Agenda - Council - 04/10/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Gamec stated he has visited the site, and with the location of the sign there appears to be a clear sight out to CR 5. He thinks the sign will make a,nice addition. There are signs of this type at TPC and Deacon's Wa1k in Blaine that are located right at the intersection. The main thing is the right-of-way and the view, with the sign placed back far enough and not being too high. The City should have no responsibility for the sign; any responsibility would need to be of the developer or the q.omeowner association. The conditional use permit should state that the City is not liable for any damage to plantings, the curbing or the sign that might occur with street plowing. He would 'not have a problem with the conditional use pennit being granted if it were' to meet all these conditions. Mr. John PeterSon, Oakwood Land Development, stated the sign wonld be located right near the -entrance. Passe Engineering would coordinate with the City engineers, and they would need to ensure the traffic can see out to Nowthen Boulevard adequately. Passe Engineering has done an analysis, and they believe the results are satisfactory. Mr. Peterson distributed pictures of similar signs in the cities of Hugo and Blaine and noted Blaine has the same ordinance as Ramsey. This is a dilemma; they are trying to dr~ss up the subdivision as much as they can. Mayor Gamec asked whether the sign would eventually be the responsibility of a homeowners association. Mr. Peterson replied a homeovmers association has been set up. A budget has been created for maintenance of the land around Brookfield Lake and Nowthen Boulevard, and for the ro~dabout and center median, including the monument. Acting Chairperson Olson indicated she was at the site~ and does not see a problem with the sign. Councilmember Dehen asked if it "is likely there will be problems associated with snowplowing. City Engineer Jankowski indicated the median is 16 feet wide, and the monument at its widest is 34 inches wide, so there should be 'a little more than six feet from the back of the curb to the closest part of the monument. Generally this would not be a bad distance for snow storage. Public_ W ork Sup_~isor R~imer explained hard pac~ed snow Can p-q.l1 UIe snowplowing truck to .the side, and there is a chance the truck could jump the curb. The sign would be placed. at a risk to the owner on City property. This would be the same type of situation as sprinkler systems and plantings next to the road. The only thing he really sees as a problem with plowing would be the . salt spraying on the plantings. Councilmember Dehen stated it seems the developer is -willing to take the risk that the sign could be damaged, and is willing to make the entrance loo.k nicer for everyone. Mayor Gamec-stressed it should be certain there is no liability to the City for any damage to the -sign, curb or plantings. Public Works Director Olson advised of the likelihood of the City being named in a lawsuit if there were to be an accident in this location. Throughthe conditional use' permit it will need to Pnblic Works eommittee / Febrnary 20, 2007 Page3 of 11 -160-