After the previous workshops with the Planning Commission and City Council, staff has made revisions based on comments received and is ready to present the revised Sign Code for final review and adoption. At City Council's workshop, the reception for the revision was met with a positive reaction with smaller changes recommended, which has been taken into consideration by staff and incorporated into the final draft. In addition to the two workshops held with the Planning Commission and the City Council, staff met with the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the changes and received a positive reception to the proposed draft.

This draft ordinance, if adopted, will completely revamp the existing ordinance, rewriting language in its entirety, utilizing a best practice as the foundation of the updated ordinance. Shakopee's current sign ordinance is in need of updating following Supreme Court rulings which have made more clear how municipalities can regulate signage and have shown the current sign ordinance to have conflicts with these recent rulings. During the workshop, these issues were discussed at that time, but the major issues will be listed below for reference. 

1: Regulation purpose statement, proposed ordinance update expands greatly upon the statement of purpose for sign regulation which gives greater strength to City's authority to regulate if challenged.

2: While the City's code includes a severability clause, this is reaffirmed in the updated sign ordinance.

3: Sections of current ordinance include language which regulates based upon content of signage which infringes upon free speech protections of residents, but also equal protection on account of current language which applies different standards to signage based upon the message or the user of the sign.

4: The current ordinance does not cover illumination levels for signage other than digital billboards. Exterior lighting does have standards set in zoning code, but often sign lighting is unique from other forms of exterior lighting.

5: Sign adjustment process creates a subjective review and approval process in which all criteria are not required to be met for approval.

6: The overall structure of the current ordinance is confusing in places. Sections contain standards for multiple districts which overlap in some instances and certain subsections are arbitrarily placed within larger sections; for example, Section 151.189, labeled as pertaining to Commercial, Major Recreation, Industrial and Business Park districts includes the Sign Adjustment process and PUD regulations.

7: Overlay districts have created gaps in regulation in areas of the city, set different standards for lots within the same zoning districts without explanation, create an extra layer of regulation which is needed to be updated, but has not been and sets regulation based upon use and not zoning district with the creation of the signage overlay districts. Finally, the current sign ordinance contains no language setting standards for the Agricultural Preservation (AG) District. 

These issues have all been addressed with this updated ordinance language. Attached to this report will be the previous ordinance with comments outlining specific areas of the code which will be altered or removed.

In addition to issues above, other issues were brought up by the Planning Commission and City Council which have also been addressed following the workshops in both bodies. Some of those changes include streamlining the temporary signs section, removing some language and adjusting other language in that section giving property owners more freedom in regards to temporary signage on their property. For commercial zoning districts language has been updated for Highway Signs and language has been added to address signs located upon awnings of buildings. Freestanding sign restrictions have been relaxed, removing the language which forbade signs within the required building setbacks, now only requiring a 10 foot setback from any property line. Bench signs have been removed and are no longer permitted. Illumination standards have been updated and follow best practice for illumination levels for signage. In the final draft, signs which are proposed to be larger than allowed standards shall require a Variance to be approved by the Board of Adjustment and Appeals. Finally, language has been added to address the issue of maintenance on signage located within common space or intended for common usage such as business park, area identification and subdivision signs.

In addition to language changes in the ordinance, some size and height standards have been adjusted based upon feedback received during the workshop period.

This update to the sign ordinance will streamline regulation for the city. This will help residents better understand the code and navigate a process which can be confusing and onerous at times. This update will bring the city in conformity with Supreme Court rulings and it is the intention of staff for this code to last many years before updates are needed.

Attached will be the final draft of the revised ordinance which includes ordinance language and the sign standards table. Also attached will be the current ordinance language to be replaced with line by line commentary for reference, as requested at the Planning Commission workshop.