, as the "anchor of -the complex" might get an agreement from the condominium
24 association that they and the tanning facility would be the only two businesses
25 which would be allowed extra 'signage, thus eliminating the potential for pro-
26 liferation of signage the Commission- had indicated was feared.
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28 Commissioner Bowerman indicated he perceived the office center .was a "piece of
29 property for which a -uniform sign policy ought to be presented". - Commissioner
30 Jones said he perceived the City should;.-protect those condominium owners who have
31 already purchased their units. Commissioner Hansen told the other Commissioners
32 the concerns he had raised had been prompted by the fact that when he had driven
33 past the office center that evening he had noticed "two large signs which he
34 could not read sitting in two other offices spaces". Commissoner Werenicz said
35 he still perceived it- would be best to table action on all three signs until the
36 matter of sign restrictions had been resolved because he was concerned that the
37 last motion might have taken away the right of the applicants to locate their
38 signage where it would be most advantageous to their business.
39
40 Mr. Stieve suggested the Commission might have by its last motion actually allowed
' 41 them to have two signs, one which the ordinance permitted, and the other by
42 variance. He said his -firm would definitely prefer having all the signage
43 requests tabled to get the matter cleared up.
44
45 Commissioner Bowerman agreed that if there were no formal restrictions on signage
46 for the center, the credit union would be allowed one sign for office frontage
47 and he i.ndi.cated he. perceived considering a drive-in teller facility to constitute
48 a free standing sign "definitely fell into a gray area".
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50 Motion by Commissioner Werenicz and seconded by Commissioner Bowerman to reconsider
51 the previous two motions.
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53 Motion carried unanimously.
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1 Motion by. Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to table the
2 entire B. N. Metro Credit Union request for signage until staff had researched
3 the minutes of the meeting where the City first approved the Northgate Office
4 Center to determine whether there were any sign restrictions imposed on that
5 approval or in the condominium agreements since then.
6
7 Motion, carried unanimously. ;
8
9 Mr. Childs had included in the agenda packet copies of his July 15th memorandum
10 to the Council giving staff' s recommendation for amending the existing ordinances
11 to address a perceived problem with parking of vehicles in residential areas;
12 residential occupancy by unrelated individuals; and businesses conducted from
13 City homes as well as the minutes of the April 22nd Council meeting where staff
14 had been instructed to get the Planning Commission input related to these zoning
15 concerns.
16
17 Questions related to group homes, requiring current registrations for all vehicles
18 parked in residential areas,. etc. , were explored and Commissioner Werenicz gave
19 the Commissioners the benefit of his experience as a police officer with enforcing
20 current registrations before they concurred that more time was needed to study the
21 issues before a response could be made to the Council 's request for additional
22 information.
23
24 Motion by Commissioner Bowerman and seconded by Commissioner Madden to adjourn
25 the meeting .at 10:12 P.M.
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27 Motion carried unanimously.
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29 Respectfully submitted,
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31 Helen Crowe, Secretary
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