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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/16/171. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. City of " Wheatliclge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting November 16, 2017 CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair OHM at 7:01 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 7500 West 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent: Staff Members Present: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Dirk Boden Emery Dorsey Donna Kimsey Janet Leo Scott Ohm Amanda Weaver Alan Bucknam Vivian Vos Lauren Mikulak, Planning Manager Zack Wallace Mendez, Planner II Gerald Dahl, City Attorney Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner BODEN and seconded by Commissioner DORSEY to approve the order of the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — August 3, 2017 It was moved by Commissioner DORSEY and seconded by Commissioner WEAVER to approve the minutes of August 3, 2017, as written. Motion carried 5- 0-1 with Commissioner KIMSEY abstaining. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) Planning Commission Minutes November 16, 2017 -1— No one wished to speak at this time. 7. PUBLIC HEARING 8. OLD BUSINESS 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion of Proposed Sign Code Amendment Mr. Wallace Mendez let the Commission know there is an update on the sign code process that has been in the works for the last couple of months and introduced the City Attorney, Gerald Dahl. Mr. Dahl provided some background and mentioned the sign codes need to be updated and modernized and said that signs have been regulated for decades by their content, or by what signs say. He explained that the City now has to regulate signs by types and zone districts due to the 2015 Supreme Court decision on Reed v. Town of Gilbert. There will be a fair amount of restructuring and City Council has given some direction. Mr. Wallace Mendez explained each sign code type will be discussed tonight and staff would like to hear from the Commission on their ideas. He explained the tables of the old sign code will be changed to text with subsections. Commissioner OHM asked if marijuana signs are regulated by content in Chapter 11 and asked if it will stay in Chapter 11 or be moved to sign codes in Chapter 26. Mr. Dahl explained he wants to keep them in Chapter 11 and that marijuana can be regulated differently because it is still federally illegal. Commissioner WEAVER asked about signs carried by people with regards to sign spinners versus panhandling signs. Mr. Dahl acknowledged both are signs carried by persons and Chapter 26 generally regulates commercial signs. Panhandling signs are not regulated by Chapter 26 and not an enforcement priority. Commissioner OHM asked how the City can prevent people from standing in medians (with commercial or other signs) because it is unsafe. Mr. Dahl agreed it is a real struggle especially with the recent court decision and the ACLU protection of civil rights and free speech. The discussion of medians was deferred until later in the context of sign spinners. Planning Commission Minutes -2— November 2— November 16, 2017 There was a consensus among the Commission for sign codes to be reorganized and reformatted consistent with Reed v. Gilbert. Moving on to temporary signs, Mr. Wallace Mendez explained that current sign code regulations make temporary sign enforcement difficult. Staff proposes that the update to temporary sign code allow for only one sign at any given time per property or business. Commissioner OHM said he has seen signs blocking sight triangles and would like to see this addressed. Commissioner LEO asked what the definition of a temporary sign is. Mr. Wallace Mendez explained temporary signs include, but are not limited to banners, balloons, yard signs and a -frame signs. There was a consensus for temporary signs being limited to one per business or property. Mr. Wallace Mendez also mentioned to the Commission that staff would like direction regarding spinning commercial signs or persons holding signs. Commissioner WEAVER asked if it is legal for sign spinners to be in medians or in the smaller "pork chop" median which separates the right turn lane at 38' and Wadsworth Blvd. Commissioners OHM, WEAVER and DORSEY expressed a desire to prohibit persons holding commercial signs from staying in medians based on safety concerns. Commissioner WEAVER asked how many temporary signs are allowed if there is a sign spinner. Mr. Wallace Mendez said one sign spinner and one sign on private property. The Commission consensus was to modify the definition of persons holding signs to be clearer about where they are allowed or prohibited. The next sign type as explained by Mr. Wallace Mendez is electronic message centers (EMC's). He said that the City's standards are currently misaligned with the industry's standards in two ways. First, changeable copy signage is limited in the code to changing no less than every 15 seconds. Current industry standards is between 4 and 10 seconds. Staff recommends this be reduced to 8 seconds. Second, the City's illumination standards are out of date and difficult to enforce. City Council has directed the amortization of existing LED signs requiring they comply with the new illumination standards within 2 years of the code adoption. Planning Commission Minutes -3— November 3— November 16, 2017 Ms. Mikulak explained that some of the computer programs for EMCs can be easily changed to comply with these requirements. Commissioner BODEN observed that 2 years seems like a long time. Mr. Dahl explained the amount of time for amortization is usually related to the burden of the change. Two years may be longer than needed but is relatively short for an amortization clause. There was consensus for the 8 second duration between messages and for adopting illumination standards as written in the packet. Also, there was consensus for amortization of existing EMCs within 2 years. Next, Mr. Wallace Mendez discussed 3D signs and showed graphics to explain how they differ from traditional 2D signs. 3D signs will be measured in cubic feet and will be allowed for blade and freestanding sign types. Commissioner WEAVER asked if the moveable signs are include in the 3D sign types. Ms. Mikulak acknowledged they had not been considered but agreed the City would like to prohibit animation, lights, moving parts, sound, etc from all permanent signs including 3D. There was consensus by the Commission for the method of measuring 3D signs and for the maximum sizes allowed. Regulation of off -premise signage, as explained by Mr. Wallace Mendez, requires that the sign be read, which is no longer permissible by Reed v Gilbert. Staff is proposing that in lieu of the existing off -premise signage restriction the owner of the sign and owner/lessee of the property must be the same person. Commissioner OHM mentioned he has seen a lot of home builder signs and "make lots of money, call this number" signs which appear to be off -premise signs. Mr. Dahl said the home builder signs cannot go in the right-of-way and the "money" signs are illegal and will require some education if we have frequent signs like that posted. Enforcement against these types of signs can also become a resource issue. Commissioner BODEN asked if yard sale type signs fall into this category, and Commissioner OHM added it is hard to determine if temporary signs are on- or off -premise because it's hard to identify property lines in the field. Planning Commission Minutes -4— November 4— November 16, 2017 Staff acknowledged that this would be easier to enforce for permanent signs than for temporary signs. Mr. Wallace Mendez explained how master sign plans addresses permanent off -premise sign issues. The Commission supports requiring the owner of the sign and owner/lessee of the property to be the same person for off -premise signage. Mr. Wallace Mendez moved on to business district signs and said staff has determined that it is more appropriate to establish an administrative policy in coordination with the Public Works Department to establish what constitutes a qualified business district. It is anticipated that the Public Works Department would produce the signs, and the policy would also address size, color and location of district signs. Commissioner OHM commented that he usually does not notice these signs. There were no objections to this approach for district signs. Mr. Wallace Mendez then explained that yard signs are a new content -neutral category and is intended to capture the various small signs that are currently allowed on residential property, such as political or community event signs. He explained that staff had recommended a limitation of 1 per property or business most of year and a limitation of 3 per property during the November election season. He also relayed that Council had not agreed with those limitations. Commissioner WEAVER said she has seen more of these temporary signs around and asked what prohibits a property owner from having multiple signs. She is uncomfortable with allowing unlimited signs, but understands the need for multiple signs around election times. Commissioner OHM said he has seen fewer political signs in the most recent elections. He would like to see a cap set and have it apply year round. Commissioner LEO observed that elections and primaries take place outside of November also and thought it would be good to set a limit or additional allowance at these times also. Commissioner DORSEY agreed there should be a limit of yard signs and thought 5 at the most would be appropriate. Based on the discussion, Mr. Dahl advisedit would be appropriate for the Commission to recommend a framework and yard sign limit if they disagree with City Council's consensus not to limit these signs. The Commission agreed there should be a limit on the numberof yard signs, with a higher limit around election season and a lesser limit during the rest of the year. There was not consensus on what those limits should be. Planning Commission Minutes -5— November 5— November 16, 2017 Next, Mr. Wallace Mendez explained freestanding signs and said the Code allows for them to be supported by either a monument -style base or a pole. He asked the Commission to consider whether the regulations for new signs should be