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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 11-12-19Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting November 12, 2019 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Rotty, Lehto, Windschitl Members Absent: Franceschelli, Tesky Also Present: Tony Wippler, Planning Manager; Kevin Crisp and Boy Scouts 2. Approval of Minutes a. MOTON by Windschitl, second by Rotty, to approve the minutes of October 8 and 22, 2019. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Discussion a) HPC – Signage Proposal Exchange Bank Building – 344 Third Street Homestead Community Church, 344 Third Street (Exchange Bank building) has submitted a sign permit application for a projecting blade sign. Projecting signs in the downtown must comply with the zoning code. The sign would be for identification purposes only. The sign would be located near the corner of Third and Oak Streets. The size of the sign would need to be revised to not extend out more than 4 feet in the absence of a variance. It would be difficult to determine a practical difficulty to approve a variance. The code allows for external lighting only. The applicant would be requesting a variance for cabinet signage with internal lighting. Again, determining practical difficulties would be difficult. According to the code, projecting box or cabinet signs are prohibited. The proposed sign is a cabinet sign and would require a variance, but difficult to show practical difficulties. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Signs on historic buildings should not cause damage to architectural features, should be designed and installed in such a manner that when removed or replaced there is no physical evidence of their former presence. The applicant is proposing to fasten the sign into the mortar and not the bricks. If the mortar is strong enough, that would be acceptable. Staff asked for feedback on the following: 1. The distance that the proposed sign projects out from the building. 2. Having the proposed sign be internally lit. 3. Having the proposed sign be a cabinet or box sign. Mr. Kerr, Homestead Community Church, liked this sign concept because it fits the concept of the building and it could be done without damaging the building. They wanted the projecting sign so it could be seen from both streets. Member Windschitl liked the sign and asked if there was an alternative plan if it cannot be fixed to the mortar. Mr. Kerr stated an option would be to affix it to the Larson building, but it would remove it from the prime visibility spot. They looked into an Planning Commission Minutes November 12, 2019 Page 2 exterior lit sign, but would cause more instances of getting electrical lines affixed to the brick. Member Lehto asked if there was any fire risk with the sign being internally lit. Staff replied no, the majority of downtown signs are internally lit. Member Lehto asked about the variance for the size of the sign and noted it seemed that amount of overage would be easy to fix. Mr. Kerr noted scaling down the size would be no problem. Chair Rotty welcomed Mr. Kerr and the church to this building. He asked about the entrance to the building. Mr. Kerr stated the main entrance would be at the front corner by the sign and the ADA entrance will be on the side of the building. They are in the middle of renovation now and should be done the end of January. So they want the sign installed around that time. Chair Rotty asked staff why it is difficult to justify this type of sign. Staff stated they could do a sign that would meet all the requirements. When the code was changed, it was to go back to the way the signs used to be and are either not lit or externally lit. As part of that, we determined we did not want to allow the box or cabinet sign. We have not had applications for this type of signage until now. If we allow this variance, we may want to amend the code in the future rather than doing little variances here and there. Variances are approved for specific reasons which are that they could not have a sign without the variance. Chair Rotty noted members don’t seem to be against this type of sign. Blade signs work well with this type of application. Member Windschitl asked if the street light provides enough light. Mr. Kerr stated they would like an internally lit sign. If this wasn’t approved, they would do a sign that is against the building. Chair Rotty asked Mr. Kerr to modify the size of the size and then staff will set a public hearing for the December Planning Commission meeting for variance review. b) 2040 Comprehensive Plan Work Plan and Schedule Staff prepared a schedule for the 2040 Comp Plan work plan. The Met Council will take action on the plan at their December 11, 2019, meeting. The city then has nine months to amend its official controls to be in compliance with the plan. The final plan and all supporting documents has to be submitted to the Met Council by September 16, 2020. Staff anticipates having the work plan completed by July 27, 2020. 4. Adjourn MOTION by Windschitl, second by Lehto to adjourn at 7:32 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant