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05/28/2013 DES PLAINES PLAN COMMISSION May 28, 2013 MINUTES The Des Plaines Plan Commission held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 7:00 P.M., in Room 102, City Council Chambers, of the Des Plaines Civic Center. PLAN COMMISSION PRESENT: Bar, Niemotka, Lane, Yi ABSENT: Perez Also present were Senior Planner, Scott Mangum, Department of Community and Economic Development. Chairman Niemotka called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. Commissioner Yi pointed out a correction to the page 10 of the minutes of May 13, 2013. A motion was made by Commissioner Lane and seconded by Commissioner Bar to approve the minutes of May 13, 2013 with the correction pointed out by Commissioner Yi. AYES: Lane, Bar, Yi, Niemotka NAYES: None NEW BUSINESS Chairman Niemotka stated that Case Number 13-012-MAP, 1645 Birchwood Avenue, would be continued to the June 10, 2013 Plan Commission meeting. Chairman Niemotka read a summary of the case up for hearing. Case Number: 13-016-TA Address: Citywide Request: Text Amendment to the City of Des Plaines 1998 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, amending Section 11.6.B regarding Electronic Message Board signage regulations. Petitioner: Subway, Phil Mesi, 877 Elmhurst Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016 Chairman Niemotka swore in the following individual: Phil Mesi, 877 Elmhurst Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016 Case #13-016-TA – Citywide Case #13-012-MAP – 1645 Birchwood Ave (Continued to June 10, 2013) Page 2 Mr. Mesi stated that he has owned the business for 27 years and would like to replace the roughly 10-year old Electronic Message Board sign with a 32 square foot Electronic Message Board sign as part of a planned remodel. He stated that the new LED technology is more energy efficient, and that the sign would help with increasing competition in the area. Commissioner Bar inquired whether the existing EMB sign has helped business. Mr. Mesi confirmed that it has. Commissioner Yi asked about the difference between the 32 square feet recommended by staff and the 36 square feet requested by the petitioner. Mr. Mesi clarified that he was amending his text amendment by withdrawing the request to increase the maximum size of the sign from 32 to 36 square feet. Chairman Niemotka asked Mr. Mangum to read the applicable staff report into record, as follows: Issue: Text Amendment to the City of Des Plaines 1998 Zoning Ordinance, as amended, amending Section 11.6.B regarding Electronic Message Board signage regulations. Analysis: Text Amendment Report Petitioner: Subway, Phil Mesi, 877 Elmhurst Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016 Address: Citywide Case Number: 13-016-TA Background Information In 2007 the City first introduced zoning regulations regarding Electronic Message Board (EMB) signs. In 2011 the City Council revised the limitations on EMB signage from no greater than 20 square feet and no more than 30% of overall sign area to no greater than 32 square feet, but did not make any changes to the proportionality rule (30%). Language was also added to limit the brightness of signs by requiring automatic dimming, increase the static display time from 7.5 seconds to 10 seconds, and set a minimum distance of 250 feet from residences in R-1, R-2, or R-3 Zoning Districts. Proposed Amendment The applicant, Phil Mesi of Subway, has proposed a new Text Amendment to increase both the maximum size and proportion of a sign that can incorporate an EMB. The proposed amendment would also decrease the minimum distance from a residence from 250 to 200 feet. While the applicant has proposed the amendment in order to replace an existing EMB sign at their particular location on Elmhurst Road, the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance would apply citywide. Current Regulations and Proportionality Discussion Attachment 2 includes pertinent portions of the City’s sign regulations regarding EMB signs and the pole and monument signs which they can be incorporated within. Important to note is the maximum size of a monument or pole sign is determined by the amount of street frontage and size of a property. In some cases the EMB proportionality limitation of 30% has provided an incentive for applicants to increase the overall size of the sign in order to meet the 30% proportion that can incorporate an EMB. For example, a lot with 150-feet of Case #13-016-TA – Citywide Case #13-012-MAP – 1645 Birchwood Ave (Continued to June 10, 2013) Page 3 frontage on one street would be allowed one pole sign with a maximum size of 90 square feet. Under current regulations the applicant would need to construct a 90 square foot sign (63 square feet of static area + 27 square feet EMB area) in order to incorporate the 30% maximum of EMB. If the proposed Text Amendment were allowed, a larger EMB could be incorporated into a smaller total sign. For example, a 64 square foot sign (32 square feet of static area + 32 square feet EMB area) would allow a larger EMB while reducing the overall sign area. Existing EMB Signs Attachment 3 is a map which indicates the location of existing EMB sign permits within the City. Most of the existing signs are located on commercial corridors and dispersed throughout the community. The size of EMB signs range from 6 square feet to 923 square feet at the Rivers Casino with a median size of 26 square feet. The EMB percentage also ranges from 7 to 100 percent of the sign with a median