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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-10-26 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321.2401 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 October 18, 1988 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, October 26, 1988 at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The subject of this meeting is signage. All meetings are open to the public. • Carol A. Evans City Clerk CAE/nr is AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Wednesday, October 26, 1988 at 1:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers. PRESENT! Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Patricia Marcurio, Office Manager City Clerk's Office City Manager Kelly said by October 24, 1988, a new Sign Ordinance was supposed to be in existence; however, there were concerns regarding the non --conforming provisions. He said out of concern for the business community, the City Council approved a six (6) month moratorium on the non -conforming provisions of the existing Sign Ordinance. City Manager Kelly said there have been several complaints regarding the signage situation in the City and, because of the problems and concerns, the City wanted to revise the existing Ordinance. He said the City Council and staff are asking for input from the various regulatory and business communities because, these communities were directly affected by the Sign Ordinance. City Manager Kelly said a resolution to the problems of the Sign Ordinance were not expected to be found at this meeting; however, this meeting would give all the parties involved the opportunity to express their concerns and suggestions for the drafting of a new Sign Ordinance. He said the City wanted to draft a workable and enforceable Sign Ordinance and the regulatory and business communities could assist in doing this. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like this meeting to be one of a free thinking and expression. He said he would like to hear from everyone in the following order: Staff Planning Commission Board of Adjustment Business District represented by the Chamber of Commerce Sign Companies Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Sign Companies to refer to problems which detain them from completing a project. He said he would like the Planning Commission to discuss their concerns in staff's presentations of the signs. He said he would like staff to discuss their concerns with the regulatory and business districts and the Planning Commission's procedures. Page 1 / 10/26/88 - Workshop Mayor Abramowitz said the only way everyone could work together was to understand that the City wanted to create a Sign Ordinance that was equitable and fair to everyone. He said staff's interests would be different than everyone else because they had to deal with everyone involved. He asked staff to address their concerns and City Manager Kelly called upon Dale Lee, Acting Building Official. Dale Lee, Acting Building Official, said presently, all sign applications are filed in the Building Department and are processed and presented to the Planning Department for approval. He said once the criteria are established and approved, the permitting process begins and the Code Enforcement Officers inspect the signs for accurate installation as provided in the Plans. He said permanent files of the signs are kept in the Building Department. Mr. Lee said the Planning Commission expressed several concerns regarding the existing contents of the Sign Codes. He said staff met several times and discussed these concerns and there were several recommendations made that would address the concerns. Mr. Lee said the format of the Ordinance should be changed to clarify the rules and regulations better. He suggested the Sign Ordinance has 3 distinct sections, one for general requirements, a section for temporary signs and a section for permanent signs. Mr. Lee said staff suggested that temporary signs be standardized to the same size for the same property sites. He said staff recommends that pole signs be eliminated and ground signs be no higher than 6 feet. Mr. Lee said staff felt it was important to indicate the location of the ground signs and criteria (color, size, type letters and style), during Site Plan Review. He said reviewing this matter during the Site Plan Review would create a workable process because, once a criteria is established and approved, future tenants would not have to appear before the Planning Commission for approval. Mr. Lee said staff suggested that ground signs list the name and address of the development only as opposed to a list of tenants. He said staff suggested that the size of the letters on a sign be set on a scale that pertained to the setback of the building from the roadway. Also, ground signs should not be allowed at entrance islands because it created vision obstructions for traffic. Thelma Brown -Porter, City Planner, suggested that the City review the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance and implement some of the provisions into the City of Tamarac's City Codes. Mayor Abramowitz said he distributed the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance to the City Council and staff. He said it took the City of Coconut Creek one year to establish their Ordinance. City Manager Kelly said he contacted the City of Coconut Creek regarding any revisions that they may have made to their Sign Ordinance and they informed him that no revisions were made. Page 2 �- 10/26/88 - Workshop 1 1 1 Mrs. Brown -Porter said there were problems with enforcing Tamarac's present Sign Ordinance. She said the Planning Commission recommended that illuminated ground signs be eliminated; however, this would be impossible because illuminated ground signs were needed at night for developments such as hospitals. She said if illuminated ground signs were eliminated, the City would have problems in the future. Mrs. Brown -Porter suggested that the provision for non -conforming certificates be eliminated from the Sign Ordinance because denying an Occupational License could only be done for legitimate reasons. She said denying an Occupational License for non -conforming signs was not legitimate. C/M Rohr asked if Mrs. Brown -Porter felt that the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance was a model Ordinance which the City of Tamarac should follow and Mrs. Brown -Porter said there were a few items that would not pertain to Tamarac; however, the Coconut Creek Ordinance should be reviewed to determine which provisions would best fit Tamarac's needs. She said the intent of the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance regarding heights was exactly the intent of the Planning Commission. With no further comments from staff, Mayor Abramowitz asked the Planning Commission for their concerns. Anthony Silvestri, Planning Commissioner, complimented Dale Lee on his presentation. He said he was not given the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance to review. Mayor Abramowitz said the Planning Commission would be receiving copies of the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance after the meeting adjourned. Commissioner Silvestri had concerns with Sign Companies having to submit bonds every time their criteria was changed. He said the City Attorney confirmed that the Building inspector had the right to waive the bonds; therefore, if this was the procedure, the City Code should be amended to provided for this procedure. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Commissioner Silvestri was recommending that this procedure be eliminated from the Ordinance and Commissioner Silvestri suggested that the Ordinance mandate that the Building Department receive City Council approval for a waiver An bonding. Commissioner Silvestri had concerns with the Beautification Committee being eliminated from the Sign Ordinance but not the City Code. He said he was disturbed that the City Planner suggested to the City Council that the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance be considered without the Planning Commission having a chance to review it. Joseph Schreiber, Alternate Planning Commissioner, asked Dale Lee if the criteria for the signs would be defined in the Ordinance. C/M Hoffman said Dale Lee would have no power as to what would be placed in the Sign Ordinance. He said the City Council would make the final decisions as to the Sign Page 3 L-- 10/26/88 - Workshop K TAPE 2 Ordinance's contents. He asked Commissioner Schreiber if he was suggesting this be done. Commissioner Schreiber said at this time he was not prepared to make suggestions. Henry Shulman, Planning Commissioner, suggested that a clear scheme regarding the illuminated signs be implemented in the Sign Ordinance. With no further comments from the Planning Commission, Mayor Abramowitz asked the Board of Adjustment for their comments. Harold Newman, Member of Board of Adjustment, said the Board of Adjustment was surprised that they were asked to attend this meeting for comment because they were never involved with signage in Tamarac. He said he was pleased to see the matter being discussed because for several years he has been a concerned resident regarding signage. He said he would submit his concerns to the City Council at a later date. Anthony Grimaldi, Planning Commissioner, suggested that signs required to be adjusted by the Planning Commission be brought back to the Planning Commission for final approval as opposed to going before the City Council for approval. With no further comments from the Board of Adjustment, Mayor Abramowitz asked the Business Community for their comment. Glenn Meyers, Representative of the Chamber of Commerce, commended the City Council for holding this meeting and giving everyone the opportunity to express their concerns. He said the business community appreciated the City declaring a 6-month moratorium on the non --conforming provision of the existing Sign Ordinance. He said'this- action indicated that the issue regarding signs was a very complex matter. Mr. Meyers said the Sign Ordinance could enhance the business community and increase the value of the City. He said the business community, consumers and residents could not succeed without each other. Mr. Meyers said the Chamber of Commerce would be meeting to address this issue and submit their suggestions to the City Council. He said the Chamber of Commerce approved the changing of the existing Sign Ordinance and would like the revisions to adhere to the proper equation of the City and the economic importance of the business community. He said the criteria issue was very controversial and would not be resolved at this meeting. Mr. Meyers suggested that certain areas be defined by codes and the criteria of Commercial Boulevard and Pine Island Road be implemented throughout the City. Doug Whitfield, Chamber of Commerce member and Owner of Kwik Signs, said he felt monumental signs resembled tomb stones and are considered pole signs. He had concerns with small signs obstructing the vision of traffic and he suggested that all illuminated signs be required to carry U.L. Stickers. 1 1 1 Page 4 �- 10/26/88 - Workshop Mr. Whitfield said there were two types of U.L. Stickers, U.L. Listed and U.L. Approved. He said he would submit this information to the City Council and staff for review. Mr. Whitfield said he was against reverse channel letter signs because U.L. Stickers were not permitted and 90% of the signs approved in Tamarac were channel letter signs. He said these signs generated a lot of energy and could cause fires and electrical shocks. He said U.L. approved signs would insure the City that the signs were safe and installed correctly. Mr. Whitfield suggested that ground inspections take place before ground signs were approved. He said these inspections would require additional work; however, this would insure the City that the installation of the sign was in the best interest of the City. Mr. Whitfield suggested that a certain type of glass and neon be permitted for signs. He said there were several types of glass and neon to choose from. He suggested that for every upright inch of copy, 40-foot be reassigned. Vickie Beech, Resident, said while not being an expert on signage, she was positive that uniformity and color schemes should be mandated and would be in the best interest of the City. Florence Bochenek, Resident, said if the criteria was set from the beginning of the sign application, it would be easier to enforce the matter. She suggested that the criteria be set and mandated to be complied with until the owner either sold the property or major renovation occurred. She said she was very concerned with the types of temporary signs allowed in the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to establish a Sign Task Force Advisory Committee consisting of the following designees: 1 City Councilmember 1 Planning Commissioner 2 Staff members 3 Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Sign Companies to attend the meetings as well. V/M Stelzer said at a previous City Council Workshop meeting, he questioned why this meeting was scheduled. He said he indicated that this Workshop was premature because nothing would be accomplished. He said he suggested that staff draft an Ordinance that could be reviewed and worked on. He said this would allow everyone to know what had to be