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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - Board of Adjustment - 2003 - 01/13 - RegularALLEN SIGN CONTROL BOARD REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 13, 2003 ATTENDANCE: Board Members Present: Melanie Jones (Chair) Griffith Moore (Vice -Chair) Frank Brown Joni Halpin Ed Spivey Board Members Absent: None City Staff Present: Sally L. Leeper, Planner Marina Sukup, Director of Planning & Development David A. Hoover, Asst. Director of Planning & Development Pam Conway, Administrative Secretary Bret McCullough, Building Official Joey Allette, Environmental/Health Inspector Kristie West-Raspe, Code Enforcement CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCE A QUORUM: With a quorum of the Board present, the Sign Control Board was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Chairperson Jones at the City Council Chambers, One Allen Civic Plaza, Allen, Texas. CONSENT AGENDA: Approve minutes of November 11, 2002, Regular Meeting. MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Moore and a second by Board Member Brown, the Board voted 5 FOR and 0 OPPOSED to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried. REGULAR AGENDA: 2. Public Hearing - Consider three variance requests for Eaton Court, located at 102 W. McDermott Drive, 202 S. Austin Drive, and 105 W Belmont Drive, within the Central Business District Design District No. 2 to allow additional square footage and number of signs. Ms. Sally Leeper, Planner, presented the request to the Board. Ms. Leeper stated that the property is located in Design District No. 2, and the signs that are being requested are not allowed within the District, although they would be otherwise allowed within the Central SIGN CONTROL BOARD PAGE 2 JANUARY 13, 2003 Business District. The proponent has not requested removal from the Design District. Ms. Leeper presented the details of the signs and proposed locations. Kathleen Eaton, 102 W McDermott, Owner, introduced the Architect and described his background and accomplishments. James West, Architect, P.O. Box 806, McKinney, stated that the signs are wooden structures. He stated that the allowed signs are too small to be visible on McDermott Drive. If the property were removed from the Design District, a masonry monument sign would be required which seems inappropriate for the design aesthetics of the district. Mr. West stated that given the speed of traffic on McDermott, the allowed signs are too small. They want people to know they had arrived; and safety and visibility were also important factors considered. Chair Jones opened the Public Hearing. Paula Ross, 917 Autumn Lake, stated that she was in favor of the request. She stated that the owners have done an excellent job in restoring the old buildings and she believes the City should support their investment in the CBD. With no one else wishing to speak, the Public Hearing was closed. Chair Jones read an email that was received from Sandy Sanders — objecting to the request (attached.) Board Members Halpin and Spivey agreed that a variance for 5 signs seemed excessive. Board Member Brown stated that this will reflect who does business here. We don't want to price them out of the market. People will not be able to locate and develop in our Central Business District (CBD) if we are too restrictive. They should be able to advertise where it can be seen. Ms. Marina Sukup, Director of Planning and Development, stated that what Ms. Eaton is requesting is within the requirements of the CBD district — but not the design district she is located in. Ms. Leeper stated that they are allowed one lamppost sign (2 square feet) and directional signage with limits on quantity and size. She noted that the wood material is not an issue and not part of the variance as the Chief Building Official has the authority to approve heavy timber, non- combustible materials. Mr. West stated that the directional signs allowed are too small (2'/, feet high — 8 square feet). There are three destinations (properties) here and one sign would not be enough. He again SIGN CONTROL BOARD PAGE 3 JANUARY 13, 2003 described the wooden materials desired versus the masonry sign allowed if they were not located in the Design District. He also stated that studies show the size of the background is as important as the text of a sign for safety and visibility Chairperson Jones recalled that when discussing the signs for Design District No. 2 that the Board felt the traffic would be mostly from walking traffic and traffic not on McDermott Dr. She stated Ms. Eaton is allowed 2 signs per property, and stated she doesn't see the need for the quantity and size of signs being requested. MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Moore, and a second by Board Member Halpin, the Board voted 4 FOR and 1 OPPOSED to deny the request. Board Member Brown Opposed. The Motion Carried. Other Business: • Discussion of possible garage sale sign alternatives. Ms. Leeper stated that a proposal has been received by City staff to consider using portable signs placed in the City's medians at strategic locations to allow residents to advertise garage sales. Ms. Leeper described some alternatives to the Board. She stated a few items for the Board to consider: how to permit the signs; what fee to charge; how to have the signs printed ® in a timely fashion; where to place the signs; and who would have the responsibility