Discussion:
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. 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. The Planning Commission recommended the revised sign code be adopted by the City Council on a 6-0 vote at their October 4th, 2018 meeting.
This draft ordinance, if adopted, will completely revamp the existing ordinance, replacing existing language in its entirety, utilizing a best practice as the foundation of the replacement ordinance language. Shakopee's current sign ordinance is in need of revision in light of U.S. Supreme Court rulings, which have made more clear how municipalities can regulate signage; the current ordinance has been found to be conflict with these rulings. During the workshop, these and other issues were discussed at that time, but the other major issues will be listed below for reference.
1: Regulation purpose statement. The proposed ordinance revision expands greatly upon the statement of purpose for sign regulation which gives greater strength to the City's authority to regulate signage if ordinance is ever challenged.
2: While the City's code includes a severability clause, this is reaffirmed in the updated sign ordinance. This allows for a portion of the ordinance to hypothetically be struck down by a court without the entire ordinance being rendered void as well.
3: Sections of the current ordinance include language which regulates based upon content of signage which infringes upon free speech protections of residents and businesses. Language also infringes upon the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment on account of sections which applies different standards to temporary 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, in Section 151.114, but often sign lighting is unique from other forms of exterior lighting and therefore calls for specific regulation.
5: Sign adjustment process creates a subjective review and approval process in which all criteria are not required to be met for approval. This could create a situation of the appearance of one applicant getting special treatment over another if sign adjustment is denied or approved based upon differently applied standards from one case to another.
6: The overall structure of the current ordinance is confusing in many 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 which would apply to all zoning districts within the city.
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.
8. Finally, the current sign ordinance contains no language setting standards for the Agricultural Preservation (AG) District and does not cover all parcels within the Highway Business (B-1) 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 are proposed to be altered or removed.
In addition to issues above, other issues were brought up by the Planning Commission and this 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 as this brought an issue with signage located in city right-of-way. Signage which are proposed to not meet signage 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 parks, 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. Allowing residents in the city more freedom to express themselves with signage while providing consistent and fair rules with which to follow. This will help residents better understand the code and navigate a process which can be, at times, confusing and onerous. This will also make enforcement for staff clearer to interpret and simpler to explain. This update will bring the city to 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.