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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 08.27.2002 COUNCIL WORKSHOP A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Bud Johnson at 7:03 p.m. on August 27, 2002. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x_ Lauren Van Roekel _x_ Doug Poehls x KenOlson x MarkMace _x_ Gay Easton _x_ Daniel Dart _x_ Dan Mears _x_ John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Matt Erekson Larry McCann Steve Klotz Utility Services Standards - Larr~ · Will replace some of current ordinance · Adopted by ordinance and changed by resolution · Has process to change and update · Composite of standards of many cities · Responsible party is property owner · States turn-off and turn-on times · Reviewed by Public Works Committee · Three official notebooks - Public Works, Public Utilities and Clerk's Office Resolution No. R02-65 · Include engineering fees · Temporary water supply · Pump bid · To facilitate allocating WRDA Grant by September 15th deadline · Existing intake pumps will be replaced · Finished pump building on north side will he 30 feet deep to allow gravity feed · Bladders from State will be used to redirect water flow for temporary water use Discussion: Entrywa¥ Zone and Sign Code - Cai Cumin Recommend Sign Ordinance public hearing to be continued to November 19th Recommend Entryway Zoning District public hearing to be continued to September 17th · Develop handouts of EZD with papers dated August 27, 2002 Council Workshop, along with cover sheet detailing; 1) proposed timeline for council vote; 2) possible sketch of boundaries; 3) proposed amendments Council Workshop minutes of August 27, 2002 · Send copy of packet to Chamber of Commerce to communicate changes for their information and review. · Review issue after September 3 meeting for posstble task force. Ponderosa Park agreement for maintenance - Steve · Changes · Last page, #7 - "Restrictions" · Agreement should go to school board · Restrooms should be installed by October 25th Annie harking - Steve · Any complaints of people using unauthorized area to park · Should not be allowed - create "clear vision" conflict · Increases parking spots; area will remain parallel parking if diagonal parking will not increase number of parking spaces · New stripes will be white · Redone twice per year Steve will research questions regarding: · Fifth Avenue and Main crosswalk · Manned crosswalks during school times · Use of center landscaping City surplus items - Steve · Departments are identifying surplus to be sold at auction. · Police Department has items that require different process than surplus. · Council will declare surplus based on list of items. · Proceeds to General Fund. Cemete~ · Allows timely purchase of land Jurisdiction of police officers - Matt Erekson · Prompted by incident at Yellowstone River · Ordinance No. 000-3 allows arrest within 5 miles. · Possibility of annexation of plants and cemetery Agenda discussion · Recommend Sign Ordinance public hearing to be continued to November 19t~ · Recommend Entryway Zoning District public hearing to be continued to September Announcements: None 2 Council Workshop minutes of August 27, 2002 Other items School Zone · School zone - 15 mph, twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week · Eighth Avenue and First Avenue changes not consistent with previous zones · Commuters using lanes for access to transportation system · Speed zone is end of school building; proposed to extend school zone one-half block · Propose amended to read one-half block beyond school building during school hours · Recommend school traffic control plan with school board/council The council workshop adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Bud Johns~,, Mayor NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council. RESPONSES TO ISSUES RAISED DURING PUBLIC FOR ENTRYWAY ZONING DISTRICT AUGUST G, 2002 CAL CUMIN EH Ef I D) r?? UUG 2 7 2002 CITY OF LAUREL Issue: State already regulates signs within 500 feet of on ramps and entryways to cities. Response: State Department of Transportation does regulate all signage within the transportation right-of-way; they also require that billboards be registered with them. The Entryway Zoning District (EZD) will deal with off-premise signs outside of the right-of-way. Issue: Proposed ordinance refers to the City's Growth Management Plan-would like to see a copy. Response: The last Legislature changed the term "Comprehensive Plan" to "Growth Management Plan". The City has one of these; it is old and is being updated. Since the City has no money for any extra planning such as for growth management plans, the process of updating our plan is a slow one. Issue: There are security issues involved in too much landscaping. Are landscape islands required in parking lots or can the landscaping be on the perimeter? Response: The EZD lays out minimum requirements for landscaping. How the landowner configures the landscaping is up to the owner. There is no requirement for landscaped islands. Issue: Too complicated a sign ordinance is unenforceable. Lights are needed for safety. Many towns are dead and dying because people driving by don't know what's in them. Response: The EZD proposal is now about eight pages and will probably be less when finally drafted. Lights on off-premise signs are not a safety issue. The issue that billboards tell people passing by what a town is like or what is in them is debatable. There are thousands of communities along the interstate system nationwide. Signs all along Laurel's interstate frontage would probably cause more yawn than interest. Issue: The EZD is too vague. Small businesses cannot afford landscaping. Response: The EZD proposal is still in draft form. We are trying to make it specific and short. The cost of providing landscaping is part of doing business and benefits the business as well as the community in long run-the perspective the City fathers