of 27 percent. Attachment 4 shows photos with examples of eight existing EMB signs, including dimensions and percentage of sign where available. To properly evaluate the text amendment request, the standards below, which are contained in Section 3.7-5 of the Zoning Ordinance, must be employed. Following is a discussion of those standards: A. Whether the proposed amendments are consistent with the goals, objectives and policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan: Comment: The City of Des Plaines Comprehensive Plan, adopted by the City Council in 2007, does not specifically address signage or EMB signage. The Economic Development section of the Plan does have objectives to retain and attract businesses, while the Urban Design section has the goal to enhance the appearance of key community entry points and traffic routes. B. Whether the proposed amendments are compatible with the current conditions and the overall character of existing developments in the immediate area: Comment: The Zoning Ordinance currently limits EMB signage to no larger than 32 square feet. The proposed amendment would allow for EMB signage up to 36 square feet and allow the percentage of the sign that may be an EMB to increase from 30% to 50%. Existing EMB signs range from 6 to 923 square feet, while the median size EMB sign is approximately 26 square feet, and the median percentage is approximately 27 percent. The amendment would also allow EMB signage 50-feet closer to more sensitive residential neighborhoods where the signage may conflict with the existing character, but still provide a 200-foot separation. C. Whether the amendments are appropriate considering the adequacy of public facilities and services available to the property: Comment: The proposed amendment to allow larger EMB signage should not have a direct affect on public facilities or services. D. Whether the proposed amendments will have an adverse effect on the value of properties throughout the jurisdiction: Comment: The increased signage may help businesses by increasing the visibility of EMB signage and increasing the area that is available for messages. Although reduced from 250-feet, the 200-foot minimum distance from residences in residential districts, in addition to limitation on brightness and glare, should limit the potential adverse impacts. E. Whether the proposed amendments reflects responsible standards for development and growth: Case #13-016-TA – Citywide Case #13-012-MAP – 1645 Birchwood Ave (Continued to June 10, 2013) Page 4 Comment: This zoning text amendment does not appear to conflict with the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the official policy guide to future land use, development, and conservation with the community. Therefore, the proposed text amendment would not appear to be in conflict with responsible standards for development and growth. The increase in EMB sign area and proportion has the ability to alter the aesthetics of the community and should be weighed as a policy consideration. Recommendations: Based on the above analysis, the Community and Economic Development Department recommends approval of the requested text amendment regarding Electronic Message Board signage regulations regarding proportionality and distance from residential. By restricting the proportion of a sign to 30%, the current regulations incentivize increasing the total size of a pole or monument sign for owners to reach the maximum allowable EMB size. This acts to promote larger overall signs and increase sign pollution. Increasing the proportion to 50% would reduce this incentive for larger signs. The proposed 50-foot reduction in separation from a residence still allows a 200-foot buffer from the face of the sign. Additionally, the Zoning Ordinance limits the brightness and prevents direct glare onto adjacent properties. However, staff does not recommend increasing the maximum size of EMBs from 32 to 36 square feet. This regulation was significantly increased in 2011 from 20 to 32 square feet. The majority of EMB signs within the City fall below the existing 32 square foot limitation. A variation could still be requested and considered on a case by case basis where a hardship applies. Chairman Niemotka asked if the Commissioners had any questions. Commissioner Lane asked about the percentage of the sign that may be electronic. Mr. Mangum explained that some applicants had sought to increase the overall size of their signs in order to reduce the percentage that would be electronic. The amendment would allow for 50% of the sign to be electronic which could result in a smaller overall size of a sign. Chairman Niemotka asked if there was anyone in the audience that had any questions; there were none. Chairman Niemotka asked for a motion by the Board. A motion was made by Commissioner Bar seconded by Commissioner Yi to recommend approval of a Text Amendment to Section 11.6.B of the Zoning Ordinance, regarding Electronic Message Board signage regulations to increase the allowable percentage from 30 percent to 50 percent and to reduce the minimum separation from residential from 250-feet to 200-feet as recommended in the staff memo. AYES: Bar, Yi, Lane, Niemotka NAYES: None MOTION CARRIED **** Case #13-016-TA – Citywide Case #13-012-MAP – 1645 Birchwood Ave (Continued to June 10, 2013) Page 5 The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. by unanimous voice vote. Sincerely, Robert Niemotka, Chairman Des Plaines Plan Commission cc: City Officials Aldermen Plan Commission Petitioner