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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 425-16 - FairwayOutdoorAdvert.ArboretumSDApprovedFinalPlan.R00001SDRESOLUTION WHEREAS, Fairway Outdoor Advertising applied for an amendment to the Arboretum Special District Approved Final Plan #R00001SD to permit the construction of an advertising sign upon Lot 5, Block 1, 41st Street Business Park located at 3185 41st Street N.W.; and, WHEREAS, the applicant, Fairway Outdoor Advertising, wishes to construct an advertising sign (billboard) adjacent to its business at 3185 41st Street NW within the Arboretum Special District. The Arboretum Special District does not permit advertising signs. The applicant has requested an amendment to the Final Site Plan of the 41st Street Plaza within the Arboretum Special District to permit an advertising sign; and, WHEREAS, the Common Council approved the Arboretum Special District in 1982 by its adoption of Ordinance #2247. The Special District ("SD") allows for a mixture of land uses guided by a general development plan for the area. Land uses conforming to the underlying R-1 district (at the time of SD adoption) only need to be approved through conventional zoning and subdivision approval processes. Other development projects in accordance with the general development plan for the property, but not conforming to the underlying R-1 zoning must be considered for approval through a two-step site plan review process set forth in Ordinance #2247. This two-step process includes the Project Development Plan and the Final Site Plan; and, WHEREAS, according to R.C.O. §62.149, subd. 7, advertising signs are listed as a use category. Advertising signs are therefore separate from business signage, which is accessory to permitted uses. Zoning tables identify whether an advertising use is permitted or not; it is not identified as a permitted use in the R-1 or B-1 zoning districts; and, WHEREAS, the Final Site Plan for the building at 3185 41st Street NW was approved in 2003 for retail uses. The building was later occupied by a furniture store. In 2015, the Final Site Plan for this building was amended to permit a wider range of uses and less -restrictive sign standards based on the B-4 zoning district instead of the B-1 zoning district. Although the revised sign standards provided less -restrictive standards for accessory signage, the specific use of Advertising Signs was not added as a permitted use. Referring to sign standards identified in the B-4 district does not re -zone the property nor permit additional uses from the B-4 district. Any use not explicitly stated on the 41st Street Plaza Project Development Plan would likewise not be permitted; and, WHEREAS, advertising signs were not listed as a permitted use within 2002 approval of the Project Development Plan, and were not added as permitted uses through subsequent amendments to the 41st Street Business Center Project Development Plan or the Final Site Plan for the building at 3185 41st Street NW. Therefore, advertising signs are not permitted through the current Arboretum Special District approvals related to this site, the R-1 base 1 zoning district for the special district, the B-1 zoning district used to review the Project Development Plan for the 41st Street Business Center, or the B-4 zoning district currently used to review business signs for the building at 3185 41st Street NW; and, WHEREAS, because advertising signs are not permitted within the R-1 zoning district, and are not listed as an allowed use on any of the Arboretum Special District approvals related to the site, the applicant is pursuing an amendment to the Final Site Plan to add advertising signs as a permitted use. According to Ordinance No. 2247, approval from the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission and Rochester City Council are required for a Final Site Plan amendment. If approved, this amendment will only affect signage within the Final Site Plan boundary for the one lot containing one building at 3185 41st Street NW, and would not permit advertising signs throughout the Arboretum Special District, or within the rest of the 41st Street Business Park; and, WHEREAS, with respect to R.C.O. §61.146, the Planning Department staff suggests that findings could be made in support of and in opposition to the application. Specifically, the staff stated that the application could be found to be appropriate because Advertising Signs are permitted along many of the street frontages within the surrounding area, including along the south side of 41st Street NW, across the street to the south from the project site. The staff also stated that the request could be found to be inappropriate based on the finding that the 41st Street Business Center has the characteristics of the B-1 zoning district as described in the Zoning Code, and is similar to the physical form of many areas throughout the city that are zoned B-1; and, WHEREAS, on August 24, 2016, the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on this special district final site plan amendment, reviewed the application according to the requirements of Section 61.146, and referred the matter to the Common Council without recommendation; and, WHEREAS, the Common Council held a public hearing on the special district final site plan amendment on September 19, 2016, and permitted all interested persons to be heard; and, WHEREAS, based upon a preponderance and substantial weight of the evidence submitted at the September 19t" public hearing, the Common Council determines that the Applicant satisfied the criteria of R.C.O. §61.146, 62.708. Specifically, the Council finds that Advertising Signs are permitted along many of the street frontages within the surrounding area, including along the south side of 41st Street NW, across the street to the south from the project site. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Rochester that Special Zoning District Amendment #R2016-003SD to the Arboretum Special District, final site plan for Lot 5, Block 1 of the 41st Street Business Park within the Arboretum Special District requested by Fairway Outdoor Advertising is in all things approved. 2 PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS ATTEST: CITY CLERK DAY OF , 2016. PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON COUNCIL APPROVED THIS DAY OF (Seal of the City of Rochester, Minnesota) Zone 1SWrbSDAmd.02 3 MAYOR OF SAID CITY 2016.