have to take. Also, landscaping does not necessarily have to be up front. It can be scheduled in over time as a business grows, but there has to be an enforceable contractual arrangement between the City and the business owner. Issue: We can't compete with west Billings so we have to use signs to pull people off the interstate (knows of two businesses that have not expanded along the interstate because of this proposed ordinance). Response: This idea is skewed. Laurel is going to compete with Costco and Office Max, but the quality and variety of small retail is not going to be competitive by putting up more signs on the interstate. People are not going to shop in Laurel because of billboards. People will come to Laurel because it's a nice place to visit, to work, and to live. Large, freestanding, high billboards are not going to contribute to that sense of place. Issue: Height of signs and having seven years to come into compliance. Response: The height of on-premise signs such as at the Locomotive Inn and Curt's Saloon are not part of the EZD_ It is not presently known what the specific height for signs in town will be, but there should be one we can all agree on. Issue: This is extreme regulation. It has no enforcement and penalty provisions. The rights of all businesses need to be protected. Response: That this proposal is "extreme regulation" is just one bank's opinion. The zoning powers of a community have been upheld in this country and this state for over 80 years. There is nothing radical in this proposal that is not done elsewhere. The reason it exists is that it is good for the health of a community, and a healthy community provides a good business environment. The only business right that may be affected by this proposal is that of the billboard sign companies who contribute nothing to the public on which it feeds. ?, ?!,? AUG 2 7 2002 AMENDMENTS TO 002-31 Section 17.26.010. Intent. ? AUG 2 7 2002 J CITY OF LAUREL Add the following as first paragraph: "The purpose of the Laurel Entryway Zoning District is to regulate outdoor advertising, outdoor advertising signs, and outdoor signs of all types, to provide fair and comprehensive regulations that will foster a good visual environment for Laurel, enhancing the area in which we live, and creating an aesthetic and enjoyable appearance for our visitors and our residents. Section 17.26.030. Location of District: Delete middle sentence of the first paragraph: "Specifically, along the Interstate on the east side of Laurel, the EZD shall extend as described from the limit of the extra-territorial zoning boundary west to Bernhardt Road. On the west side of Laurel on either side of the Interstate the EZD. shall extend from the limit of the extra- territorial zoning boundary to Eight Avenue." Change reference to US Highway 10-312 to 212-310. Section 17.26.040. Application and Approval Process: Delete comma after "include." Section 17.26.052. Development Standards. A. Signage: Add to paragraph 1: "On-premise signs within the EZD are exempt from the signage provisions of the EZD but not from the requirements of the City Signage Ordinance. An "on-premise sign," a sign that advertises soley for the property on which it is located. Delete the last sentence of paragraph 8: "All signage lighting shall be turned off at midnight." COMMENTS AND CLARIFICATIONS TO EZD 1. This EZD is not an entirely new City ordinance; rather it is part of the existing zoning ordinance. The existing ordinance provides for grandfathering existing uses. This means that existing businesses, their on-premise signs, and their parking lots are not affected by this new ordinance; it only applies to new business and industry in the defined EZD area. There is a provision for off -premise signs that are free standing signs that requires such signs to come into compliance with this ordinance within six years-time enough for the companies owning all such existing, off-premise, free-standing signs to amortize their investment. The existing ordinance does state (17.56.040) that if any non-conforming building is damaged in an amount equal to or greater than 50% of its assessed valuation, its reconstruction must be in compliance with this ordinance. There are also provisions in the existing ordinance for moving buildings, repair work, changing uses, and uses that are discontinued. There was an earlier comment that there were no provision for enforcement of this EZD. This is also provided for in the existing ordinance. All of these issues are addressed in the existing ordinance and have not, therefore, been included in this section. Again, this section is only a part of the larger zoning ordinance. 2. All of the questions and comments about lighting should be here addressed by the deletion of the requirement to turn off lighting as shown above. 3. All of the expressed concerns about signage involve existing signs on or for existing businesses. These are all exempt as they are all "on-premise" signs. Some of them will be affected by the new sign code, but that is still a work in progress. 4. There was a question about whether the EZD ordinance means only one monument sign per parcel or if there must be 1000 feet between monument signs. I drafted this to mean both, but this is up to the discretion of the Council. If you want to limit the signs to 1000 feet between each and do away with the "one per parcel" provision, I think that will work out for the intent of this ordinance. 5. There is no fee schedule as yet for this ordinance. That will have to be worked out between the Public Works Department and Planning based on the new, required format of time involved in administering the ordinance to include overhead, supplies, etc. The provision of fee is not a part of this ordinance but found with other fees in another section of City requirements. There is a provision for making application for signage via the Internet. We still need. to work this out. R AUG 2 7 2002 CITY O IF LAUREL