7.b)1) Staff Report-CouncilMemoSignOrdinance 11.17.15444 Cedar Street, Suite 1500
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Memorandum
To: Scandia City Council Reference: Amended Sign Ordinance
Copies To: Kristina Handt, City
Administrator
Brenda Eklund. Citv Clerk
From: Sherri Buss, RLA AICP,
Planner
Date: November 10, 2015
Project No.: 15745.000
Routing:
Scandia's Planning Commission has been working since July to update the City's Sign
Ordinance and the sign sections of the Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines, which apply to
signs in the Village zoning districts. The Commission received recommendations from other
commissions regarding signs, reviewed sign ordinances from other communities, and held a
public hearing on the proposed ordinance and design guideline amendments in October.
This memo provides the background on the proposed ordinance amendments, and summarizes
the key changes proposed by the Planning Commission. The Commission recommended the
attached ordinance for Council approval at their meeting on November 4.
Background—EDA and Parks Committee Requests to Review the Sign Ordinance
The City's Economic Development Authority (EDA) discussed the City's sign ordinance in June,
2015. The EDA recommended that the City amend its sign ordinance and the Scandia Design
Guidelines to better support the needs of businesses in the Village area. The EDA identified the
following specific issues:
They recommended that the City delete the prohibition on banners and pennants in the
Off -Building Signage section of the Architectural Guidelines.
They recommended that the Design Guidelines permit portable signs (including those
not attached to a building or the ground) that are up to 32 square feet in size, such as
the portable sign that the Lions Club has at the Fire Hall, which is occasionally moved to
other locations.
They recommended that the city eliminate the permit requirement for temporary signs,
and allow the signs for up to135 sign days in a year. They recommended that the City
eliminate the permit requirements for garage/lawn sale signs in particular.
They recommended that the City retain the lighting standards in the Design Guidelines
and ordinance, but the guidelines should be amended to permit signs with animation
(also called "dynamic display"); or dynamic display signage could have time limited to
prevent quick flashing of messages. They also wanted to continue to permit backlit
signs for businesses on the highways in Scandia.
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Amended Sign Ordinance Memo Page 2 November 17, 2015
Scandia City Council
Allow off -premises signs to advertise Village area businesses on local state and county
highways.
The Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee also discussed the City's sign regulations and
recommended that the ordinance be amended to allow an unlimited number of signs for City
events, such as Vinterfest, and to increase the number of days when temporary signs could be
displayed to advertise community events.
Supreme Court Decision and Impacts on Scandia Sign Ordinance
As the Planning Commission began its review of the Sign Ordinance and Design Guidelines
based on the requests from the other commissions, the City learned about a recent U.S.
Supreme Court decision that requires significant changes in many local sign ordinances.
The City Attorney reviewed the U.S. Supreme Court municipal sign ordinance case: Reed V.
Town of Gilbert, Arizona, 135 S.Ct. 2218 (2015), and provided a memo to the Planning
Commission about how the decision affects local sign ordinances that is summarized as follows:
In Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a church and its pastor were cited under the Sign Code for
the Town of Gilbert after placing temporary signs with details of and directions to church
services. The Code permitted such signs for other uses, such as businesses. The Court
held that the Town's Code discriminated based on the content of speech and violated
the church and pastor's First Amendment right to free speech.
In light of Reed, municipalities may not (without a compelling governmental purpose)
enact/enforce sign ordinances that differentiate based on the topic or content of the sign.
Accordingly, Scandia generally may not have restrictions that are specific to a topic or
category of speech or topic, such as specific references to real estate signs, political
signs, community event signs, business signs, etc.
Restrictions on signs should be limited to information about "time, place, and manner"
rather than content. The ordinance can regulate size, location, building materials,
lighting, length of time, and similar items.
Scandia's sign ordinance needed a substantial overhaul to comply with Reed.
The Planner worked with the City Attorney and the attorney at the League of Minnesota Cities to
craft the amended ordinance to comply with the Supreme Court decision. The League
recommended the ordinance language used to address noncommercial signs (the current
Minnesota Statute language for what were called political signs) and signs related to properties
for sale or under construction.
Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines and Relationship to the Development Code
The Sign regulations included in the Development Code (Chapter 2, Section 3.13) require that
"Signs shall be reviewed for compatibility with the Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines."
The Design Guidelines were adopted in 2009, to "sustain and improve the economic viability of
the city's Village Center, Village Neighborhood, and Rural Commercial nodes by preserving and
enhancing historic charm and allowing for compatible new development." Therefore, signs in
the Village Mixed Use A and B districts, Village Neighborhood, and Rural Commercial zoning
districts need to be compatible with the Design Guidelines.
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Amended Sign Ordinance Memo Page 3 November 17, 2015
Scandia City Council
The Planning Commission updated the Design Guidelines to be consistent with the amended
sign ordinance.
Major Changes to the Sign Ordinance and Design Guidelines
The amended ordinance and Design Guidelines are attached, and include the following major
changes from the current sign ordinance:
Changes to the definitions to eliminate those related to sign content, incorporate new
sign types, and clarify definitions such as sign height.
Changes to address the Supreme Court decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert.
o Eliminate references to political signs, and replace them with a reference
Minnesota Statutes 211 B.045, which governs such signs.
o Eliminate references to real estate signs, and replace them with regulations for
signs located on parcels for sale or under construction.
o Eliminate other references to sign content throughout the ordinance, such as
seasonal agriculture signs, business signs, community event signs, etc.
No longer allow backlit signs for businesses in the Village Districts (VMU A, VMU B, VN)
and Rural Commercial District. While the EDA wanted to continue to allow backlit signs,
the majority of Planning Commission members believed that such signs are not
compatible with the historic character of the Districts governed by the Design Guidelines,
or with goals to maintain "dark skies." Existing backlit signs would become
nonconforming uses with this change, and could continue to exist until the use changes
or is abandoned for one year.
Prohibit animated and dynamic display signs throughout the City. The rationale for the
recommendation was the same as the rationale for prohibiting backlit signs.
Permit wall signs up to 20% of the total area of the wall, including murals.
Allow up to 3 signs that are 10 square feet in size or less without a permit in the
Agriculture Core, Ag Preserves, General Rural and Village Neighborhood districts.
These could be home occupation signs, signs advertising seasonal produce or
agriculture products, or event signs. The content of the signs would not be regulated.
Allow one temporary or portable sign in the Village, Rural Commercial and Industrial
Park Districts in addition to the permanent signs permitted in those districts. The
temporary signs would not require permits. These signs could include community event
signs, sale signs, or other messages. The temporary signs could be up to 40 square
feet in size, and permitted for up to 34 consecutive days. The signs may include
banners, but not pennants.
Add a section to the ordinance that permits off -premises signs at five major roadway
intersections in Scandia. These could be monument or freestanding signs that identify
and provide direction to one or more businesses or institutions. The content of the signs
cannot be regulated. Businesses in the Village area had advocated for such off -
premises signs to provide better visibility for local businesses from major roadways. The
amended ordinance requires a Conditional Use Permit for the off -premises signs.
Request for Council Action
The Planning Commission recommended that the Council approve the amended Sign
Ordinance and sign sections of the Scandia Architectural Design Guidelines.
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