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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.d. Sign Ordinance Text Amendment , 08-01-TA 4 ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Work Session: January 09, 2008 AGENDA ITEM: Sign Ordinance Text Amendment (08 -01- AGENDA SECTION: TA) Discussion PREPARED BY: Jason Lindahl, AICP Planner; Kim Lindquist, Community AGENDA NO. 2-• v. Development Director ATTACHMENTS: Community Development 2008 -2009 APPROVED BY: Work Schedule RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide staff with direction. SUMMARY Staff has prepared a proposed timeline for updating the City's sign ordinance in response to the City Council discussion in late 2007 regarding the Planning Commission's request to review readerboard regulations within the City. The issue was raised during the discussions of the recent sign ordinance amendments public hearing. At that time the amendments proposed dealt with the permitting procedure, first amendment /free speech, and temporary signs. These amendments were initiated by staff due to enforcement issues associated with temporary signs. During discussions with the City Attorney it became clear that modifications were needed to address recent court cases regarding free speech. Staff also capitalized on the opportunity to restructure the ordinance so it was clearer and more user friendly. Staff has always intended to continue to review and update the City's sign ordinance but other priorities have taken precedence, specifically the update of the City's Comprehensive Plan. As the Council is aware there is a legislated timeline to accomplish the update by the end of 2008. The update process requires the City to put together a draft Plan early in 2008 so there is adequate time to allow for a six month review by adjoining local governments. After their review it is assumed additional modifications to the Plan may be needed before submittal to the Metropolitan Council for action. The Planning Commission has been working on the update for most of 2007 and has sponsored several open houses on differing topics to solicit input from the community. Other projects that have taken staff time, or will in 2008 include: Downtown Redevelopment, including purchase of properties and property maintenance of city owned properties; St. Joseph's Task Force and site planning, along with land acquisition; UMore planning; Dakota County Library planning, review of Prestwick Place; economic development initiatives; project management of Stonebridge construction project, including project management of LCDA grant; greening committee; and creation and implementation of the rental inspection program. BACKGROUND In 2007, staff outlined a two step process to update the sign ordinance. The first step concluded last November when the City Council approved an ordinance that revised the sign standards related to perinitting procedure, First Amendment free speech and temporary signs. As part of this first step, staff also restructured portions of the sign ordinance so it would be clearer and easier to find specific regulations. The second step in this process will be to evaluate the various zoning districts' sign regulations (i.e. type, size, height, setback, etc.) including modifications to the readerboard or dynamic sign portion of the ordinance. The elements for the second phase of the sign ordinance update are provided below. Process Elements Staff anticipates four elements to the second step of the sign amendment process. The first element will be an introduction to the sign ordinance for task force members. Staff is suggesting putting together a small work group to assist in updating the sign ordinance. There are several members of the City Council that have a long history with the community and sign issues who would be an asset to the process. The majority of the current planning commission is fairly new to the issue, along with existing staff, and would benefit from some of the prior sign ordinance issues the community has faced. The introduction element will cover various items including the history of Rosemount's sign standards, legal issues to consider when drafting sign standards and stakeholders in the sign standards process. The second element will be an assessment of Rosemount's sign standards. The assessment will include a review of any applicable goals in the Comprehensive Plan, an examination of the sign standards in other communities, consideration of relevant information from both business interests and professional planning organizations as well as an appraisal of the specific sign standards for Rosemount's various zoning districts. The goals for the assessment phase will be to develop a detailed list of policies to guide the Committee when drafting revisions to the sign ordinance and to prepare those revisions. The third element of the sign amendment process will be to engage the public in reviewing the proposed revisions to the sign ordinance. The goals of the public engagement is to inform the community of the proposed changes to the sign ordinance, receive feedback from the community regarding the proposed changes and develop community support for the new standards. This element could consist of letters or articles in the local newspapers, postings on the City's website, meetings with the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce or Discover Rosemount or a public open house. At the conclusion of the engagement, staff will revise the draft sign standards to reflect the feedback from the community and present them to the Sign Committee for their endorsement. The fourth and final element to the sign amendment process will be the formal review and approval process. Once the sign committee has endorsed the draft sign standards, the text will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for review. The Planning Commission will hold at least one public hearing as required by law to insure the public has an official opportunity to review and comment on the proposed changes. The Planning Commission will have the opportunity to fine -tune the draft standards prior to making a recommendation and forwarding them to the City Council. Once the City Council receives a recommendation from the Planning Commission, the draft sign standards will be placed on the Council's agenda for review and action. 