changed. Mayor Abramowitz said the existing Sign Ordinance was created 5 years ago and there were changes expected. He asked V/M Stelzer if he was satisfied with the existing Sign Ordinance. V/M Stelzer said he indicated at a previous meeting that he reviewed the existing Sign Ordinance and the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance. He said he cut and pasted the provisions into an Ordinance that could be reviewed and discussed which was submitted to Dale Lee for review. Page 5 10/26/88 - Workshop Mayor Abramowitz said he was not satisfied with staff writing an Ordinance. He said he wanted input from everyone involved so that a good and enforceable Ordinance could be created. He said he learned several things at this meeting. C/M Bender said he investigated this matter and contacted the American Planning Association who submitted a model Sign Ordinance to the City for review. He said this Sign Ordinance contained items that were not considered and more information was available in this Sign Ordinance than the Coconut Creek Sign Ordinance. He said the City had all the documentation they needed to draft a workable and enforceable Sign Ordinance. C/M Hoffman said staff should not be asked to take the time to draft a Sign Ordinance that would be amended. He said staff should be informed of what the Ordinance should contain before drafting it. He said appointing a Sign Task Force Advisory Committee was an excellent idea. C/M Rohr said he would like staff to review the Sign Ordinances available and obtain the Sign Ordinances from the surrounding Cities for review as well. He suggested that staff present the existing City Codes with amendments to the City Council for review. He said this process would allow the City Council to compare and make an intelligent decision. City Attorney Doody suggested that staff be allowed to review the documents available and report back to the City Council with their findings and how feasible other Sign Ordinances would be for the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not object to this; however, he would like the matter resolved before the 6 month moratorium was ready to expire. City Attorney Doody suggested that a time certain be set for staff to gather the information. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Manager for his opinion and City Manager Kelly said this matter could begin as soon as the members of the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee were selected. City Manager Kelly suggested that copies of the Coconut Creek and American Planning Association's Sign Ordinances be submitted to Dale Lee and Thelma Brown -Porter immediately after the meeting. He said Sign Ordinances from the surrounding Cities would also be obtained and reviewed. He suggested that a designated time be given for the representatives of the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee to be appointed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if staff would be gathering the information for the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee and City Attorney Doody suggested staff be allowed approximately 30 days to gather the information for the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the members appointed to the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee contact the City Manager. Page 6 10/26/88 -- Workshop Commissioner Grimaldi had concerns with the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee being detained for 30 days and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney suggested that staff be given 30 days to gather the information. Commissioner Grimaldi suggested the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee be involved in gathering the information. City Attorney Doody said having the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee involved in the research may be premature. He said this process would not deter the Sign Task .'once Advisory Committee and staff needed 30 days to gather the information to present to the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee. Commissioner Grimaldi did not agree with staff needing 30 days to research and gather information. City Manager Kelly said organization had to take place in order for the matter to continue and City Attorney Doody said the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee had to be approved by the City Council through a Resolution; therefore, it would take approximately 30 days for the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee to begin meeting. Mayor Abramowitz said staff would be reviewing the documents to determine what the City could do legally; however, staff would be meeting with the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee to inform them of their progress. City Attorney Doody said there were several proposals submitted which had to be reviewed by staff so that the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee and the City Council would be aware of how the proposals affected the City. He said this process would give the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee and the City Council something to work with. Sam Levine, Planning Commissioner, suggested that sign applications be standardized. He suggested that the Planning Commission be given a criteria sheet for each development in the City. He said these suggestions would assist in avoiding problems with the Planning Commission's decisions. Commissioner Levine said the Building Department should not be involved with signage. He said the Planning Department handled these matters in the past and should return to doing so. Mayor Abramowitz said this matter could be considered after the signage matters were resolved. TAPE 3 Commissioner Silvestri said there are at least 30 Ordinances in the City Code that needed to be codified; therefore, he agreed with the City Attorney's suggestion for allowing staff 30 days to review the documents. He said the City Codes had to be reviewed in order to avoid legal problems in the future. City Attorney Doody said a Resolution would be drafted and brought before the City Council as soon as possible indicating the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee's members and rules. Page 7 Z 10/26/88 - Workshop Mayor Abramowitz asked that everyone be given copies of the available documents including the existing Sign Ordinance. Commissioner Grimaldi designated Commissioner Silvestri as the Planning Commission's representative on the Sign Task Force Advisory Committee. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 3:30 P.M. CAROL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $128.80 or $3.58 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." 1 Page 8 I