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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.g. PCExSumm_DynamicSigns_TA12192016EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Planning Commission Meeting: December 19, 2016 Tentative City Council Meeting: January 17, 2016 AGENDA ITEM: 16-52-TA, Zoning Text Amendment AGENDA SECTION: Relating to Dynamic SignsPublic Hearing PREPARED BY: Anthony Nemcek, PlannerAGENDA NO.:5.g. ATTACHMENTS: Draft OrdinanceAPPROVED BY: K.L. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to Recommend Approval of the Text Amendment to the City Council. SUMMARY The Planning Commission continued this item at their November meeting so staff could research additional information about dynamic signs. Therefore, the Commission should continue the public hearing and after discussion make a recommendation to the City Council. As the Commission may recall, the text amendment was prompted by requests from existing Downtown business owners. The request was to amend the City Code to allow dynamic signs in the DT Downtown zoning district and increasing the maximum dynamic portion of signs for the PI Public Institutional zoning district. Because the Planning Commission received a detailed staff report concerning this amendment at its last meeting, the following report will focus on the questions and issues raised at the last meeting regarding dynamic signage within the downtown and any new information that has been uncovered by City staff since the last meeting. Staff did not receive any comments relating to the proposed increase in the maximum dynamic portion of signs for the PI Public/Institutional zoning district. Therefore, this report will focus on introducing dynamic signs into the DT Downtown zoning district. BACKGROUND The draft amendment to the zoning text recommendsallowing dynamic signage within the DT Downtown zoning district using the existing regulations on dynamic characteristics such as brightness limits, maximum dynamic portion, prohibition on animation and motion, sign time, and text size. The Planning Commission raised concerns about the brightness of signs as well as electronic displays that could detract from the character of downtown. Members of the Planning Commission indicated that theywould like more information on monochromatic electronic displays and the level of brightness at the existing dynamic sign located at the Steeple Center. DISCUSSIONUPDATE Since the last Planning Commission meeting, staff has conducted further researchinto the way other communities regulate dynamic signs. Staff also looked into the brightness settings of the sign located at the Steeple Center. Staff conducted research of both neighboring communities and communities with a defined downtown to determine how they regulate dynamic signage generally and within their downtowns. Most communities do not regulate whether a dynamic sign can be full color or not. Only one City Code, of the ten reviewed, required the matrix of electronic message boards to be monochromatic. Of the six communities with defined downtowns reviewed by staff, only one city, Farmington, allowed dynamic signs in the downtown. Another community, Hastings, allowed dynamic signs in the less-historic parts of its Downtown Zoning district. As mentioned during the last Commission meeting, staff is concerned about the regulatory consequences of requiring monochromatic signs. Often the City is seen as overreaching due to regulations and unfriendly to business. Staff believes regulating sign color will reinforce that perception. Additionally, staff is concerned about the enforcement piece. Enforcement of sign color would not appear to rise to the level of significant staff time and potentially a criminal citation. However, staff has experienced businesses and residents who expect vigilant enforcement of signs, particularly if they are following the rules and their neighbor or competitor is not. By regulating color, there is an expectation that the City will enforce, which we would when issuing a permit, but it may be more difficult to obtain compliance later through years of business operation. In reality, if dynamic signs are introduced in the Downtown their use will be more restricted than other districts in the City due to the sign size limitations in the Downtown. Staff believes the issue of brightness might address some of the concerns noted by Commissioners at the last meeting. In review of the Steeple Center sign it was found that the sign was operating at the default brightness setting. According to the installer, the default setting is what they have found to be most common among communities. The default brightness was 10,000 nits during the day and 700 nits at night. Rosemount City Code requires the brightness of dynamic signs to be no more than 5,000 nits during the day and 500 nits at night. The brightness setting was adjusted to meet the City’s standards and staff feels that the current brightness levels should alleviate many of the concerns about the sign. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The regulations proposed for dynamic signs in Rosemount appear to be more restrictive than some other communities. Further, the sign limitations in the Downtown mean that the dynamic sign portion of the sign will be less than other portions of the City. Staff continues to support the amendment to permit some dynamic signage in the Downtown. 