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Page 2 of 5 <br /> <br />In the 16 cases, there were 13 requests for flexibility from wall signage requirements and the most <br />common wall sign flexibility request was for an increase in square feet permitted. The 13 cases <br />represent 11 applicants as one applicant had three separate cases with requests for wall signage <br />flexibility. <br /> <br />Amount of Wall Signage Requested <br />Adjusting for an outlier, the average amount of additional signage requested was 2.15 times the <br />permitted maximum square footage. With the outlier, the average is 3.71 times the permitted <br />maximum square footage. The average amount of additional signage granted by the City Council <br />was 1.96 times greater than the permitted square footage, without the outlier, and 2.7 times greater <br />with the outlier. For context, the outlier is a grocer use in Sign District 5 where the maximum <br />amount of wall signage permitted is 80 square feet. The applicant was permitted a maximum wall <br />sign square footage of 800 square feet total after initially proposing 1,440 square feet. The next <br />greatest amount of wall signage permitted was 360 square feet for a grocer use also in Sign District <br />5. <br /> <br />Types of Uses <br />Of the 11 applicants that requested wall sign flexibility, land uses included commercial, office, <br />grocer, service station, and industrial. This indicates that a variety of uses within various zoning <br />districts have sought flexibility from the sign code. Two grocer uses located in Commercial zoning <br />districts requested the greatest amount of signage in excess of the maximum permitted wall signage <br />area while non-grocer uses requested under 1.66 times the permitted sign square footage on <br />average. <br /> <br />Frontage <br />Most of the requests for sign flexibility were for properties with frontage on Lexington Avenue, <br />County Road E, and Interstate 35 W. Four of the 11 applicants had frontage on Lexington Avenue <br />and these applicants received between 1.74 and 10 times the permitted maximum sign area. Of the <br />3 applicants with frontage on County Road E, the flexibility granted by the City Council was a <br />lower percentage over the permitted sign area than what the applicants requested compared to what <br />was requested by and granted to properties with frontage on Lexington Avenue. <br /> <br />Wall Sign Regulations <br /> <br />Amount of Wall Signage Permitted <br />The quantity of permitted wall signage in the Arden Hills Sign Code is established as a <br />maximum total sign copy area in square feet. The total area is established for each Sign District <br />with the maximum being 80 square feet in Sign District 5 – Lexington South of 694 and the <br />minimum being 8 square feet in Sign District 1 – Residential R-1 and R-2. The permitted square <br />footage for wall signs varies across frontages and sign districts. A property is allowed a wall sign <br />at the maximum total sign copy area per frontage elevation. <br /> <br />