City Planners Vote To Retain Sign Ordinance
November 15, 2016 at 7:35 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Jeremy Skinner, city planner, told the Commission Monday that on Oct. 24, the Board of Zoning Appeals heard a request to allow a pliable-material sign as a permanent sign.
The BZA denied that request, but asked that it be sent to the Plan Commission to review the sign ordinance and look at whether to alter it.
At the October BZA meeting, CenturyLink sought to have a sign on the side of its building at 122 E. Center St. The sign would have a permanent frame but the sign itself would be vinyl that CenturyLink could change out as it wanted. It can still get a temporary sign put up on the side of the building for 180 days, but the BZA denied CenturyLink’s request for a variance from development standards to have the sign up year-round as vinyl signs fall under temporary signs.
As a plan commission, Skinner said when it approved the new sign ordinance, “the vinyl signs had the appearance or the ability to decay over time and not look as pristine or be kept in a pristine manner as other types of signs and that is why, at that time, we left the description of a pliable sign as a temporary only sign.”
Technology can change, Skinner noted, but it was up to the Plan Commission to instruct him to look into whether or not it wanted him to look into it.
Plan Commission President Tom Allen, who also serves as the BZA president, said, “The interesting part of that predicament is, if you will, is it’s temporary versus permanent signage, which we’ve spent a long time putting together for what we have for signage today. With this one application for a vinyl material sign, we now run into what’s good and bad about it. And, I don’t know how to legislate or try to arbitrate something like that.”
Allen said there’s good plastic and vinyl and bad plastic and vinyl.
“I think there’s a lot more vinyl out there then we think because it’s become a much more used material for signage,” he continued.
After about 20 minutes of discussion, Allen said he’d like to leave the sign ordinance as it is.
Plan Commission and BZA member Rick Keeven made a motion to turn down the request to study the issue further and leave the regulations as is. The motion passed unanimously.
In the only other business before the Plan Commission, it unanimously approved the preliminary and final plat of the two-lot Country Club Hills subdivision off of Country Club Drive South.
The tract is expected to take an approximate 41 acres. The smaller lot, where a house is planned to be built, is 8.93 acres, and the larger lot is 31.41 acres.
The applicant was Scott Silveus, but the subdivider involves five different trusts.
Skinner told the Commission both lots meet the minimum requirements for a Residential-1 District and there is no infrastructure with the project. Sanitary sewer runs along Country Club Drive South. The applicant is providing an additional 10-foot storm water drain easement on the north property line.
“This plat is also officially platting an easement that was granted years ago on the east property line for a sanitary sewer line that was run a number of years ago as well,” he said.
While Skinner said the decision was up to the Plan Commission, he saw no reason the board couldn’t grant preliminary and final plat approval “since there is no infrastructure and it’s only a two-lot subdivision.”
In speaking in favor of the petition, Tom Hardy III, with John Kimpel & Associates, said, “They’re just looking to build a house and use the existing curve cut for driveways, and this is just a part of the process here in the city to build a house.”
No one else spoke in favor of the petition, but some neighbors had questions about the plans for the property.
Heather McGuire, 1009 Country Club Drive South, asked if the property would be tapping into the sewer and if it would be just one home. Hardy said yes to both questions.
She then asked if the road was going to be torn up during construction of the home. Skinner said anything that was done had to meet city standards, but it would be just like any other home construction built in the city limits.
Mary Pat Stage, 1533 Country Club Drive East, asked if the only home was going to be built on lot 1. Skinner said it was, but a home could be built on lot 2 though none was planned for it at this point in time.
Chris Rankin, no address provided, asked if there were plans to build other roads. Skinner said the Commission was reviewing dividing the one lot into two with no infrastructure, roads or sanitary sewer proposed.
“That’s what they’re reviewing. So, in the future, could they? Absolutely. Are they asking that tonight? No,” Skinner said.
Rankin asked if it was a single-unit dwelling or a multi-unit dwelling or if that was known yet.
“They are bound by what is allowed within an R-1 subdivision, which in this case is only single family,” Skinner said.
“Can that change?” Rankin asked.
“If they rezoned it or requested a variance, but those would be different requests,” Skinner replied.
Allen said those would have to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals.
A motion to approve the preliminary plat was approved, followed by a motion to suspend the rules and a motion to approve the final plat.
