Agenda - Council - 01/22/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case # INTRODUCE ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 9.12 (SIGNS) OF THE CITY CODE: CASE OF CITY OF RAMSEY By: Breanne Dalnes, Associate Planner Background: In May of 2007, staff brought forward a worksession item relating. to the. City's. Sign Ordinance. The League of Minnesota Cities had sponsored a legal seminar regarding sign regulations, and it became evident that the city's ordinance was in violation of the First Amendment because it regulated signs based on content. There was been a rash of nationwide lawsuits against cities regarding these legal boundaries. At the worksession, City Council .directed staff to revise the Sign Ordinance to eliminate content-based regulation and examine regulations for electronic signs, which is new technology that the City Code does not address. In August of 2007, the Planning Commission heard the proposed changes to the sign ordinance, and directed staff to come back with an ordinance that achieved the following items: 1) Simplify the changes to focus on eliminating content-based standards for temporary signage and make the revisions less complicated and cumbersome 2) Make the temporary signage regulations uniform on an interim basis,. with the greatest flexibility to residents, including allowing off-premise signs. 3) Consider a working group to address other aspects of the Sign Code at a later date (electronic signs, for example) 4) Make regulations the same for both commercial and non-commercial types of signage, to avoid relying on content to make a determination of regulation. Also at the public hearing, there were three community members who spoke out against the over- regulation of business and people within the community. In response to these concerns, staff limited the changes in the sign ordinance to temporary signage, and brought forward a revised ordinance to the Planning Commission in December that specifically .focuses on eliminating content-based regulation. Two additional comments were made in response to the revised draft ordinance, which were to: 1) Provide additional time for the display of temporary signs (currently 6 weeks) 2) Allow more temporary signs for multi-tenant business. The following items are included in your packet, for your information: 1) City Council worksession minutes, May 10, 2007 2) Planning Commission minutes, September 6, 2007 3) Planning Commission minutes, December 6, 2007 4) Planning .Commission minutes, January 3, 2008 5) Proposed Ordinance -165-