CCP 10-26-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-= Arden Hills Council 8 October 13, 1992 Attorney Filla commented that in order to grant a variance, a hardship must be identified. He asked the term of Mr. Movies' lease; representatives stated there is an existing ten-year lease. Filla explained that if the City were to allow the Mr. Movies' sign situation, it would be allowing a nonconforming use to exist. He suggested either some type of agreement to terminate the nonconforming use which is tied to termination of the I ease, or a variance conditioned upon tenancy of Mr. Movies. He commented that one element in this case is the fact that the City allowed the Mr. Movies signs by permit, and leasing arrangements relied upon those permits. He reminded that economic hardship on the part of the applicant is not sufficient reason for the granting of a variance. Councilmember Hicks asked if the hardship in this case might be the fact that the Mr. Movies signs were allowed by the City in the past. Attorney Filla remarked that if a City erroneously allowed something in the past, that is not sufficient reason to continue allowing it. The applicant stated that prior to the sign ordinance, - previous tenants had even more signage than is proposed now. ~ Attorney Filla commented that if Council wishes to grant a variance, the justification for doing so could be 1) The property owner, when leasing property, relied on a signage which was permitted by the City in the past, therefore the situation was not self-created, and 2) The signage plan being proposed now, though nonconforming, is 1 ess nonconforming. Filla added that a variance could be structured to terminate upon expiration of Mr. Movies' lease, or upon their vacation of the property, whichever is first, at which time a new signage plan for the entire building would need to be submitted for consideration by the City. He said this arrangement would give Mr. Movies adequate time to recover the initial cost of their existing signage. He explained that the cost of a sign is typically amortized over a certain period of time; in this instance, it would be reasonable to expect the sign to be amortized over the period of the initial lease. Chuck Markham, an owner of Mr. Movies, stated that because of the structure of the building and the roof overhang design, it is difficul t to locate signs so they are visible . from the front as well as the sides of the buH ding, therefore the sign on the east side of the building is very important. He stated he would be willing to relinquish use of the pylon sign rather than lose the sign on the east side of the building.