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Staff Comments . The sign de~ign which has been proposed for the May 4th Planning Commission meeting would include a 28.33-foot long by 6.17-foot high sign panel with one brick side and a brick base for a total height of the monument sign about 7 feet. As shown in the table above, this is significantly larger than the US Army Reserve sign and the Arden Hills City Hall sign whieh both share frontage on Highway 96 like the Ramsey County property. Furthermore, the proposed sign cabinet (l75 square feet) is almost two times larger than any of the signs listed above and would be larger than the CUB Foods sign including the sign base. The CUB sign is located in Sign District 5 (Grey Fox Road and Lexington Avenue) which allows for the most freestanding signage in the City and is primarily a retail area and therefore very reliant on customer walk-in traffic. A sign for the Public Works and Sheriff Patrol station should have an aesthetic and logistical appeal. The proposed sign is consistent with the construction materials from the site and therefore the sign design and building design would be consistent. In addition the sign would serve as the one sign for many different agencies whose aceess is located at Hamline Avenue and Highway 96. Having one sign for all of these agencies including the National Guard would certainly be preferable to several individual freestanding signs. The speed of the traffic on Highway 96 and the desire to accommodate several different agencies with one sign creates a need for more signage than the 45 square feet that Sign Distriet 6 would allow. However, the same benefits could be derived from a smaller monument sign that does not overwhelm the surrounding area. . Findings and Recommendation In regard to the Sign Standard Adjustment criteria staff has made the following findings: L There are site conditions (traffic, readability for traffic moving 50+ mph) which require a sign adjustment to allow the sign to be reasonably visible from a street immediately adjacent to the site. 2. The sign adjustment will allow a sign of exceptional design or a style that has potential to enhance the area (one sign for several agencies) and is more consistent with the architecture and design of the site. 3. The sign adjustment will result in a sign that is inconsistent with the purpose of the sign district and the zoning district in which the property is located. Therefore, in Planning Case #05-10 staff recommends denial of the Sign Standard Adjustment based on the aforementioned findings and for the following reasons: 1. The proposed sign is ineonsistent with both the Civic Center Zoning District and Sign District 6, which anticipated more destination oriented facilities that would not require as much signage as the commercial zoning and signage districts. The \\Earth\Planning\Planning Cases\1005\05-10 RCPWF Sign Variance (PENDrNG)\05-04-05 PC Report OS-IO.doc . Page 3 of4