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N May 2, 2022 Centerville Planning & Zoning Commission Page 3 of 5 RE: Amazon Fulfillment Center, Sign Variance CENTERVILLE SIGN ORDINANCE STANDARDS Excerpts from Centerville's Sign Ordinance are included at the end of this report. Section 152.18(C) (2) notes permitted signs in the Industrial district, including: Ground signs. One (1) Ground sign ; provided, however, the sign does not exceed 200 square feet in area 15 feet in height and located a minimum of fifteen from any property lines. The proposed signs meet the area and height dimension. The two signs proposed on 21It Avenue South meet the required 15-ft setback, but the Fairview Street sign is shown at a setback of 10 ft to the street right-of-way. The applicant agreed this was a simple oversight and the sign can be moved back 5 ft to meet the setback. VARIANCE CRITERIA Centerville's Zoning Code has five criteria for considering variances, discussed below. (1) The variance is in harmony with the purposes and intent of the zoning chapter of this code; (2) The variance is consistent with the comprehensive plan; (3) The proposal puts the property to use in a reasonable manner; The first three criteria are fairly generalized. The zoning code and comp plan do not deal specifically with signage. Providing signage for a large facility in the industrial district is a reasonable use of the property, so we can say that the first three criteria are met. (4) There are unique circumstances to the property not created by the landowner; The unique circumstance with this property is that it is a very large site with a vehicle - intensive use. More typical development of this amount of property might have several businesses, each with their own signage. In this situation, Amazon has several hundred employees and several hundred vans accessing the site daily, so adequate signage is essential for safety and efficiency. Three signs on the street frontages serving this property is a reasonable request. (5) The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality; The site is in the City's industrial park, opposite similar industrial uses to the east in Lino Lakes, most of which are on much smaller sites, each with their own signage. The variance allowing three signs for this property would not alter the character of this area. RECOMMENDATION We recommend that the Planning & Zoning Commission recommend approval of the variance to allow three ground signs for the Amazon facility as illustrated on the submitted application and plans, with the following condition and findings: