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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980 09-11 PCP w PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA REGULAR SESSION September 11 , 1980 1 . Call to Order: 7:30 p.m. 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes: August 28, 1980 4. Chairman's Explanation: The Planning Commission is :an advisory body. One of the Commission's functions is to hold public hearings. In the matters concerned in these hearings, ` the Commission makes recommendations to the City f Council . The City Council makes all final decisions in these matters. 5. A.F.I.A. Associates .80033 Request for a variance from Section 34-140:2:1 (4) to allow a 25 sq. ft. real estate sign advertising space for lease at the Brookdale Six Office Building, located at 5901 John Martin Drive. 6. Other Business 7. Discussion Items 8. Adjournment z . Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 80033 Applicant: A.F. I.A. Associates .• -� l�J� Location: 5901 John Martin Drive Request: Sign Variance ' The applicant requests a variance from Section 34-140:2:1.(4) of the City's Sign Ordinance (attached) which limits wall signs for the purpose of leasing office or other commercial space to 5 sq. ft. per wall . The property i-n question is bounded by John Martin Drive on the east, Perkins Restaurant and the future Burger Brothers site on the north, Northwestern Bell on the west, and Cinema . I, II, III, IV on the south. The applicant has submitted a letter (attached) in which he argues that a sign of 5 sq. ft. in area cannot be seen from John Martin Drive;that people attempting to see such a sign are risking the safety of themselves and others; that a larger sign would benefit the community by bringing in new business; and that a larger sign would not have to stay up as long. Variancesfrom the Sign Ordinance requirements are authorized by Section 34-180 (copy attached) and the procedure for obtaining a variance is the same as that of a Zoning Ordinance variance. The Sign Ordinance states that variances.from the literal provisions of the ordinance may be granted in instances where the strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique and distinctive to the specific property or use under consideration. The provisions of this ordinance, considered in conjunction with the unique and dis- tinctive circumstances related to the property, or uses thereof, must be the proximate cause of the hardship; circumstances caused by the property owner or the applicant, or his predecessor in title shall not constitute sufficient justification to grant a variance. Variances may be granted only after demon- stration by evidence that all of the following three qualifications are met: 1 . A particular hardship to the owner would result if the strict letter of the regulations were carried out; .2. The conditions upon which the application for a variance is based are unique to the parcel of land, or the use thereof, for which the variance is sought and are not -common, generally, to other property or uses within the same zoning classification; 3. The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood. Regarding the Standards for a Variance, staff would offer the following observations: 1 . With respect to hardship, the Commission must find that the signery allowable under the ordinance is essentially worthless given the particular physical circumstances. . In a subsequent conversation, the applicant has indicated a desire to have a 25 sq. ft. wall sign for the purpose of leasing office space. 9-11-80 -1- r M • Application No. 80033 continued 2. Regarding the second standard, it might be considered that the conditions upon which the application for a variance is based are at least somewhat unique to the parcel of land in question in that the building is set back approximately 340 feet from John Martin Drive although the parcel does have frontage on that roadway. It must be pointed out that the large right-of- way and building setback for the Beach Condominiums was not considered a unique situation nor justification for granting a variance. 3. Whether or not the granting of this variance will be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property is difficult, at best, to evaluate. When viewing the Sign Ordi- nance criteria for real estate signs dealing with the leasing or selling of individual dwelling units in residential buildings or portions of commercial or industrial buildings, the 5 sq. ft. wall sign is consistently applied. There is no doubt that this is a limited amount of signery for this purpose. The fact that only wall signs are permitted in many cases even further lessens the visual impact of these signs. It must be pointed out, however, that signs for leasing or selling space its a particular residential,commercial and industrial building can be displayed on an almost continuous basis due to turnover. This seems to be the most obvious reason for the restrictive nature of the signs. As has been pointed out before, the Sign Ordinance was designed as a restrictive ordinance to provide, as the ordinance statement of purpose indicates, "for necessary visual communication, to preserve and promote a pleasant physical environment, to protect public and private property, and to encourage safety _upon the streets and highways within the City of Brooklyn Center, by regulating the type, number, structure size, location height, lighting and erection and maintenance of all outdoor signs and sign structures within the City. " The key words seem to be "necessary visual communication." It is the staff's opinion that this application does not meet all of the standards sufficiently enough for the granting of a variance. It would seem that a more appropriate way to address the applicant's problem (which is "Adequate signery") would be through an ordinance amendment which could be uniformly applied to all cases. Consideration might be given to allowing either freestanding or wall signs of a greater square footage, such as 16 sq. ft. as a means of addressing the problem. A public hearing has been scheduled for the variance request and notices have been sent. 9-11-80 ` -2 e J. A. F. I. A. Associates 5901 John Martin Drive Suite 100 Minneapolis,MN. 55430 August 22, 1980 City of Brooklyn Center Planning & Zoning Commission 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 Re: Standards of Signs To Whom It May Concern: This letter is in reference to Section 34-180 regarding Standards of Signs. It is our understanding after talking to the City Building Inspector that the City Ordinance is that any time you have space for rent in a building the wall sign that can be placed is a total of five square feet. In our particular situation we feel that we would fall into categories 1, 2 and 3 of the Section 34-180 in regard to variances. Dore to the fact that our building is a considerable distance from John Martin Drive, and John Martin Drive being a very busy and heavily traveled street, it would be almost impossible for anyone to look and see a sign the size of five square feet. ,We believe that this is an unreasonable requirement that the City has established since a simple sign such as an entrance or exit sign can be as much as 16 square feet. Considering how rapidly Brooklyn Center is growing, we believe that you should reconsider this. If you were to drive down any busy street in our City and try to see a sign five square feet on the side of a building, it would do one thing for you, and that would be to cause a very serious accident. We do not mean for this to be a derogatory statement, but only. to emphasize that these signs when placed for a rental space available in our City are for the good of the people that we are trying to relocate in our area. Therefore if the sign was large enough to even be seen, we believe that the sign would be up for a shorter length of time. It does create a hardship when you have space for rent, as people usually drive through an area if they are interested in space rather than looking through the newspaper. We have experienced exactly that with people contacting us on space. We feel it is very important that the City consider changing that sign ordinance, if not just for this one variance, but for all future considerations. ' Thank ou. Y _ r AFIA ASSOCIATES RWF:jc obert W. Fodne t ter City Council Section 35-240. 