augmented to require more monument -style bases and fewer pole signs. He explained that new freestanding signs are permitted to be up to 15 feet in height. Highway -oriented signs (up to 50 feet) are excluded from this discussion and by nature will continue to be pole signs. Mr. Dahl said this code is essentially about appearance. He added that amortizing pole signs is an option. For example, a pole sign can remain, but when the owner wants to replace the sign it must be changed to a monument sign. Commissioner LEO asked how this affects the businesses along the highway and what the distance is until you can no longer use a pole sign. Mr. Wallace Mendez said highway -oriented pole signs will be allowed within a'/ mile of the highway. Commissioners OHM and WEAVER were both in favor of requirement all new signs be monument signs and think pole signs should be amortized to maintain visual consistency. The Commission agreed that new signs should be monument signs and non- conforming. After some discussion about amortization there was consensus that nonconforming pole signs should be amortized in 3 years and all pole signs should be amortized within 10 years. The final sign category Mr. Wallace Mendez explained was changeable copy signage (EMC, LED). He said that current sign code prohibits LED signs in the Mixed -Use Neighborhood (MU -N) and the Mixed -Use Commercial TOD (MU -C TOD) zone districts. The intent of this restriction was to encourage sign designs that are more pedestrian -oriented in nature, despite the current (nonconforming) development patterns being more vehicular in nature. Mr. Wallace Mendez also mentioned that recently the question has been raised whether or not it is appropriate or desirable to allow LED/changeable copy signs for properties owned by the City, a school district or political subdivision of the state. The Commission agreed to keep the existing prohibition on EMC in MU -N and MU -C TOD. There was no objection to LED/changeable copy signs on publicly owned land. Planning Commission took a 5 minute recess. B. Discussion of Amendments to Bylaws Planning Commission Minutes -6— November 6— November 16, 2017 Ms. Mikulak gave a brief description of the Planning Commission Bylaws which were originally adopted in the 1980's and were last updated in 2006. She explained that several provisions are outdated and are inconsistent with current and/or best practice. Mr. Dahl asked the Commission to think about what really needs to be in the Bylaws, and what is just taking up space. Commissioner OHM asked about the difference between a regular meeting not extending beyond l 1pm and a Public Hearing not begin after l 1pm. Mr. Dahl explained that a Public Hearing is within the Public Meeting and that a Public Hearing can continue and go beyond l 1pm but a new Public Hearing cannot be started after l 1pm. He mentioned that the word "regular" can probably be taken out of the Bylaws such that the 1 1pm provisions would apply to all meetings. Commissioners KIMSEY and OHM asked about the 48-hour notice to cancel a meeting relative to email notice and last-minute weather related cancellations. Ms. Mikulak and Mr. Dahl addressed the questions. Commissioner OHM recommended the term "recording" be used in place of "tapes" in all instances and pointed out a numbering discrepancy. Commissioner OHM also asked about the swearing in process associated with a public hearing. Mr. Dahl recommended that the Chair perform a sworn oath which will make the process a bit more formal. Ms. Mikulak gave an example on how to proceed with a sworn oath based on language the City Council uses. Commissioner OHM also asked about the Chair reopening a case after closing a public hearing. Mr. Dahl said once there is action taken then the hearing cannot be reopened. Commissioner BODEN asked about the provision in paragraph 193 where a motion fails. Mr. Dahl explained the importance of providing a positive motion. Commissioner LEO suggested that page numbers be added to the Bylaws and identified another numbering discrepancy. Commissioner LEO added she likes the revisions. Ms. Mikulak added the revisions by the Commission will be looked at by Staff and the final version of the amended bylaws will be brought back to them to vote on at the December 7a' meeting. Planning Commission Minutes -7— November 7— November 16, 2017 C. Small Cell Facilities Mr. Dahl noted that at the December 7t' meeting there will be an amendment to Chapter 26 regarding cellular facilities. The City adopted regulations earlier in this year related to small cellular facilities in the public right-of-way. The City ordinance included a definition from state statute, however the state statute included an error which could otherwise allow full size cellular towers in the right-of-way. Mr. Dahl will not be present for the December 7ffi meeting and indicated that staff will be recommending that the error be corrected through a minor code amendment. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner LEO and seconded by Commissioner DORSEY to adjourn the mee ' g at 9:39 p.m. Motion carried 6-0. hm, hair Planning Commission Minutes November 16, 2017 Tammy OdAn, Recording Secretary