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.
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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.
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10/26/88 - Workshop
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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
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10/26/88 - Workshop
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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