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through. He stated that they are in discussions with Scheels, and he would hate to see the sign <br />come up and the City then declining a business to put a sign in that area. He stated that the City <br />does own a site two lots to the east of the current Power Lodge which is vacant and does not have <br />redevelopment plans and suggested the sign be placed in that location. He agreed that signage is <br />needed for properties in the COR. He stated that when they gave the property for the Riverdale <br />Drive extension, it was a friendly acquisition for the road improvement, and they did not anticipate <br />that a sign would be placed on that corner. He stated that this would be almost directly across <br />from the existing City sign and believed there would be benefit in spreading them out. He stated <br />that PSD is not for the sign in this location, but they are not anti -sign. <br />Mr. Gilleland stated that they work with Scheels on their signage, and they could work with that <br />company on signage locations. He stated that they would do what needed to be done in order to <br />accommodate but would hate to plan on what ifs. He stated that if the billboard needs to be moved, <br />that could be done, and they could still reuse the parts in another location. <br />Acting Chairperson Gengler asked for context on the other site mentioned by Mr. Kuker. <br />Senior Planner Anderson stated that location is between Ramsey Boulevard and Sunfish Lake <br />Boulevard and identified the location. <br />Mr. Gilleland stated that his concern would be the proximity to the overpass as that would ruin the <br />ability to read the board. <br />Commissioner VanScoy referenced the ordinance that allows digital billboards and asked if there <br />could be up to three billboards. <br />Planning Manager Larson replied that the ordinance does allow up to three billboards, but they do <br />need to be spaced apart. <br />Commissioner VanScoy asked how changing the location would impact the ability to have <br />additional signs. <br />Planning Manager Larson replied that most likely only two would be allowed in that scenario. <br />Mr. Gilleland stated that the current location would still limit the community to two signs as the <br />distance to the Anoka border is less than two miles. He noted that one additional sign could be <br />located two miles to the northwest towards Elk River. <br />Mr. Kuker stated that PSD purchased the Diamonds property when PACT had plans to expand to <br />online services but that fell through. He stated that over the years he has been approached by <br />multiple businesses that wanted to locate on the site, but they refused because of the prime location <br />and desire to attract a better user. He stated that they have held onto the property for many years <br />in order to attract a better user. He stated that Scheels will be coming out to the site in the next <br />month and would hate for this sign to detract from the site. He commented that there are decisions <br />that need to be made in order to move forward in the right way for Ramsey. He noted that he could <br />have sold the property years ago to be a car lot but that was not the right user they wanted for <br />Planning Commission/ August 25, 2022 <br />Page 19 of 27 <br />