Agenda - Council - 10/14/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Larkin Hoffman October 1, 2025 Mayor and City Council City of Ramsey 7550 Sunwood Drive NW Ramsey, MN 55303 8300 Norman Center Drive Suite 1000 Minneapolis, MN 55437-1060 General: 952-835-3800 Fax: 952-896-3333 www.larkinhoffman.com Via Email Re: Opposition to iDigital Outdoor's Appeal of Variance Granted for Off -Premise Digital Billboard at 6111 Hwy 10 NW, Ramsey and Letter in Support of Kenjoh CUP Mayor and Members of Council: Our firm represents Kenjoh Outdoor Advertising, LLC ("Kenjoh"). Kenjoh applied for, and was unanimously granted, a variance by the Planning Commission for the installation of a digital billboard at 6111 Hwy 10 NW (the "Site"). The staff report, the unopposed testimony presented at the duly noticed public hearing, and the Commission's written findings all confirm that Kenjoh's variance application fully satisfies the requirements of the City Code and Minnesota law. As explained in greater detail below, iDigital's appeal is procedurally and substantively deficient. The Planning Commission's approval of the variance was both proper and well -supported, and the record compels the conclusion that Kenjoh's conditional use permit (CUP) application should likewise be approved by the City Council. I. Background and Project Description Kenjoh is an independent, minority -owned operator of off -premise signs ("Billboards"), licensed in Minnesota and multiple other states. Several months ago, Kenjoh identified the Site as a favorable and marketable location for a digital billboard (the "Proposed Sign"). Through its due diligence, Kenjoh confirmed that the Proposed Sign would comply with all height, lighting, design, and size standards under the City Code. However, because of the location of existing billboards and the City's two-mile spacing requirement, it was mathematically impossible to site an additional billboard without a variance. In consultation with City staff, Kenjoh appropriately determined that a variance from the Planning Commission was required before pursuing a CUP from the City Council. The City Code expressly allows up to three billboards along Highway 10, provided they are at least two miles apart. Yet because iDigital already controls the only two existing billboards — one on the west side of town and the other near the City center — a variance was necessary to realize the third location contemplated by ordinance. In fact, the central location approved for iDigital is itself less than two miles from Ramsey's eastern boundary, creating precisely the "practical difficulties" that justify the variance now at issue. Since Kenjoh objectively met all of the height, size, and other limitations imposed in the code for a CUP, and it confidently anticipated compliance with the "practical difficulties" and other