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Page 4 of 7 <br /> <br />5 All properties fronting on Lexington Avenue South of Interstate 694. <br />6 All properties zoned for commercial or industrial use fronting on Lexington Avenue <br />north of Interstate 694, properties along Highway 96, and properties located in the <br />B-1 zoning district. <br />7 All properties in the I-Flex, Gateway Business, or other commercial or industrial <br />district without frontage on a roadway designated above. <br />8 All properties zoned Neighborhood Business. <br />9 The parts of the TCAAP area not fronting on Highway 96. <br /> <br />Freestanding Sign Regulations by Location and Frontage <br />The required setback for freestanding signs is 5 feet from property lines. A property is allowed <br />one freestanding sign up to the maximum permitted sign copy area unless the property fronts <br />more than one public street. In that instance, the property is permitted an additional sign for each <br />street front, provided each additional sign is not greater than half the size of the maximum total <br />sign area permitted in the sign district. <br /> <br />A multi-tenant parcel is considered one parcel for freestanding signs. The same regulations for a <br />single-tenant parcel would apply with one (1) sign permitted per frontage. If there are multiple <br />tenant sites, the permitted freestanding sign area is allocated by the property owner among <br />tenants. <br /> <br />Requests for Flexibility from the Sign Code <br /> <br />For a sign standard adjustment and sign flexibility to be approved, the applicant must satisfy <br />Subdivision 1 or Subdivision 2 in the below criteria and must satisfy Subdivision 3: <br /> <br />Subd. 1 There are site conditions which require a sign adjustment to allow the sign to be <br />reasonably visible from a street immediately adjacent to the site; <br />Subd. 2 The sign adjustment will allow a sign of exceptional design or a style that will <br />enhance the area or that is more consistent with the architecture and design of the site; <br />Subd. 3 The sign adjustment will not result in a sign that is inconsistent with the purpose of <br />the zoning district in which the property is located or the current land use. <br /> <br />Staff reviewed planning cases between 2002 and 2023 for applications that included flexibilities <br />requested for freestanding signs. Seven (7) examples were found with flexibility requested for <br />increased sign copy area, increased sign area, increased sign height, additional freestanding signs, <br />and lighting type. <br /> <br />In summary, increased sign copy area was the most common freestanding sign flexibility <br />requested, particularly in Sign District 5. Requests ranged from 10 to 72 additional square feet <br />above the permitted 100 square feet. Overall, more flexibility was typically given for additional <br />wall sign copy area than for additional freestanding sign copy area. <br /> <br />As indicated in the section Amount of Freestanding Signage Permitted, total area of freestanding <br />signs shall not exceed 1.5 times the permitted sign copy area of a freestanding sign. Staff’s review <br />identified that requests for additional sign area were based on the maximum sign copy area allowed <br />in the sign district rather than the requested sign copy area. An example would be if a developer <br />of a property in Sign District 5 proposed a sign area of 150 square feet with sign copy area of 70 <br />square feet. The maximum permitted sign area for this copy area is 105 square feet. The proposed