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Staff Analvsis. Findinl!s. and Recommendation . Examvles of other Freestanding SiJ;ns: Max Sign Max Monument Total Monument Area including Sign Lighting Area Height base Arden Hills City Hall 22.67 sq. ft. 5 feet 9 inches 123.63 sq. ft. External (Sign District 6) US Army Reserve 40 sq. ft. 6 feet 60.80 sq. ft. Internal (Sign District 6) CUB Foods 100 sq. ft. 16 feet 160 sq. ft. Backlit (Sign District 5) Staff Comments The maximllm height for Freestanding Signs in Sign District 6 is 12 feet. The originally proposed sign would have included a 16.33-foot long by 1O.67-foot high sign panel with one brick side and a briek base for a total height of the monument sign 15.42 feet. The revised monument sign plans show a 16.33-foot long by 9.42-foot high sign panel with one briek side and a shorter brick base for a total height of the monument sign at about 13.2 feet. As shown in the table above, this is significantly taller than the US Army Reserve sign and the Arden Hills City Hall sign which both share frontage on Highway 96 like the Ramsey County property. Furthermore, the proposed sign cabinet, at 154 square feet (original plans were for 174), is larger than any of the signs listed above and is almost as large as the CUB Foods sign including the sign base. . The proposed Ramsey County sign would have a sign cabinet which is nearly one and one-half times that of the CUB Foods sign. 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 aesthetie 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 ageneies whose access is located at Hamline Avenue and Highway 96. Having one sign for all of these agencies including the National Guard would eertainly be preferable to several individual freestanding signs. The speed of the traffic on Highway 96 and the need to aceommodate these several different ageneies does translate to a need for more signage than the 45 square feet that Sign District 6 would allow. However, the same benefits could be derived from a smaller monument sign that does not overwhelm the \\EarthlJ'lanning\Planning Cases\2005\05-10 RCPWF Sign Variance (PENDING)\04-06-05 PC Report OS-lO.doc Page 4 of7 .