2 City of Rosemount Ordinance No. B- XXX AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT ZONING ORDINANCE B RELATING TO DYNAMIC SIGNS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, MINNESOTA, ORDAINS that hereby amended as follows: Section 1. Rosemount Zoning Ordinance B, Section 11-8-4.E: Dynamic Signs: Dynamic signs are allowed subject to the following standards: 1. District Limitations: Dynamic signs may be located on properties within the C-3 highway commercial (excluding the downtown study area as designated in the development framework for downtown Rosemount), C-4 general commercial. Dynamic signs are also permitted in PI public and institutional, and DT downtown districts, so long as the property has frontage along an arterial road or major collector as designated in the comprehensive plan. Dynamic signs may also be located on public and institutional uses within a residential zone, provided the site has an approved conditional use permit (CUP) and complies with all other sign standards and is located on a designated arterial or major collector road. (Ord. B-221, 4-17- 2012) 2. Location: The sign must be located on the site of the use identified or advertised by the sign. 3. Orientation: When located within one hundred fifty feet (150') of a residential use or zone, dynamic signs must be oriented so that no portion of the sign face is visible from the residential use or zoning district. 4. Type Of Sign: Dynamic signs are limited to ground signs only. 5. Text Size And Legibility: The following minimum text sizes shall apply to all dynamic signs. If a sign is located on a corner with streets that have differing speed limits, the minimum text size shall be based on the standard for the higher speed limit to ensure maximum legibility. MINIMUM TEXT SIZES FOR DYNAMIC SIGNS Speed Limit Of Adjacent Road Minimum Text Size (Miles Per Hour) (Inches) 25 to 34 7 35 to 44 9 45 to 54 12 55 or more 15 6. Mode: Dynamic signs shall only be allowed to operate in a static mode. Animation, motion or video displays are prohibited. Any change from one static display to another must be instantaneous and shall not include any distracting effects, such as dissolving, spinning or fading. The images and messages displayed must be complete in themselves, without continuation in content to the next image or message or to any other sign. 7. Size And Number Of Dynamic Display: The dynamic portion of any sign shall not exceed thirty five percent (35%) of the total allowable area of the sign, except for the Public and Institutional district and Public and Institutional uses within residential districts where the maximum percentage shall be fifty percent (50%). The dynamic portion of signs within the downtown study area as designated in the 2004 Development Framework for Downtown Rosemount is 35% or fourteen (14) square feet whichever is less. The remaining percentage of the allowable sign area cannot have dynamic capabilities even if it is not used. Each site can have only one dynamic sign and that sign can have only one dynamic display. 8. Minimum Display Time: The minimum display time shall be five (5) minutes. One exception to this standard would be for time, date and temperature signs which the federal court has acknowledged as a justifiable exception to limitations on variable message signs. The time, date and temperature information may change no faster than once every three (3) seconds, provided that the display of this information remains for at least five (5) minutes before changing to another display. 9. Brightness: Dynamic signs shall not exceed a maximum illumination of five thousand (5,000) nits during daylight hours and a maximum illumination of five hundred (500) nits between dusk to dawn as measured from the sign's face at maximum brightness. All dynamic sign applications shall include certification from the sign's manufacturer that the sign has been preset to conform to the luminance levels noted above and these settings are protected from end users' manipulation by password protected software. 10. Color: Dynamic signs may use multiple colors within the display but the use of color shall not create distraction or a hazard to the public health, safety or welfare. No portion of the display may change in color or color intensity in any manner. Each line of text in any direction shall be uniform in color. 11. Operation: All dynamic signs shall be equipped with a means to immediately discontinue the display if it malfunctions. The owner of a dynamic sign must immediately cease operation of their sign when notified by the city that it fails to comply with the standards of this chapter. The dynamic sign shall remain inoperable until such time that the owner demonstrates to the city that the device is in satisfactory working condition and conforms to the standards of this chapter. Appeals of the city's direction regarding the operation of a dynamic sign shall follow the appeals process outlined in chapter 12, "Board Of Appeals And Adjustments", of this title. 12. Application To Existing Signs: The dynamic sign standards shall apply to all existing and future dynamic signs, unless otherwise determined by the city that an existing sign qualifies as a nonconforming use under state statute or this code. Any existing dynamic sign that cannot meet the minimum text size as required by the speed limit must use the largest size possible for one line of copy to fit in the available display space. Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication according to law. ENACTED AND ORDAINED into an Ordinance this 20th day of December, 2016. CITY OF ROSEMOUNT ______________________ William H. Droste, Mayor ATTEST: Clarissa Handler, City Clerk