07-16-12-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 16, 2012 4 City Administrator Klaers indicated that staff would work with Mr. Higgins on the suggested modifications and would bring revisions of the proposed sign design to the July 30, 2012, City Council meeting. E. Campaign Signs City Administrator Klaers presented the Council with information regarding Ramsey County's policy on campaign signs as well as the City's Sign Ordinance. He noted that in previous years, staff has heard that Ramsey County Public Works staff does not remove campaign signs in the County's right-of-way (ROW). He asked for clarification from the Council regarding what City staff should be doing in terms of sign removal. Councilmember Holden questioned whether campaign signs can be put in the right-of-way at the City level. City Planner Beekman stated that campaign signs may be placed in City rights-of-way during an election year with permission of the property owner that shares a property line with the adjoining ROW where the sign is located. She noted that campaign signs along residential streets are not usually an issue because they typically do not affect site-lines. Mayor Grant stated that he does not want City staff to go out and patrol County roads for improperly placed campaign signs. City Planner Beekman indicated that in the past, 99% of improperly placed campaign signs were located in the County ROW. When complaints were received, staff made two phone calls; one to the political campaign to let them know of the improperly placed sign and another to Mr. Joe Lux at Ramsey County to notify him of the location of the sign. She noted that complaint-based removal is not a good idea due to potential complaints that a particular campaign is being singled out. City Administrator Klaers stated that selective enforcement can create potential issues and unnecessarily raise the question of staff partisanship. Mayor Grant indicated that if a campaign sign is affecting safety, then staff should contact the appropriate people to ensure that the placement of the sign is addressed. F. Update on July 11, 2012, Planning Commission Meeting—Moratorium Discussion City Planner Beekman stated that the Planning Commission met on July 11, 2012, and discussed multi-family design standards and offered direction and feedback to staff. Some of the topics they discussed included unit sizes, security, lighting, parking standards, community space, minimum kitchen requirements, bicycle parking requirements and possible design features. Councilmember Holmes noted that separate rules for new construction versus renovation were discussed as well as minimum multi-family design standards. She indicated that a study of what other cities are doing has been completed by the Planning Department Intern.