Loading...
4.a 1 Memo re Lighting OrdinanceMemorandum To: Scandia Planning Commission Copies To: Neil Soltis, City Administrator Brenda Eklund, City Clerk Reference: Lighting Ordinance Amendment Project No.: 16323.000 From: Sherri Buss, RLA AICP, Routing: Planner Date: July 24. 2017 Background The City recently approved a Site Plan for the expansion of Scandia Elementary School and related site improvements. The Lighting Plan for the project proposed additional lighting and replacement lighting using LED luminaires. The City's Development Code currently prohibits the use of LED luminaires in all zoning districts. This section of the ordinance is older, and staff are not sure why the prohibition was included. It may have been that when the section of the Code was adopted, LED lighting was not designed to be shielded or downcast, and there was a concern that the light from LED's would be too bright to meet the City's standards. The Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines were approved more recently, and prohibit the use of LED lights on signs, but do not prohibit its use for parking lots or building lighting. LED luminaire have become the standard for most outdoor lighting because of their efficiency and low maintenance in comparison to other types of lighting. The Scandia Elementary School lighting plan demonstrated that LED luminaires are available that can meet the City's performance standards for outdoor lighting. Proposed Ordinance Amendment The City Council requested that the Planning Commission review the Lighting section of the Code, and provide a recommendation to the Council regarding whether the Lighting section should be amended to remove the prohibition on the use of LED lighting. The Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance amendment at its meeting on August 15. The public hearing was scheduled at the August Council meeting to avoid the delay that would have occurred in order to schedule the hearing at a Planning Commission meeting because the public notice requirements would have delayed the hearing to the September PC meeting. The City Administrator suggested some additional changes to the ordinance: to clarify that the standards apply to Outdoor Lighting (not signs), as defined in the Code; that the standards do An employee owned company promoting affirmative action and equal opportunity 444 Cedar Street, Suite 1500 Saint Paul, MN 55101 651.292.4400 tkda.cam TKDA Memorandum To: Scandia Planning Commission Copies To: Neil Soltis, City Administrator Brenda Eklund, City Clerk Reference: Lighting Ordinance Amendment Project No.: 16323.000 From: Sherri Buss, RLA AICP, Routing: Planner Date: July 24. 2017 Background The City recently approved a Site Plan for the expansion of Scandia Elementary School and related site improvements. The Lighting Plan for the project proposed additional lighting and replacement lighting using LED luminaires. The City's Development Code currently prohibits the use of LED luminaires in all zoning districts. This section of the ordinance is older, and staff are not sure why the prohibition was included. It may have been that when the section of the Code was adopted, LED lighting was not designed to be shielded or downcast, and there was a concern that the light from LED's would be too bright to meet the City's standards. The Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines were approved more recently, and prohibit the use of LED lights on signs, but do not prohibit its use for parking lots or building lighting. LED luminaire have become the standard for most outdoor lighting because of their efficiency and low maintenance in comparison to other types of lighting. The Scandia Elementary School lighting plan demonstrated that LED luminaires are available that can meet the City's performance standards for outdoor lighting. Proposed Ordinance Amendment The City Council requested that the Planning Commission review the Lighting section of the Code, and provide a recommendation to the Council regarding whether the Lighting section should be amended to remove the prohibition on the use of LED lighting. The Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance amendment at its meeting on August 15. The public hearing was scheduled at the August Council meeting to avoid the delay that would have occurred in order to schedule the hearing at a Planning Commission meeting because the public notice requirements would have delayed the hearing to the September PC meeting. The City Administrator suggested some additional changes to the ordinance: to clarify that the standards apply to Outdoor Lighting (not signs), as defined in the Code; that the standards do An employee owned company promoting affirmative action and equal opportunity Code Amendment - Lighting Page 2 Scandia Planning Commission August 1, 2017 not apply to street lighting on State and County highways, to state that traditional decorative lighting that existed in the Village VMU A and B Districts at the time of the adoption of the ordinance are exempt from the ordinance standards, and to remove "individual letters" from the list of outdoor lighting that are regulated by the ordinance, since they are part of the definition of "sign" that is regulated by the Sign section of the Code. The Planner included those items in the proposed ordinance amendment. The Planning Commission should discuss the proposed amendment at its meeting on August 1 and provide its recommendations to the City Council. I