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<br />its supporting structure remain unchanged. Compare McCarver Aff., Ex.l (vinyl sign face) with <br />id, Ex. J (LED sign face). <br />TelIingly, the findings relied upon by the City relate to matters which are not even <br /> <br />within the scope the City's own regulatory scheme: Nothing in the Arden Hills Sign Code <br /> <br />purports to limit, or even addresses, the amperage, number of lights, depth, or weight of any <br /> <br />sign. Even so, the City concluded that these unregulated changes amounted to an expansion. <br /> <br />The City's position, in short, is that the only "improvements" allowed under the non- <br /> <br />conformity statute are those that have absolutely no effect on the electrical usage, lighting, <br /> <br />dimensions, or weight. <br /> <br />But the Minnesota Legislature did not intend such a cramped reading of this statute. <br /> <br />At the committee hearings, legislators offered several examples of what might constitute an <br /> <br />improvement, such as (l) the replacement of a dirt driveway with a paved driveway, Feb. 17 <br /> <br />Tr. at 15; (2) the addition of a security system "with, say, cameras or something," id.; and (3) <br />"[c]hanging the lighting inside a building," id. at 26. Each of these examples would result in <br />an increase the dimensions, weight, electrical usage, or lighting of a non-confonnity. The <br /> <br />fact that the legislators found such changes to be pelmissible, and that this legislation was <br /> <br />passed by an overwhelming majority, underscores Clear Channel's right to update the <br /> <br />technology of the 1-694 sign. <br />As a practical matter, the City's interpretation would preclude any material changes to <br /> <br />a non-conforming use. This contrasts with the statutory language, which allows non- <br /> <br />confonnities to be continued "through repair, replacement, restoration, maintenance, or <br /> <br /> <br />improvement." Minn. Stat. S 462.357, subd. Ie (emphasis added). The Legislature's <br /> <br /> <br />inclusion of all these words necessarily implies that an "improvement" is something more <br /> <br />14 <br />