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CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PLANNING REPORT
CASE NUMBER: 2007-0403
DATE: April 3, 2007
TO: Columbia Heights Planning Commission
APPLICANT: City of Columbia Heights
REQUEST: Zoning Amendment to the Zoning Code as it relates to
Temporary Signage
PREPARED BY: Jeff Sargent, City Planner
BACKGROUND
Staff proposes amending the zoning code regarding temporary signage to better
implement the intent of the goals of the Comprehensive Plan and the Design Guidelines
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adopted for the Central Avenue and 40 Avenue corridors.
A temporary sign is defined in the City Code as “A sign, banner, pennant, valance, or
advertising device intended to be displayed for a limited period of time, whether portable
or attached to the principal structure”. The current zoning code allows for temporary
signage that is not consistent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan or Design
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Guidelines for the Central Avenue and 40 Avenue corridors. The current code allows
for clutter that is aesthetically unappealing and does not implement the policies outlined
in Design Guidelines. A survey of the Central Avenue corridor revealed that there are
approximately 112 temporary signs along the 2-mile stretch of road, not including the
temporary signage used in the City of Hilltop.
Lack of effective regulation regarding temporary signage is found in the following areas:
1. The permitted location of a temporary sign on a building.
2. The number of temporary signs allowed on a building at any given time.
3. The duration in which a temporary banner may be displayed for.
4. Freestanding portable signage less than 8 square feet in area.
LOCATION. The current Sign Code allows temporary signs to be placed anywhere on
the building. The current code would allow for signs to hang from canopies, roofs,
posts, and the like. (Figure 1, and Figure 2).
City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission April 3, 2007
Text Amendment, Temporary Signage Case # 2007-0403
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
Appropriate language should be added to the ordinance limiting the placement of a
temporary sign to ensure direct and full contact with the wall to which it is affixed. This
placement is preferred, as it would promote a better aesthetic appeal. Temporary signs
would no longer be able to be strung above bay doors or hung from a canopy. A
specific intent of the Design Guidelines is to focus on enhancing the building’s
architectural features, and regulating the placement of the signage would achieve this.
NUMBER. The current Sign Code allows any number of temporary signs to be placed
on the building at any given time, and restricts each sign to be no more than 60 square
feet in size. (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4
Allowing any number of temporary signs on a building increases the amount of clutter
on the building and decreases its aesthetic value. In relation the businesses along
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Central and 40 Avenues, it would be counterintuitive to mandate strict architectural
design guidelines for a building, only to allow businesses to place as many temporary
signs on the building as they pleased.
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City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission April 3, 2007
Text Amendment, Temporary Signage Case # 2007-0403
Staff’s preference would be to add language to the ordinance restricting the number of
temporary signs a business would be able to display at any given time. This would be
more consistent with the Design Guidelines as it would allow a better promotion of the
architectural detailing of each building.
DURATION. The current Sign Code not only allows for any number of temporary signs
to be placed on a building, it also allows for the temporary signs to be in place for an
indefinite amount of time. The intent of allowing temporary signs is for promotional
purposes, and they are not intended for permanent advertising. However, with no time
duration established for temporary sign display, businesses can legally display
temporary signs for any amount of time. (Figure 5 and Figure 6)
FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
Staff’s preference would be to add language to the ordinance restricting the amount of
time a temporary sign could be in place for, as well as restricting the total number of
temporary signs a business could display in a calendar year. This would dramatically
reduce the clutter on commercial buildings throughout the City and would be more
consistent with the Design Guidelines. Further examples of temporary signs used as
permanent signage can be found in Figures 7 and 8.
FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8
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City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission April 3, 2007
Text Amendment, Temporary Signage Case # 2007-0403
PORTABLE SIGNS. The current Sign Code allows for any number of freestanding
temporary signs, as long as they do not exceed 8 square feet in size. The Sign Code
does not regulate where the signs may be located, the materials the signs should be
made of, the professionalism of the sign, or how long the sign may be erected. (Figure
9 and Figure 10).
