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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-08-08 Hearings Board MIN ASHLAND PLANING COMMISSION HEARINGS BOARD MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2000 CALL TO ORDER Chair Mike Gardiner called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. Other Commissioners present were John Fields and Marilyn Briggs. Staff present were Bill Molnar, Maria Harris and Sue Yates. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND FINDINGS The minutes of the July 11, 2000 Hearings Board were approved. The Findings for PA2000-067, PA2000-065 and PA2000-052 were approved. TYPE II PUBLIC HEARING PLANNING ACTION 2000-083 REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO REPLACE THE EXISTING APPROXIMATELY 140 SQUARE FOOT SCOREBOARD WITH AN APPROXIMATELY 350 SQUARE FOOT SCOREBOARD THAT INCORPORATES ADVERTISING, AS WELL AS AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER. THE SCOREBOARD WILL BE INSTALLED AT THE EXISTING LOCATION ADJACENT TO THE ASHLAND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD. APPLICANT: ASHLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT #5 Site Visits and Ex Parte Contacts - A site visit was made by all Commissioners STAFF REPORT Harris reported this application pertains to Chapter 18.96 - Sign Regulations. Ashland’s sign ordinance is strict compared with other communities. There are no variances allowed except for governmental signs which meet the Conditional Use Permit criteria and the agency demonstrates that it is necessary to further the agency’s public purpose. This application falls into that category. The sign they are requesting will replace the existing scoreboard at the football field. There is an existing sign that is about 140 square feet and about 15 feet above grade from the ground to the top of the sign. The applicant proposes to replace it with a scoreboard sign in the same location. From the elevation submitted, it will be 340 square feet and approximately 21 feet in overall height. It is about twice the square footage of the present sign. It is about three to four feet higher from the grade to the top of the sign. The applicant is proposing to screen the sign. They will fill in the gaps on the chain link fence and plant additional trees for screening. The sign is for athletic events in the fall and Staff understands it will be used approximately seven times per year for evening events. It is internally illuminated. The sign has four components. The Grizzly logo is at the top. There is an electronic reader board with revolving messages. There is the scoreboard section and at the bottom, advertising panels. A public school is a permitted use in an R-2 zone. Athletic events are part of the services the school district provide and Staff believes the sign is indeed necessary to further the agency’s public purpose. It meets all the requirements of the R-2 zone. The third criteria should be reviewed. What is the affect of the sign on the surrounding neighborhood? It is important to note the sign faces toward the stadium, to the interior of the site. The Commissioners need to look at light and glare and how it affects the neighborhood. Molnar suggested the Commissioners might evaluate the glare in the context with how many times it is used. There are sources of lighting that are not screened already. Harris said the screening would be more the day-to-day screening of the sign. PUBLIC HEARING JIM NAGEL, Athletic Director, Ashland High School, 520 Helman Street, stated that Duane from Lamplighter would be installing the sign and is available to answer technical questions. Mark McManus is here as the head of maintenance. Nagel said they are prepared to do whatever it takes to screen the sign to make it the least intrusive as possible. The first approach would be screening with plant material (ivy and trees). They could plant photinia on the East Main side. On Morse Street, he thought privacy screening such as View-Gard on the chainlink fence (he showed a sample) would obstruct the view of the sign. Residents are now looking at weeds. Nagel explained the only time the scoreboard will be operational is during football games. There are seven games, including the play-off games. The old style lights will still be in place and they create enough light of their own. The scoreboard will be used to generate some income for the Booster Club. Briggs asked how Nagel felt this sign was necessary to further the public purpose. Nagel said almost every sports field has a scoreboard. The addition of the readerboard is to cut down on the public address announcements. Briggs asked why they were advertising. She said the sign would not have to be so much bigger if there were no advertisements. Nagel said the ads help pay for the message board and the scoreboard center. The advertisers are the contributors paying for this scoreboard. Fields said the overall impact of the scoreboard is the three feet it is elevated. This is not a problem during the game. The Pepsi sign will be visually available to East Main. Is there something where the advertising can be dead when the sign is dead? DUANE CHRISTENSEN, Lamplighter, 4843 Table Rock Road, Central Point, explained that yes, you can see the advertising during the day, but no light will be coming through it. The logos are non-lit. Fields wondered if they make a material that goes out when the lights are out. Christensen was not aware of any. Nagel said the sign can be lowered. It can start as low as three feet from the ground which could make it less visible. Christensen said it could come down four more feet. Harris said Condition 2 can be modified to meet a maximum height. MARK MCMANUS, Director of Maintenance for Ashland School District, Windmills Inn, 2525 Ashland Street. He read the school’s mission statement. Football contributes to keeping kids active and brings pride to the school. It is an economic necessity to have the advertisers. DON SKILLMAN, P. O. Box 1120, Ashland, said he is ambivalent about part of this application. He owns the six unit apartment complex on East Main. The bedroom windows on the second floor look out at this sign. That leads to questions of light sources generated by ball fields. If the school were asking to replace the sign with one of a reasonable size and reasonable light source, he would not object. He does not believe View-Gard is aesthetically pleasing. Rebuttal Nagel hears Skillman’s main concern is about the lighting. It will be used seven times a season and on the Fourth of July. There should be less glare from this new signboard. COMMISSIONERS’ DISCUSSION AND MOTION Briggs wondered if they could have a scoreboard without advertising. She is concerned about setting a precedent by approving this sign. Every government agency will be looking for approval of a sign. Fields is not worried about a precedent. He is trying to look at what we have now and the impact of a new, larger sign. He hates to see screening on Morse Street. Planting trees is preferable. He would agree to lowering the original height or screen the advertising on the top two panels when there is not an event. Harris said if they bring the sign down three feet, it would make the overall height of the sign 16 feet, 9 inches. ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 2 HEARINGS BOARD MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2000 Fields would like to see a screen lowered over the advertising to black it out during daylight hours. And, he would like to have Staff establish where the sign is visible from the street. RE-OPEN PUBLIC HEARING Skillman said his objections have not changed. The Commission is acting as though the traffic was the major concern. There are people who live along Morse Street that have the view of the sign in their yard. The surface of the sign will be about twice the size of the existing scoreboard, which will add more glare. COMMISSIONERS’ DISCUSSION AND MOTION Fields said there is already noise and light pollution. Fields moved to approve PA2000-083 with the attached Conditions. Modify Condition 2 to 16 feet and not to exceed the existing height with the exception of the Grizzly logo. Condition 3 to read: Landscaping plan including species, size and irrigation for screening with specific attention around the perimeter of the football field to obscure view corridors without creating a continuous screen. Fields and Gardiner voted “yes” and Briggs voted “no”. Briggs does not feel the agency was convincing her that the public purpose of why the scoreboard had to be so big to carry advertising had anything to do with educating students. PLANNING ACTION 2000-079 REQUEST FOR A TWO-PARCEL LAND PARTITION AND LOT WIDTH VARIANCE TO PERMIT THE TWO EXISTING RESIDENTIAL UNITS TO BE INCORPORATED ON SEPARATE PARCELS. 540 MAPLE WAY APPLICANT: JOE AND RACHEL SARGENTI Briggs said she will deny this because the lot is too narrow for the standard. She believes lots less than 50 feet wide are a bad thing in this neighborhood. Fields and Gardiner approved. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 3 HEARINGS BOARD MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2000