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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-28-24 EDC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FEBRUARY 28, 2024 7:30 A.M. – ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Present: Chair Frank Cupery, Commissioners Jud Murchie, Rob Williams, Sreya Subramanian, Bobby Bonine, Ted Brausen and Youth Commissioner Katherine Schneider Absent: Commissioners Julie Gronquist and Rob Williams Also Present: Council Liaison Emily Rousseau, Community Development Director Jessica Jagoe, Senior Planner Elena Fransen and Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce President John Connelly 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA A motion was made by Commissioner Murchie and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to approve the agenda. The agenda was approved unanimously. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 10, 2024 A motion was made by Commissioner Murchie and seconded by Commissioner Subramanian to approve the January 10, 2024 minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. 3. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Sign Code Review – Freestanding Signs Senior Planner Fransen stated that in October they focused on wall signage. Some takeaways from the discussion were that the sign code should be easily understood by business owners and be equitable to businesses. They are moving on to freestanding commercial signage, and comparing Arden Hills with the cities of Shoreview and New Brighton. Senior Planner Fransen explained that as defined in the Arden Hills Code, a freestanding sign is a self-supporting sign usually held up by uprights placed in the ground or any other base that is anchored to the ground. A monument sign is a freestanding sign with its sign face mounted on the ground or mounted. A pole sign is a freestanding sign that is elevated off the ground by one or ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 2 more poles. The Arden Hills sign code defines dynamic display signs as signs “that appear to have movement or that appear to change, caused by any method other than physical removing and replacing the sign or its components.” In Arden Hills, dynamic display signs are prohibited except as menu board signs that meet the requirements of the sign code and are for drive-through restaurant use only. Senior Planner Fransen said they would be focusing on Sign Districts 4 through 8, per the table provided. She further explained regulations that are specifically called out in the Code, depending on the Sign District. She noted that requests for additional freestanding signs and increased sign height were most often made for multi-tenant properties. Internal lighting was requested for a sign in a sign district that only permitted external lighting. Requests for additional signage are usually done through a PUD. She reviewed a comparison chart between Arden Hills, Shoreview and New Brighton, citing differences and similarities between the city’s codes. Senior Planner Fransen suggested the EDC discuss and provide comments on the application of the Arden Hills sign code freestanding signage regulations. Some considerations include: - Types of lighting for freestanding signs - Freestanding sign copy area, sign area, and height - Regulating a second freestanding sign - Dynamic display signs for uses other than drive-through restaurant Youth Commissioner Schneider asked if all digital signs were considered dynamic display signs. Senior Planner Fransen thought what is displayed, display colors, and how often the message changed were factors in the difference between them. Chair Cupery wondered what the intent was behind not allowing dynamics. Senior Planner Fransen said she hadn’t looked into the background but she thought it was primarily the impact of that type of signage. Commissioner Brausen added that when he went through the approval process to get his dynamic sign some of the Councilmembers thought it would be dangerous, and that people would veer off the road while looking at the sign. Commissioner Murchie said dynamic signs and their brightness were an issue in the town he used to live in, it partially had to do with the residents in the area not wanting to have a bright sign. He wondered if they could make them the same intensity as some of the backlit signs. Commissioner Brausen noted that if they are too bright people won’t read them, so he imagined those that will have dynamic signs would keep the brightness down. Commissioner Bonine thought the City was working on going green in TCAAP and traditional bulbs would be banned in a couple of years, so because LEDs are a lot greener it could help accomplish another initiative. He felt a dynamic sign should be an option depending on the business. Senior Planner Fransen stated there are a lot of nuances with dynamic displays, especially with how they are currently regulated in the sign code and what considerations should be moving ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 3 forward. Did the Commission think they should be permitted for other business uses? They are currently only permitted for drive-through restaurants. They have had some requests for different uses; recently there was an application approved for a carwash and there had been interest in using dynamic display signs for point of sale processes. For this type of use, a dynamic display would not be permitted. Commissioner Murchie thought there might be a geographic component to it and they should be considerate of adjacent businesses in adjacent towns having a difference in code from Arden Hills. He said there could be a competitive edge to businesses with this technology. He’d be open to talking through areas that have dynamic signs on one side of the street but not the other. Commissioner Brausen said in a neighboring town they are also allowed to have lighting around canopies such as Holiday or Speedway. Chair Cupery felt an issue was lighting glare from the signs, proximity to homes and other businesses. He thought they should continue to discuss it considering they were the only ones restricting those type of signs. Commissioner Subramanian asked if it was possible to write a separate code just for dynamic signs. Senior Planner Fransen responded that currently dynamic signs are listed as prohibited except for menu board signs, but they could review the portions of the code that apply. Commissioner Bonine said it might be worth revisiting