5.1 HPSR 10-17-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EI - ,,,,,., Request for Action River To - ITEM NUMBER Planning Commission 5.1 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY Planning Commission October 8,2013 Zachary Carlton,Planning Intern ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Review of Draft Sign Ordinance Chris Leeseberg,Park Planner-Planner REVIEWED BY Jeremy Barnhart,Deputy Director, CODD Action Requested Recommend,via motion adoption of the ordinance as drafted. Alternatively,the Planning Commission may continue action on the item or deny all or part of the proposed changes to the sign ordinance. Background/Discussion Late last fall,the Chamber of Commerce approached staff with the goal of reviewing the sign ordinance. Recognizing several years had passed since a comprehensive sign review,staff supported the request,and the Council agreed. With these recommendations, staff has prepared a draft ordinance that adequately balances the needs and desires of the business community and the community at large. In general,the draft ordinance attempts to establish a standardized format for each district specific section and address the readability and clarity of certain sections. Chamber Recommendations Wall Sign Area The recommendation from the Chamber of Commerce is to use a percentage of the wall space as a limiting factor for sign size.Using a percentage of wall area balances building and sign size,allowing larger businesses more signage. Staff agrees with this technique for calculating sign area. The Chamber recommended 15 percent as the limiting factor.Staff felt that 15 percent was too large,allowing signs that are out of scale with the building. Staff spent considerable time evaluating the appropriate ratio,attempting to balance the need to communicate with the community character. Based in this research, staff recommends.five percent as the limiting factor for wall sign area. Freestanding Signs The Chamber recommends allowing pylon,monument,or freestanding signs for buildings with multiple tenants in the downtown district.Additionally,staff met with the downtown business group to discuss their interest in freestanding signs in the downtown district The group desires freestanding signs in downtown to promote businesses and community events.The downtown group has recommended N:\Departments\Community Development\Planning\Case Files\OA\OA 13-02 Sign ordinance\SR Review of the Sign Ordinance.docx