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5. Staff Report-PCMemoSigns7 7 15 Memorandum To: Scandia Planning Commission Reference: Sign Guidelines and Regulations Copies To: Kristina Handt, City Administrator Brenda Eklund, City Clerk Project No.: 15745.000 From: Sherri Buss, RLA AICP, Planner Routing: Date: July 7, 2015 The City’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) recently discussed the City’s sign regulations and Architectural Guidelines for signage. The EDA generally believes that some of the City’s Design Guidelines and regulations need to be updated to better support businesses in the Village area. The EDA identified the following specific issues:  They recommended that the City consider deleting 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 ordnance, 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. These signs are called “raceway” signs in the Design Guidelines. The sections below discuss the proposed changes, and provide examples from the Osceola, Stillwater, and Forest Lake ordinances for the Planning Commission’s consideration. 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 Sign Regulations Memo Page 2 July 7, 2015 Scandia Planning Commission the Village Mixed Use A and B districts, Village Neighborhood, and Rural Commercial zoning districts should be compatible with the Design Guidelines. The section of the Design Guidelines related to signage is attached. A copy of the Signs section of the Development Code (Chapter 2, Section 3.13) is also attached. The Development Code item that specifically applies to the Village, Rural Commercial and Industrial Districts is item 6. Issue #1: Banners and Pennants The first issue identified by the EDA is the Design Guideline prohibition of banners, pennants, and portable signs that are not securely attached to a building or to the ground. The EDA is particularly concerned that banners and portable signs be permitted in the Village Area for community events, such as Vinterfest, Taco Daze, and the Farmer’s Market.  The Design Guidelines for “Off-Building Signage” lists pennants as Inappropriate Signs, and includes a statement that “Pennant flags are generally not appropriate to historic design.”. EDA members suggested that the Design Guidelines be amended to permit banners and pennants up to 32 square feet in size. They suggest that banners for community events be permitted for up to 135 days, the same amount of time that agricultural produce signs are permitted. The Planner attached a copy of the City of Osceola ordinance, which was discussed at the EDA meeting. The Osceola ordinance permits the following:  Banners used for seasonal events, sales, and special events are permitted, provided that such signs are displayed for a maximum period of 30 days and are removed within three days following the event or sale. o Banner is defined as “any sign of lightweight fabric or similar mat erial that is mounted to a pole or a building at one or more edges. National flags, state or municipal flags or the official flag of any institution or business shall not be considered a banner.”  The flag, pennant or insignia of any government or any religious or fraternal organization. Such flag, pennant or insignia shall not exceed 200 square feet. (Scandia’s Design Guidelines state that “Up to 2 country/state flags may be flown per business or building.) o Pennant is defined as “any lightweight plastic, fabric, or other material designed to move in the wind, whether containing a message or not.” The Planner also attached a copy of the Forest Lake ordinance. It includes the following related to banners and pennants:  The definition of Banners, flying banners, pennants, streamers and festoons is “A temporary sign or attention-getting device generally made of flexible materials, such as paper, cloth, plastic or any non-rigid material, with no enclosing framework. National and state flags shall not be included in this definition.”  “Temporary banner signs” are permitted in business, commercial, mixed use, and industrial districts, with the following requirements: o No more than 1 temporary banner, not exceeding 40 square feet in area, may be located on an outside building wall and shall not be placed in any other Sign Regulations Memo Page 3 July 7, 2015 Scandia Planning Commission location. Each temporary sign shall be permitted to be displayed for a maximum period of 30 consecutive days up to 4 times per year, with an approved temporary sign permit. No more than 1 banner, not exceeding 40 square feet in area, may be placed on the outside building wall between December 1 and January 3 without an approved temporary sign permit. A new permit must be obtained for every 30-day period. No fee is required for a temporary banner permit. o Community and civic promotion signs are permitted. The size, location, frequency, and duration of such signs may vary, depending on the nature of the promotion or civic event. A temporary permit is not required. The Planner also reviewed the City of Stillwater Zoning Ordinance (another community with a historic commercial area). The Stillwater ordinance “prohibits signs with banners, pennants, ribbons, streamers, strings of light bulbs, spinners or similar devices, except when used for non- commercial purposes or as a part of an approved sign plan.” Planning Commission Discussion:  Should the City amend the Design Guidelines and Development Code to permit banners, pennants, and/or similar signs? If yes, should these be permitted in all districts that are covered by the Design Guidelines, or some districts? Are banners consistent with the Design Guidelines, including: o Improve the economic viability of the Village and Rural Commercial districts o Preserve and enhance the historic charm of the districts o Increase the economic and financial benefits to local businesses by enhancing community character  If yes, should the City adopt performance standards related to location, size, length of time for display, etc.? Allow the signs for commercial or non-commercial purposes, or both?  Should the Code include definitions of banners, pennants, etc. in the Development Code? Issue #2: Portable Signs The EDA 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.  The Design Guidelines currently prohibit “portable signs that are not securely attached to a building or to the ground, unless otherwise permitted. The Design Guideline do permit sandwich-board signs, a type of portable sign.  