what concerns the City Council has today. He thought dynamic signs could be allowed in certain districts that they’re not impacting residential areas as much. They could narrow the scope of what they are comfortable with in regard to timing, color, brightness and location. Commissioner Murchie asked Commissioner Brausen what the value of those signs was from his standpoint as a business owner. Commissioner Brausen replied it was being able to market against competitors. They use their sign for the gas station sales and rebates for the repair center, plus they like to do local things like promote the football teams and other community things. Dynamic display signs cost $60,000 - $100,000 so they won’t just pop up everywhere. Commissioner Bonine mentioned that a dynamic display sign would not fit with his business and that other businesses could reach that same conclusion. Senior Planner Fransen said this could be brought back for more discussion but it sounded like there was interest in some opening up of the current language for dynamic display signs. Commissioner Brausen added that they should look at why the second sign has to be smaller than the first sign, he thought Arden Hills was the only city that requires that. Commissioner Bonine discussed the code section requiring a second freestanding sign to be half the size of the first. He wondered if there was something in the code that dictated how many signs ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 4 they could have per square foot; he felt it should be based on how many acres a business had, or how many entrances there are. Senior Planner Fransen said currently the size of the sign area is a factor of the sign copy area. There is a range within the districts from 25 square feet to 100 square feet. Commissioner Bonine felt they should maybe consider other factors. He didn’t think limiting the size of a sign because of arbitrary copy space was good and does not align with businesses the City might want to attract. There are a lot of unique businesses that may have different needs. He felt they needed to be more flexible but consistent. Right now, the code seems limiting. Commissioner Murchie agreed. He described that if the sign is too small, then people will have to squint and might miss the information. He thought in some of the districts it made more sense to have more flexibility. He agreed with relaxing it to be more consistent. Senior Planner Fransen asked if anyone had comments on sign copy area and height. Commissioner Bonine asked if there was a specific goal the Council was trying to achieve. Council Liaison Rousseau wasn’t aware of a specific goal. She thought the reason this came up was because there were many times people have gone to the Planning Commission and had to request sign standard adjustments. She thought there was some modernization that needed to occur. Her priority would be the impact on residential areas versus non-residential areas. Commissioner Bonine thought if they were looking at zones that weren’t impacting residential that having consistency across those zones would make sense, but it might require a field trip to understand why there are certain regulations set. He thought they might want to bring up the maximum sign copy area to match neighboring cities. In his experience the copy area didn’t make sense for his building. He felt it made sense to have the same size sign allowed at all entrances of a building. Commissioner Murchie wondered if it would be possible for businesses on one side of the street be able to have similar signage as businesses on the other side of the street that are in a different city. Senior Planner Fransen explained the Shoreview code was based on the size of the building so a comparison could be challenging. Commissioner Bonine felt that basing signs on building square footage made sense. This could be better than basing it on the size of the lot. Senior Planner Fransen said she could work with other cities to gather examples and make some comparisons with neighboring cities. Staff will work on consolidating the feedback from the meeting to provide a summary to the EDC at a future meeting. B. Twin Cities North Chamber Conversation John Connelly, President of the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce, said as a footnote to their discussion about signs, Columbia Heights had discussions about their ordinances about six ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 5 years ago, and they have a grant program now for converting old building signage to LED and install cameras on the signs. The combination made the buildings more secure. Mr. Connelly shared information about the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce. He noted that two of the Board of Directors were stakeholders in Arden Hills. They have committees such as Ambassadors that help with grand openings, task forces, and public policy focus. They were asked to support the Rice Creek Commons bonding request and he sent a letter to Commissioner Frethem showing support for that. They have a new manufacturing cohort with several businesses from Arden Hills involved. The Welcome Back to Lexington initiative sun-setted in December, 2023 but he will continue to post on the website for another year to encourage folks to patronize the businesses in that corridor. Mr. Connelly noted the next business council meeting will be on March 20. Someone from the Minnesota Retailers Association will be there to share the status of retail in the area. They will also discuss the latest updates on the cannabis laws. Every business in the community is invited to attend whether they are members of the Chamber or not. He further explained some of the other things the Chamber does for businesses, including videos highlighting local businesses. He thanked Arden Hills for their partnership with the Chamber. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if they could share some of the social media video links, and she wondered how many members were from Arden Hills. Mr. Connelly said the links would be for a grand opening, chamber check-in or to feature something. They use X, Facebook and LinkedIn. The links are on their website but he will send them to staff. He thought there were approximately 25 Arden Hills businesses in the Chamber, a good cluster of them along Lexington Avenue and some manufacturers, along with Bethel University. He explained how to search for businesses on their website, which can be done by business name or category. Senior Planner Fransen said the EDC had previously discussed how to support Arden Hills businesses while not duplicating the efforts of the Chamber. Mr. Connelly said the Chamber of Commerce likes to try to be a catalyst when certain things come up and complement what businesses are doing and promoting like with Welcome Back to Lexington. The Chamber can also promote special events held by businesses. They don’t have a map of businesses, but Google maps will come up on the sidebar of the website when you search for businesses on their list. Commissioner Murchie asked what a group like the EDC could do to help the Chamber and to improve the business environment and attract more companies to Arden Hills? Mr. Connelly said leveraging and using the resources. Additionally, Arden Hills was unique with the largest undeveloped tract of land in the metro and that will be huge for any business considering putting a footprint here in the Twin Cities and the northern suburban area. As an example, he explained how the area around the National Sports Center and TPC in Blaine had exploded with housing, commercial etc. The market has changed but they have the benefit of seeing what commerce may be like in the future. The opportunity is to try to forecast what the consumer will be like in ten to fifteen years, and be able to capitalize on it. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 6 C. Economic Development Commission Work Plan Senior Planner Fransen stated that a summary of the previous month’s discussion was in the memo and a copy of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 8 was attached, as well as a draft Work Plan. She asked for comments on the Vision and Mission statements and any suggested changes to the Work Plan. Commissioner Bonine thought partnership seemed to be the easiest priority to leverage existing relationships. They talked about some type of welcome but it sounds like the City already feeds the information about the Chamber to new businesses, and the Chamber directory search function is nice but he thinks people go to Google to search. He wondered how much outreach and advocacy they could leverage with existing partnerships and see what was left after, or what they don’t like or want to cover. He felt that could then lead to communications and marketing, and business outreach and support. He thought they should look at what resources they have first before they commit time to building it out on their own. Senior Planner Fransen thought the businesses listed on the Chamber website were members but she could double check. She could verify what the City has on the website that references the Chamber. She noted the Chamber works with a larger geographic area than just Arden Hills. Commissioner Brausen said when Beverly Aplikowski was Mayor they used to have a yearly meeting with all of the businesses that was separate from the State of the City. He wondered if they could have an evening meeting and invite businesses to come to talk about things like signage and promotion. Senior Planner Fransen noted that having some sort of event had come up in previous conversation. Commissioner Brausen wondered if there was a section on the website where businesses could leave comments, for example a business frustrated with a signage problem. Senior Planner Fransen said there is a complaint area on the website where someone can report code issues, there is also an info email address and those emails get routed to the right person. They could discuss having a specific comment area for businesses. Commissioner Bonine asked for clarification of the Vision Statement and EDC Mission and why there were two. He felt the Vision Statement might be better for the EDA or City Council, and he didn’t think they could impact the things listed unless the Council gave them something specific to work on. But he could relate to the EDC Mission. He wondered if they needed to have a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement. Commissioner Murchie felt the Vision might be more encompassing beyond what the EDC does, but is more like the vision for the City, and the Mission feeds into the Vision. Senior Planner Fransen said the Vision Statement was more general and for all of Economic Development, while the Mission was more specific to the EDC. She welcomed other comments and questions. She noted that she provided some additional materials, including a previous EDC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 28, 2024 7 survey from 2017-2018, a new business brochure, and other materials submitted from Commissioners Bonine and Gronquist. 4. COMMENTS AND REPORTS A. Report from the City Council Council Liaison Rousseau suggested they may want to invite Bob Lux from Alatus speak to them about ways the EDC can support TCAAP, such as what milestones would come into play with things like the spine road. Council Liaison Rousseau asked staff to share the annual report from the Communications Coordinator regarding newsletters and social media posts with the group. She stated the Council approved Mister Car Wash to go into the Arby’s site. Also, she was looking for someone from the EDC to offer input into a Code of Conduct for Commissions and Committees. Commissioner Murchie volunteered. Council Liaison Rousseau noted the State of the City had about 30 attendees. Postcards were sent to businesses but there were only a few government entities and a number of residents in attendance. She asked if Saturday morning was a time businesses are interested in or would sending a link to the presentation be better. It was also promoted on social media and the City newsletter. B. Economic Development Commission Comments Commissioner Bonine thought there could be a networking event after the State of the City but it seemed like an easy thing that Commissioners could tell other businesses about. Commissioner Murchie agreed and thought they could create some type of forum. Commissioner Brausen recalled they used to meet with other businesses a couple times a year in the morning somewhere like Flaherty’s. Senior Planner Fransen said going forward she can be sure there is good information about the State of the City given the Commissioners. Commissioner Brausen suggested an email be sent to businesses rather than just a postcard or in the newsletter. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Brausen and seconded by Commissioner Murchie adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:04 a.m.