5.1. SR 09-08-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sent by: DRB 612 291 9313; 09/04/97 11:52AM;Jet,taX #141;Page 3/4 MEMORANDUM To: Mayor and City Council From: Kevin Johnson, City Attorney Re: Billboards Issue Date: September 4, 1997 II I III IIII As discussed in the attached memo from Stephen Rohlf, Building and Zoning Administrator, seven billboards that blew over and incurred extensive damage from the July 1, 1997 storm have been rebuilt by the sign companies that own them, Each of the billboards was reconstructed in violation of Section 900,22.7(B) of the Elk River City Code (Sign Ordinance), which requires issuance of a building permit prior to "alteration" of a billboard. Reconstruction of billboards falls within the definition oran alteration. The companies were notified of the permit requirement Both by "red tags" placed on the fallen billboards on July 7, and through letters dated July 11, 1997. Several, but not all, of the reconstructed billboards had previously received designation as "legal non- conforming uses" by the Building and Zoning Administrator when the City first promulgated its sign ordinance in 1987. However, pursuant to Section 900.22.5(B) of the City Code, a non-conforming sign may lose this designation if the sign is damaged by more than 50 percent. City stafftook pictures of the downed billboards and determined that each had incurred more than 50 percent damage. In addition, pursuant to Section 900.34.2(C), no signs may be rebuilt without being brought into compliance with the Sign Ordinance. And, pursuant to Section 900.34,2(A), signs which are non- conforming uses shall lose nonconforming use status after a three year amortization period, which has expired for all of the nonconforming billboards. The July 1 l, 1997 letter sent to the billboard companies informed them of the loss of nonconforming status and ordered the companies to remove the downed signs. The letter also indicated that the billboards could not be reconstructed without a permit. And, the letter indicated that the order to remove the damaged billboards could be appealed to the Gity Council under the appeal process in Section 900.40 of the Code. No appeals were filed and no permits were sought. Thus, all of the reconstructed billboards were rebuilt in violation of the City's permit requirements, and, concurrently, in violation of the state building code. In addition, some ortho signs were rebuilt despite loss of their nonconforming status. In sum, all reconstructed billboards were reconstructed illegally and in violation of city and state law. Staff is recommending that the Council authorize legal action to enforce the Sign Ordinance and pursue removal of the illegal billboards. In order to do so, it is recommend that the City send a certified letter to the owners of the reconstructed billboards restating the reasons why they were reconstructed illegally and ordering their removal within a specified period of days. If any of the