2 Process Timeline Attached is a draft timeline for the sign amendment process. Staff formed this timeline within the context of the other major projects occurring in the City relating to the Community Development Department. Given the potential time constraints, the process is scheduled to begin next May and conclude in May of 2009. Of course final adoption is dependent upon the amount of public input and discussion necessary to achieve the task. Staff only needs to look at the elongated process undertaken for the business park and industrial zoning district text amendments to know that the "best laid" schedules can go awry. CONCLUSION Staff requests direction regarding the proposed elements and timeline for the second step of the sign ordinance update. The process outlined above includes four elements: introduction, assessment, engagement, and review and approval. Staff recommends the City Council appoint a five or six member Sign Committee to oversee the first three elements and form draft revisions to the sign standards. Staff would be interested in 2 or 3 Council members to serve on the committee and will ask for 2 or 3 volunteers from the Planning Commission also. Once the draft revisions are complete, the Planning Commission will review the proposed changes, hold a public hearing and make a formal recommendation to the City Council. 3 Community Development Planning Commission Draft 2008 -2009 Schedule Date Meeting Subject Jan. 8, 2008 PC Work Session Housing and ED Review (CP) Jan. 9, 2008 CC Work Session Sign Ordinance Timeline Review Jan. 10, 2008 Open House Housing and Economic Development (CP) Jan. 29, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Mtg; Sign Ordinance Timeline Review Feb. 12, 2008 PC Work Session Land Use Element (CP) Feb. 13, 2008 Joint PC and CC Downtown Redevelopment Stonebridge Work Session Feb. 26, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Mtg; Stonebridge Public Hearing March 10, 2008 PC Work Session Land Use Element and Implement Element (CP) March 25, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Mtg; Stonebridge Public Hearing (tentative) April 3, 2008 Open House Land Use Element (CP) April 8, 2008 PC Work Session Review Comp Plan (CP) April 28, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Mtg; Formal Public Comment Draft Comp Plan (CP) May 13, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Introduction, Background, Legal Issues, Stakeholders May 14, 2008 CC Work Session Draft Comp Plan (CP) Planning Commission invited May 27, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Mtg; Formal Public Comment Draft Comp Plan (CP) June 3, 2008 CC Meeting Release of Comp Plan for Public Review (CP) June 10, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment Begins: Review Agriculture, Residential and Public Institutional Signs June 24, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting July 8, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment: Review Commercial signs July 24, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting August 12, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment: Review Business Park and Industrial signs August 26, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting Sept. 9, 2008 Open House Entire Comp Plan for Review Agencies (CP) Sept. 16, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment: Recommend changes to Commercial, Business Park and Industrial Signs Sept. 23, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting Oct. 14, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment: Review Entire Draft Sign Ordinance Oct. 28, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting Nov. 11, 2008 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Assessment: Review Entire Draft Sign Ordinance Nov. 25, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting Dec. 9, 2008 PC Work Session Review Comp Plan Public Comments and Recommended Changes (CP) Dec. 23, 2008 PC Meeting Regular Meeting Jan. 13, 2009 PC Work Session Review changes to Comp Plan (CP) Jan. XX, 2009 Dakota County Present Sign Ordinance to Chamber Regional Chamber of Commerce Jan. 27, 2009 PC Meeting Regular Meeting: Public Hearing for Comp Plan (CP) Feb. 10, 2009 PC Work Session Sign Ordinance Open House Feb. 11, 2009 Joint PC and CC Review PC Recommended Comp Plan (CP) Work Session Feb. 17, 2009 CC Meeting Approve Comprehensive Plan (CP) Feb. 24, 2009 PC Meeting Regular Meeting March 10, 2009 PC Work Session Review modified draft Sign Ordinance March 24, 2009 PC Meeting Regular Meeting: Sign Ordinance Public Hearing I April 28, 2009 PC Meeting Regular Meeting: Sign Ordinance Public Hearing II Recommend Approval May 19, 2009 CC Meeting Sign Ordinance Adoption Other Items for CD Staff 1. 2008 City Council Goals 2. Green Committee 3. Rental Inspection Program Implementation 4. Project Management Core Block East 5. Code Enforcement 6. Outdoor Recreation Complex 7. Livable Communities Grant Application 8. St. Joseph's Complex 9. Central Park Expansion 10. Rosemount Entry Signs 11. Comp Plan Implementation 12. Downtown Redevelopment 13. Other Text Amendments and Planning Reviews