The Development Code also permits “Signs advertising a community event” with an administrative permit for a period of no more than 10 days preceding the event and ending on the day after the event. Other ordinances:  Forest Lake prohibits portable signs, except temporary signs such as sandwich boards, and community and civic promotion signs. Forest Lake does not require a permit for sandwich board temporary signs or for temporary community event signs. Sandwich boards may be displayed only during open business hours and must be removed daily. Sign Regulations Memo Page 4 July 7, 2015 Scandia Planning Commission  Osceola’s ordinance does not address portable signs.  Stillwater does not permit portable signs. Planning Commission Discussion  Should the City amend the Design Guidelines to permit portable signs in the districts where the Design Guidelines are applied?  If yes, should the City adopt some performance standards so that portable signs are consistent with the purposes of the Design Guidelines to support businesses while maintaining the character of the Village area? Issue #3: Permits for Temporary Signs and Time Periods The EDA requested that the Planning Commission consider eliminating the permit for temporary signs, and allow the signs for community events to be displayed for up to 135 days in a year. They recommended that the permit requirement be eliminated for garage/lawn sale signs. Scandia’s Development Code requires the following permits for Temporary Signs:  Signs advertising community events require an Administrative Permit for a period of no more than 10 days preceding the event and ending on the day after the event. No more than three signs advertising the same event are permitted.  No permit is required for temporary real estate signs, political signs or warning signs.  Signs for garage, lawn or similar sales for agriculture or residential uses require an Administrative Permit. The signs cannot exceed 4 square feet and must be removed within 4 days after they are put up. Comparison with the sign permit requirements of other communities indicates the following:  Forest Lake permits temporary residential signs advertising garage sales. No permit is required. The signage may not exceed 8 square feet in area, and cannot be in the public right-of-way.  The length of time permitted for temporary signs in Forest Lake is based on sign type. The time period may be based on events, or is typically up to 30 or 60 days based on the type of sign.  Osceola does not require a permit for private garage, lawn or rummage sale signs. The signs may be up to 5 square feet in size and can be up for up to 5 consecutive days in residential districts only.  Osceola’s ordinance defines Temporary Signs as “any sign intended to be displayed for a period of not more than 60 days in a twelve-month period or until the construction or sale of property is completed, including real estate, political or construction site signs and banners, decorative-type displays or anything similar to the aforementioned.”  Stillwater does not require a permit for rummage or garage sales. The signs may be no more than 4 square feet in size, and the number of sales is limited to 2 per year. The signs must be removed on the day the sale ends. Planning Commission discussion  Should the City continue to require permits for temporary signs, including garage/lawn sales? How long should temporary signs be permitted?  If a sign permit is required, should some types of temporary signs be exempt from permit fees? Sign Regulations Memo Page 5 July 7, 2015 Scandia Planning Commission Issue #4 – Animated Signs The EDA suggested that the Planning Commission consider retaining the lighting standards in the ordnance, but the guidelines should be amended to delete all prohibitions, except for flashing, blinking and raceway lights on storefronts and general signage; or “raceway” lights could have time limited to prevent quick flashing of messages. (Planner note: I believe that the reference to “raceway” signs refers to signs with moving text or figures, also called “animated” signs, “changeable electronic copy signs,” or “dynamic display signs.” The sign industry uses the term “dynamic display.” The definitions that are used for “changeable electronic copy signs” in the Forest Lake ordinance and the definition of “animated” sign in the Osceola ordinance are the same definition that most cities use for “dynamic display” elements of signs. The definition was created by the makers of dynamic display signs, such as Daktronics. The definition is the following: “any characteristics of a sign that appear to have movement or that appear to change, caused by any method other than physically removing and replacing the sign or its components, whether the apparent movement or change is in the display, the sign structure itself, or any other component of the sign. This includes a display that incorporates a technology or method allowing the sign face to change the image without having to physically or mechanically replace the sign face or its components. This also includes any rotating, revolving, moving, flashing, blinking or animated display, and any display that incorporates rotating panels, LED lights manipulated through digital input, “digital ink” or any other method or technology that allows the sign fact to present a series of images or displays.” Many cities allow such signs, but limit the amount of special effects and how frequently the images may change so that they are not a distraction, and to limit their visual impacts on surrounding uses. Forest Lake permits “changeable electronic copy signs” with the following requirements:  Such signs are allowed only on a freestanding sign, and the total area of the electronic display is limited to a proportion of the sign.  The changeable electronic copy may not change or move more than once every 15 seconds. (Other communities such as St. Paul and Oakdale permit the images to change up to once every 8 seconds.)  The images must be static, and transitions must be instantaneous without special effects (such as fading)  The images and messages must be complete in themselves, without continuation into the next image  The changeable copy must be designed and equipped to freeze in 1 position if a malfunction occurs.  Brightness is limited. The signs must have an automatic dimmer. (Some communities require that the signs be dimmed at a certain time, particularly those adjacent to residential districts.) Osceola and Stillwater prohibit dynamic display signs. Sign Regulations Memo Page 6 July 7, 2015 Scandia Planning Commission Planning Commission Discussion  Should Scandia consider amending its Design Guidelines and/or Development Code to permit dynamic display signs? In some districts? Are these signs consistent with the goals for the Village or other zoning Districts?