Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/05/2004

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Page 2 -- January 10, 2004 Signs -- Church wants to erect new entrance sign Claims city can't regulate it MISSOURI (10/28/03) -- S t. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church applied for a sign permit from the City of Ellisville. The church wanted to build a new monument sign near its entrance. The permit was denied because the Church's proposed sign exceeded the maximum allowable height, exceeded mmximum face area, included moving let- ters and characters, and the application wrongly designated its planned location. The church sued, alleging the city's sign regulations were void and an constitutional infringement on the church's right to exercise its religious mis- sion freely. The court ruled in favor of the church. It found the city's denial did not show the church's proposed sig~n was unsafe, obstructive, a traffic hazard, or that it invoked the city's police powers. The city appealed. DE CISION: Reversed. The city could legally refuse the sign permit. A church's free exercise of religion was not impaired merely because a city required a church to apply for a permit. Municipalities could use their regula- tory powers over churches for the purposes of promoting health, safety, mot- 'als, or the general welfare of the community. It is wholly appropriate to impose Limitations on a church property and its accessory uses when reasonably related to the general welfare of the commu- rdty, including the community's interest in preserving its appearance. Because the restrictions imposed on the construction of the church's sign were not arbitrary and capricious, and the city sought to balance the church's request with aesthetic and safety concerns, the city did not act wrongly in regu- lating the church's sign requests. Citation: St. John ~r Evangelical Lutheran Church v. City of Ellisville, Court of Appeals of Missouri, Eastern District, Div. 1, No. ED82142 (2003). see also: ~tlage Lutheran Church v. City of Ladue, 935 S.W. 2d 720 (1996). see also: Mullenix*St. Charles Properties L.P v. City of St. Chartex, 983 S. W. 2d 550 (I998). 150 Nonconforming Use -- Rental company violates occupancy limits for years Company claims its been cottverted into a nonconforming use MICHIGAN (10/28/03) -- The Basin Building was originally constructed in 1950 to house city government offices. In the 1980s, it. was bought by Mid Michigan Rentals [nc. and converted into an apartment building. Mid Michigan knowingly overoccupied the apartments, comrary to a city ordinance protfibiring more than two unrelated adults, or one family, from