of placing the signs, and the timing of placement. Board Members stated that the sign shown in the brochure seems cluttered, and keeping tract of these signs could be an administrative nightmare, this request seems very inappropriate at this time, and listed issues such as administrative problems and lack of compliance. MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Moore, and a second by Board Member Spivey, the Board voted 5 FOR and 0 OPPOSED to take no action to modify the ordinance at this time. The Motion Carried. • Discussion of regulations and enforcement of political signs. Ms. Leeper stated that Board Member Halpin requested that the Board review the regulations and enforcement procedures for political signs. She advised that the School District has requested that the City include in the information provided to candidates that the school district does not allow political signs on their property. Board Members Brown and Moore agreed that no changes should be made. EjBoard Member Halpin stated that a letter from the school district will be helpful as a SIGN CONTROL BOARD PAGE 4 JANUARY 13, 2003 candidates were unaware that the signs were not allowed on school property MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Spivey, and a second by Board Member Moore, the Board voted 5 FOR and 1 OPPOSED to make no changes at this time, and endorse the letter from the School District. Board Member Halpin was opposed. The Motion Carried. • Discussion of proposed amendments to Allen Land Development Code, Article VII, Sign Regulations regarding Wall Signs and Multi -tenant Monument Signs. Ms. Leeper described previous requirements and reviews by the Board. She presented some comparisons of signs on various establishments (Winn Dixie, Kroger, Albertsons, etc). She noted that the City of Richardson's ordinance is identical to our previous requirements, but that they routinely grant variances on big -box signs. Board Member Brown expressed concern that the changes might adversely affect the smaller businesses. MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Moore, and a second by Board Member Spivey, the Board voted 5 FOR and 0 OPPOSED to recommend this item for a Public Hearing — date yet to be determined. The Motion Carried. Chairperson Jones suggested the Board should take into consideration not only the size of the building but the setback from the street and requested a workshop be held prior to the Public Hearing. Ms. Leeper stated that the date for the public hearing would be set after the workshop. The Board agreed the workshop should be set for a date in February, as requested by Board Member Moore. • Items of interest to the Board: Ms. Leeper presented an email received from Cornerstone Addition regarding the tenants in that building. Chairperson Jones questioned when a sign should be removed when a business is gone. Ms. Leeper stated that the ordinance requires the sign be removed within 30 days. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Upon a motion by Board Member Moore and a second by Board Member Halpin, the Board voted 5 FOR and 0 OPPOSED to adjourn the January 13, 2003 meeting of the Sign Control Board at 4:30 p.m. The motion carried. SIGN CONTROL BOARD PAGE 5 JANUARY 13, 2003 These minutes approved this 40':&.y of T �&2u , 2003. Melanie Jones, Chairpers I lG 7 Pam Conway, Administrativ ,'ecretary / Leeper ,m: Rick Neudorff [rneudor@email.fleming.com] ;nt: Monday, January 13, 2003 6:42 AM �+ sleeper@ci.allen.tx.us �\ `"'"`-•d/ ,subject: Regarding Sign Ordinance INstructions Sally: I will be unable to attend the meeting this afternoon, but I wanted to have a few comments entered into the record. I understand the Allen ISD's concern about damage to property, etc during election day. The Plano ISD passed a simmilar rule a few years ago. However, they mitigated the problem by allow the campaigns to park vans or trucks with signs on them. Actually I understand this can be done by right, as school property is public property. The down side is that this reduces parking. With the municipal elections being held on Saturday this is not an issue. Unfortunately the largest elections are held on Tuesdays during a school day. I strongly encourage the Allen ISD to allow vans/trucks to be allowed parking with signage on election days at the schools. Otherwise there will be vansttrucks parked on the streets in front of the schools with signage. We must all work together to encourage voting, not pass rules that make campaigning and voting harder. Thank you for your time - - - - - Rick Neudorff Collin COunty GOP Chairman Rick Neudorff alyst - Procurement 71906-8707, Lewisville Office 72/906-1515 - fax 4 Sally Leeper From: B Sanders [zonian@attbi.comj Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 7 18 PM To: Melanie Jones; Joni Halpin; Gnff Moore; Frank Brown; Ed Spivey Cc: sleeper@ci.allen.tx.us Subject: Eaton Court Request f Sign Variance I would like to express my objection to granting a sign variance to the Eaton Court facility. I am sure many people have worked long and hard to set present standards for the central business district in an effort to keep Allen on a track that will ultimately improve the entire area. Many businesses going into that area will want to enlarge their signage. Please don't start a precedence by granting this request for variance . Thank you for your consideration. tnrz003 Sandy Sanders 920 Tyler Ct. Allen, TX 75013 972-396-0921