FIGURE 9 FIGURE 10
It would be preferable if language were added to the ordinance to limit the number of
freestanding portable signs as well as the placement of such signs on the property.
Doing so would reduce clutter associated with the placement of numerous signs along
Central Avenue and would increase the aesthetic value of Columbia Height’s
commercial corridors.
Staff would also prefer a concise definition added to the code as to the type of
freestanding portable signage that would be allowable. Staff feels that eliminating
“stick-in-the-ground” signs would be beneficial, as these types of signs tend to get
knocked down, pulled out of the ground, or blown over. (Figure 11 and Figure 12)
FIGURE 11 FIGURE 12
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City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission April 3, 2007
Text Amendment, Temporary Signage Case # 2007-0403
Without effective regulation to establish minimum standards to guide the use of
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temporary signage, 40 Avenue and particularly Central Avenue will continue to have a
shoddy, cluttered and unkempt appearance. The proposed amendments would not
take away the ability for a business owner to utilize temporary signage, rather it would
mandate a set of minimum standards to display a temporary sign, in the same manner
as displaying permanent signage.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Discussion of regulations begins with identifying the community’s goals for aesthetics
and image found in the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan identifies the
goals; the purpose of the zoning ordinance is to guide private activity toward the
achievement of those goals.
The City’s Comprehensive Plan indicates several goals for the economic and
commercial vitality of the city. Some of these goals include:
1. Establishing and maintaining a strong sense of community.
2. Strengthening the image of the community as a desirable place to live and
work.
3. Enhancing the physical appearance of the community.
4. Improving the image of commercial areas as friendly and safe environments
for residents and visitors.
The implementation of these goals centers on the City’s ability to redevelop the
commercial and retail sectors and establish a friendly working and living environment for
the residents of and visitors to Columbia Heights.
A coalition was formed in 2002 to draft the Design Guidelines required for future
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development and redevelopment projects along 40 Avenue and Central Avenue. The
Design Guidelines establish a set of minimum standards for developers and the City to
follow when constructing new buildings or building additions to existing ones. The intent
of the Design Guidelines is to establish a basis for implementing the goals outlined in
the Comprehensive plan. The proposed zoning amendments facilitate the ability to
carry this intent forward.
The objective in the Design Guidelines for signage is that “signs should be
architecturally compatible with the style, composition, materials, colors and details of the
building, and with other signs on nearby buildings. Signs should be an integral part of
building and site design”
The Design Guidelines regulate such things as the types of signs to be used, the shape
of signs, the placement of signs on the building, the colors and materials the signs could
incorporate, and the illumination of the signs. The Design Guidelines incorporate these
specific criteria in order to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the city.
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City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission April 3, 2007
Text Amendment, Temporary Signage Case # 2007-0403
FINDINGS OF FACT
The City Council shall make the following 4 findings before granting approval of a
request to amend the City Code. These findings are as follows:
a) The amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan.
The proposed amendment would make the current standard for temporary
signage more consistent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan and
Design Guidelines.
b) The amendment is in the public interest and is not solely for the benefit of a
single property owner.
The Design Guidelines coalition formed in 2002 was partly comprised of
citizens and business owners representing the public at large. The proposed
amendment would establish standards along Central Avenue, which would
better reflect the intent of theDesign Guidelines. For this reason, the
proposed amendment would be beneficial to the public.
c) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular
property, the existing use of the property and the zoning classification of
property within the general area of the property in question are compatible
with the proposed zoning classification.
The zoning classification of land will not change.
d) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular
property, there has been a change in the character or trend of development in
the general area of the property in question, which has taken place since
such property was placed in its current zoning classification.
The zoning classification of land will not change.
RECOMMENDATION:
City Staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend approval
of the proposed zoning amendment as outlined in the attached draft ordinance.
Motion:
The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve the text
amendments as outlined in the attached draft ordinance.
Attachments
Draft Ordinance
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