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Jeremy Skinner, city planner, told the Commission Monday that on Oct. 24, the Board of Zoning Appeals heard a request to allow a pliable-material sign as a permanent sign.
The BZA denied that request, but asked that it be sent to the Plan Commission to review the sign ordinance and look at whether to alter it.
At the October BZA meeting, CenturyLink sought to have a sign on the side of its building at 122 E. Center St. The sign would have a permanent frame but the sign itself would be vinyl that CenturyLink could change out as it wanted. It can still get a temporary sign put up on the side of the building for 180 days, but the BZA denied CenturyLink’s request for a variance from development standards to have the sign up year-round as vinyl signs fall under temporary signs.
As a plan commission, Skinner said when it approved the new sign ordinance, “the vinyl signs had the appearance or the ability to decay over time and not look as pristine or be kept in a pristine manner as other types of signs and that is why, at that time, we left the description of a pliable sign as a temporary only sign.”
Technology can change, Skinner noted, but it was up to the Plan Commission to instruct him to look into whether or not it wanted him to look into it.
Plan Commission President Tom Allen, who also serves as the BZA president, said, “The interesting part of that predicament is, if you will, is it’s temporary versus permanent signage, which we’ve spent a long time putting together for what we have for signage today. With this one application for a vinyl material sign, we now run into what’s good and bad about it. And, I don’t know how to legislate or try to arbitrate something like that.”
Allen said there’s good plastic and vinyl and bad plastic and vinyl.
“I think there’s a lot more vinyl out there then we think because it’s become a much more used material for signage,” he continued.
After about 20 minutes of discussion, Allen said he’d like to leave the sign ordinance as it is.
Plan Commission and BZA member Rick Keeven made a motion to turn down the request to study the issue further and leave the regulations as is. The motion passed unanimously.
In the only other business before the Plan Commission, it unanimously approved the preliminary and final plat of the two-lot Country Club Hills subdivision off of Country Club Drive South.
The tract is expected to take an approximate 41 acres. The smaller lot, where a house is planned to be built, is 8.93 acres, and the larger lot is 31.41 acres.
The applicant was Scott Silveus, but the subdivider involves five different trusts.
Skinner told the Commission both lots meet the minimum requirements for a Residential-1 District and there is no infrastructure with the project. Sanitary sewer runs along Country Club Drive South. The applicant is providing an additional 10-foot storm water drain easement on the north property line.
“This plat is also officially platting an easement that was granted years ago on the east property line for a sanitary sewer line that was run a number of years ago as well,” he said.
While Skinner said the decision was up to the Plan Commission, he saw no reason the board couldn’t grant preliminary and final plat approval “since there is no infrastructure and it’s only a two-lot subdivision.”
In speaking in favor of the petition, Tom Hardy III, with John Kimpel & Associates, said, “They’re just looking to build a house and use the existing curve cut for driveways, and this is just a part of the process here in the city to build a house.”
No one else spoke in favor of the petition, but some neighbors had questions about the plans for the property.
Heather McGuire, 1009 Country Club Drive South, asked if the property would be tapping into the sewer and if it would be just one home. Hardy said yes to both questions.
She then asked if the road was going to be torn up during construction of the home. Skinner said anything that was done had to meet city standards, but it would be just like any other home construction built in the city limits.
Mary Pat Stage, 1533 Country Club Drive East, asked if the only home was going to be built on lot 1. Skinner said it was, but a home could be built on lot 2 though none was planned for it at this point in time.
Chris Rankin, no address provided, asked if there were plans to build other roads. Skinner said the Commission was reviewing dividing the one lot into two with no infrastructure, roads or sanitary sewer proposed.
“That’s what they’re reviewing. So, in the future, could they? Absolutely. Are they asking that tonight? No,” Skinner said.
Rankin asked if it was a single-unit dwelling or a multi-unit dwelling or if that was known yet.
“They are bound by what is allowed within an R-1 subdivision, which in this case is only single family,” Skinner said.
“Can that change?” Rankin asked.
“If they rezoned it or requested a variance, but those would be different requests,” Skinner replied.
Allen said those would have to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals.
A motion to approve the preliminary plat was approved, followed by a motion to suspend the rules and a motion to approve the final plat.
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