HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-06-12 Work SessionCITY OF LAKEVILLE
PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES
September 6, 2012
Chair Lillehei called the work session to order at 8:28 p.m.
Members Present: Chair Brooks Lillehei, Vice Chair Bob Boerschel, Bart Davis, Karl
Drotning, Gerry Grenz, and Linda Maguire.
Members Absent: Paul Reuvers, Ex- officio Shawn Fitzhenry.
Staff Present: Daryl Morey, Planning Director; Allyn Kuennen, Associate Planner;
Daniel Licht, The Planning Company.
Others Present: Todd Bornhauser, Executive Director of the Lakeville Area Chamber
of Commerce; Michael Cronin and Dave Edquist, Holiday Station Stores; and Ron
Kveton, Ole Piper Inn.
Mr. Licht presented the electronic commercial sign component of his August 30, 2012
planning report. Mr. Licht stated that the draft amendment to Chapter 23 of the Zoning
Ordinance was prepared as directed by the Planning Commission at their April 19, 2012
work session and would allow electronic changeable copy or graphic display signs only
in the most intensive commercial districts (C -2 and C -3) and under specific performance
standards based on the Zoning Ordinance amendment for electronic signs in the P -OS
District approved by the City Council on August 6, 2012 as well as the existing specific
sign allowances for motor fuel and convenience food uses that were established to
minimize driver distraction and promote attractive commercial areas in the city.
The Planning Commission made the following comments:
• Clarified that the electronic display portion of the sign must be integral to the rest
of the freestanding sign and that the total freestanding sign height, with an
electronic changeable copy or graphic display sign, cannot exceed 15 feet.
• Questioned whether the rate of change for text (changeable copy) should be
shorter than for images (graphic display), similar to Bloomington's regulations.
Questioned whether existing static freestanding signs could be utilized for
conversion to an electronic changeable copy sign. Staff noted that most existing
commercial freestanding signs are 20 feet in height with an area of 100 square
feet, as allowed by ordinance, except for convenience food restaurants and
motor fuel facilities approved after the 2000 Zoning Ordinance Update whereby
the maximum sign height is 15 feet. Staff stated that the static freestanding sign
cabinet could be retained provided it is placed on a monument base and meets
Planning Commission Work Session Minutes, September 6, 2012
Page 2
the height and area requirements for the total freestanding sign (including the
electronic display portion thereof), and provided the static and electronic sign
portions are contiguous.
In response to concerns raised by Mr. Kveton, due to the Ole Piper Inn site being
located lower in elevation than adjacent Cedar Avenue (CSAH 23) where the
electronic sign would be allowed, the Planning Commission agreed to consider
extending the existing Zoning Ordinance provision that applies to the Freeway
Corridor District allowing convenience food, hotel, motor fuel and restaurant uses
to increase the height of their freestanding sign if their property is lower than the
adjacent freeway, to the districts that would allow electronic changeable copy or
graphic display signs under the proposed ordinance amendment. Commissioner
Drotning stated that the Planning Commission does not recommend
amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to address the situation of one property
owner, but rather the City as a whole.
In response to Mr. Bornhauser's comment that the City did not reach out to the
Chamber of Commerce for input on electronic signs, Planning Commission
members pointed to the discussion of electronic signs was held at the most
recent Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee meeting, with the
Committee being made aware that discussion of electronic commercial signs
would take place at an upcoming Planning Commission work session, as well as
Mr. Bornhauser's regular attendance at Planning Commission meetings and work
sessions where this topic has been discussed several times over the past year
and a half. The Planning Commission suggested the Chamber of Commerce
provide constructive comments and input on the topic instead of merely critiquing
the work that has been done by the City after the fact. The Planning Commission
specifically requested input from the Chamber of Commerce regarding the
proposed rate of change provisions of the electronic sign regulations.
Mr. Cronin presented information to the Planning Commission reacting to the proposed
ordinance amendment pertaining to electronic commercial signs as proposed in Mr.
Licht's August 30, 2012 planning report. He commended staff on the draft ordinance
addressing the objective of public safety. He suggested that the City could still meet the
public safety objective by regulating the rate of change in seconds rather than minutes.
City staff noted that the regulations for electronic signs must consider the potential for
multiple signs along major roadways that have average daily traffic counts in the
thousands, and not just the time it takes a single driver to pass a single sign, in
establishing the rate of change limits of the electronic sign regulations.
The Planning Commission discussed the proposed 15 minute rate of change, which
was based upon the Zoning Ordinance amendment approved by the City Council on
August 6, 2012 for electronic signs in the P -OS District. The Planning Commission
recommended that staff obtain input from the Economic Development Committee (EDC)
on the electronic commercial sign topic and noted that there are several Chamber of
Commerce members on the EDC.
Planning Commission Work Session Minutes, September 6, 2012
Page 3
The Planning Commission agreed that discussion of the other Zoning Ordinance
amendment items addressed in Mr. Licht's August 30, 2012 planning memo, as well as
continued discussion of electronic commercial signs, be held a work session on October
4, 2012.
The work session adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Ily submitted,
Daryl Morey, Plonking Director
w"M
Brooks