06-19 PC Minutes 5-16-06
Planning Commission Meeting – May 16, 2006
PUBLIC HEARING:
CHAPEL HILL ACADEMY: REUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO
ALLOW A MONUMENT SIGN WITH LED LIGHTING, PLANNING CASE 06-19.
Public Present:
Name Address
Gene O’Brien Chapel Hill Academy Board Member
Jim Abrahamson 14530 Martin Drive, Eden Prairie
Sharmeen Al-Jaff presented the staff report on this item.
McDonald: Dan, why don’t you start?
Keefe: Do we have an amber light like this in the city?
Al-Jaff: Everything that we have is red.
Keefe: And then just in terms of the, I don’t know what you would call it. The brightness of it,
is it similar to the red then?
Al-Jaff: Correct. And they are adjustable so it’s, if it was too bright, we will definitely ask the
school to turn it down.
Keefe: Okay.
Larson: No questions.
McDonald: No questions? Kurt.
Papke: Well we’re not quite Las Vegas yet but we seem to be getting more of these lately. We
have Walgreen’s that has one. We have one down at 101 and Pioneer Trail, that I won’t go into
detail on. Do we have any, you know there’s nothing in the city code yet limiting how many of
these go in. Are there any issues? Concerns? You know obviously some of the residents cared
enough about this that they wanted to see them turned off during off hours. Does city staff have
any concerns that we’re getting too many of these or?
Al-Jaff: You will be looking at an ordinance amendment in the near future. In fact it should be at
your next Planning Commission meeting.
Papke: Okay. And to that point, with the hours, limited hours of operation here, in the interest
of applying this consistently, do we enforce that with anyone else doing that?
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Planning Commission Meeting – May 16, 2006
Al-Jaff: This is a condition that we are adding to the specific conditional use permit. It’s the
close proximity to the residential neighborhood. LED signs have to get a conditional use permit
and that’s when we add those conditions.
Papke: Okay. And is this an animated sign where the letters move and scroll?
Al-Jaff: Yes. That is one of the aspect of the sign, yes. They could move.
Papke: Okay.
McDonald: I guess the question I’ve got, you’ve raised it. Where’s the sign going to be located?
I couldn’t figure that out because there’s, it looks as though there’s 3 spots that have been
identified for placement of this.
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Al-Jaff: Okay. It is intended to be along, I will fold this. This is West 78 Street. And then you
have Great Plains Boulevard in this area. This is the 15 foot setback. This is the existing
parking lot that you have in front of Chapel Hill. The sign will be closer to the parking lot facing
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or perpendicular to West 78 Street.
McDonald: Okay. So it’s going to be more to the back and shielded by the building a little bit as
far as the neighbors to the east and everything?
Al-Jaff: That’s correct.
McDonald: Okay.
Al-Jaff: Definitely more towards the commercial portion of the city, and closer to downtown.
McDonald: Okay. And you had mentioned about an additional condition. I don’t see that in
your recommendation. Is that something we need to add?
Al-Jaff: I handed out.
McDonald: Oh, I’m sorry.
Al-Jaff: That’s okay.
McDonald: Okay, thanks.
Al-Jaff: You’re welcome.
McDonald: With that is the applicant present?
Jim Abrahamson: Good evening. I’m Jim Abrahamson with Sign Source in Eden Prairie.
Representing Chapel Hill Academy. The, just to make a quick correction, the size of the
characters will be 6.3 inches, not 9 so. And it is totally adjustable by the internal computer in the
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Planning Commission Meeting – May 16, 2006
office. As far as animation or none. Scrolling, rolling, any of that. If it’s something the
neighbors don’t like it, then you can turn it off because it just changes from one message to the
next. This type of sign is becoming more popular because people are finding that the old you
know changeable letters, even your gas stations now, in the middle of winter it’s really hard to
maintain that and kids run out and change the message and you have kind of issues there but. If
there’s any questions you have, I’d be happy to answer them.
McDonald: Okay. Debbie.
Larson: No.
McDonald: I guess you get lucky. We have no questions. Okay, thank you very much. At this
point I will open up the meeting to the public. Anyone wishing to come forward and address this
planning case, please do so. Okay, seeing no one get up, close the public meeting and I bring the
issue back before the commissioners for discussion. Kurt, you can start?
Papke: I don’t have anything.
McDonald: You don’t have anything? Debbie?
Larson: Looks fine to me.
McDonald: Okay. In that case then I’m open for a motion.
Keefe: Mr. Chair I’ll make a motion the Planning Commission recommends approval of the
Conditional Use Permit #06-19 for the use of an LED display within a monument sign with the
following conditions, 1 through 5.
McDonald: Second?
Larson: Second.
McDonald: Okay. So seconded.
Keefe moved, Larson seconded that the Planning Commission recommends the City
Council approve the Conditional Use Permit #06-19 for the use of an LED display within a
monument sign with the following conditions:
1. The applicant must obtain both a sign permit and building permit prior to erecting the
sign.
2. The foundation and sign connections (i.e. bolt type, bolt size, embedment and location)
must be designed by a structural engineer.
3. The site plan must be revised to show the proposed location of the monument sign
showing property line setback dimensions.
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Planning Commission Meeting – May 16, 2006
4. Brick used along the lower portion of the sign must be the same material as that used ion
the existing building.
5. The LED display shall be limited to the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m..
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0.
PUBLIC HEARING:
T-MOBILE: REQUEST FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A 9 FOOT FENCE
ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6434 MURRAY HILL ROAD, (WATER TOWER SITE),
PLANNING CASE 06-21.
Public Present:
Name Address
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Steve Edwards 501 50 Street West, Minneapolis
Gil Kreidberg 6444 Murray Hill Road
Sharmeen Al-Jaff presented the staff report on this item.
McDonald: Anyone have any questions for staff?
Keefe: Just a quick question on security and access. You know in terms of keeping kids out.
It’s next to a junior high. What is the fencing material? That it’s going to be made out of.
Al-Jaff: It is wood.
Keefe: Okay, and then T-Mobile would maintain a lock on the access to it, is that how it works?
Al-Jaff: Well the city has a gate on this site so, but that will only prevent vehicular traffic. Kids
do use that area. There is traffic used to the area, and the proposed fence will provide the added
security.
Keefe: Any concerns from a security perspective in relation to kids that the city has? Would
have. Nothing that you can think of.
Aanenson: …to the City Council to validate that when they approve that.
Keefe: Okay.
Larson: Has that got a cover on the top? I’m trying to decipher the drawings here. I’m sorry, is
there like a roof on this or is it just a fence all the way around?
Aanenson: No, it’s a fence all the way around.
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