'VARIANCES 2. Standards for Variances The Board of Adjustments and Appeals may recommend and the City Council may grant variances from the literal provisions of this ordinance in instances where their strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique and .distinc- tive to the individual property under consideration. However, the Board shall not recommend and the City Council shall in no case permit as a variance any use that is not permitted under this ordinance in the district where the affected person's land is located. A variance may be granted by the City Council after demonstration by evidence that all of the following qualifica- tions are met: (a) Because of the particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific parcels of land involved, a particular hardship to the owner would result, as- distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of the regulations were to be carried out. (b) The conditions upon which the application for a variance is based are unique to the parcel of land for which the variance is sought, and are not common, generally, to other property within the same zoning classification. (c) The alleged hardship is related to the requirements of this ordinance and has not been created by any persons presently or formerly having an interest in the parcel of land. (d) The granting of the variance will not be detri- mental to the public welfare or injurious to other land or improvements in the neighborhood in which the parcel of land is located. 3. Conditions and Restrictions The Board of Adjustments and Appeals may recommend and the City Council may impose conditions and restrictions in the grant- ing of variances so as to insure compliance with the provisions of this ordinance and with the spirit and intent of the Compre- hensive Plan and to protect adjacent properties. • • • I Section 34-140 (continued) (3) 'Wall signs for the purpose of leasing or selling dwelling units in buildings containing two (2) or more units, provided such signs shall be limited to five (5) square feet in area and to one (1) such sign per building. (4) Wall signs for the purpose of leasing portions of commercial or industrial buildings, such as offices or individual tenant areas, shall be limited to five (5) square feet in area and to one (1) such sign per wall facing a major thoroughfare. Said signs shall be located no higher than the ground floor height. 3. Permitted Signs Requiring a Permit A. Commercial (C-2) and Industrial (I-1 and I-2) Districts (1) Wall Signs and Projecting Signs (a) Individual Establishments Individual detached establishments or enterprises not clustered in a shopping center complex or in a multi-tenant office or industrial building may have wall signs and projecting signs on each' wall, provided the aggregate area of such signs does not exceed 30% of the area of the wall supporting the signs. (b) Clustered, Establishments Attached establishments or enterprises clustered in a shopping center complex or in a multi-tenant office or industrial building may have wall signs and projecting signs subject to the following: i. Each establishment or enterprise may have such signs on each of its exterior walls, provided the aggregate area of such signs does not exceed 30% of the wall supporting the signs; ii. In lieu of the above, the aggregate of the establish- ments or enterprises may have a wall or projecting sign on each wall identifying the tenants collectively, or identifying the complex or building; provided the area of each sign does not exceed 30% of the area of the wall supporting it. (c) Multi-Story Office Buildings Multi-story office buildings may have a wall or projecting sign identifying the. building on each wall provided such sign does not exceed 10% of the area of the wall supporting the sign. l 1 Section 34-170. APPEALS In order to secure relief where it is alleged that an administrative officer of the City has committed an error in interpretation of judgment in issuing an order or making a determination, any person may appeal said order or determination consistent with the provisions of Section 35-251 of the City Ordinances. Section 34-180. VARIANCES (ADJUSTMENTS) The procedure for obtaining a variance from the requirements of this ordinance shall be the same as set out in Section 35-240 of the Ordinances of the City of Brooklyn Center. The Board of Adjustments and Appeals may recommend and the City Council may 'grant variances from the literal provisions of this ordinance in *instances where their strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique and distinctive to the specific property or use under consideration. The provisions of this •ordinance, considered in conjunction with the unique and distinctive circum- stances related to the property or uses thereof must be the proximate cause of the hardship; circumstances caused by the property owner or the applicant or a predecessor in title shall not constitute sufficient justification to grant a variance. A variance may be granted by the City Council after demonstration by evidence that all of the following qualifications are met: 1. A particular hardship to the owner would result if the strict letter of the regulations were carried out; 2. The conditions upon which the application for a variance is based are unique. to the. parcel of land or the use thereof for which the variance is sought and are not common, generally to other property or uses thereof within the same zoning classification; 3. The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood. Section 34-190. ENFORCEMENT It shall be the responsibility of the City Manager to cause the requirements of this ordinance to be .properly enforced and to administer the same. Section 34-200. SEPARABILITY .AND VALIDITY Every section, provision, or part of this ordinance is declared separable from every other section, provision, or part to the extent that if any section, provision or part of the ordinance shall be held invalid, it shall not invalidate any other section, provision, or part thereof. Section 34-210. PENALTIES It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, alter, repair, move, equip, or maintain any sign or sign structure or cause or permit the same to be done in violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance. Whoever does any act or omits to do any action which thereby constitutes a breach of. any section of a i i t i AVIA PROPOSED ROADWAYS PROPOSED BRIDGES ol oil mm mm EE m ME m mm OEM mom mm <� .,._\ II