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AMENDMENT ANALYSIS <br /> Amendments to the Zoning Code are generally Council directed or at the recommendation of the <br /> Planning Commission or City staff. On a rare occasion, a private citizen or business owner <br /> requests a code amendment like the current proposal. In considering whether or not to <br /> recommend a change to the code, one should consider the broader impacts such code amendment <br /> would have on the entire City rather than the impact on this particular site at 409 Old Highway 8 <br /> NW. <br /> Staff reviewed the earliest published New Brighton Zoning Code available, which was adopted <br /> on May 10, 1977 and became effective on July 15, 1977. Manual changeable copy signs were <br /> prohibited at that time and have remained prohibited signs. The reason these signs are prohibited <br /> is mostly aesthetic as the signs can become unattractive over time through letters falling off, <br /> weathering of the face, and because they require a certain amount of maintenance that isn't <br /> necessary with other signs. Also, with the electronic technologies that have become available a <br /> business owner has the ability to communicate important messages as frequently as they'd like <br /> (the benefit of a manual changeable copy sign) without the undesirable qualities that manual <br /> changeable signs inherently have. <br /> The New Brighton Zoning Code has prohibited manual changeable copy signs for at least 34 <br /> years, and thus staff would not recommend an amendment to allow them at this time. Also, there <br /> are aesthetic and maintenance concerns with these types of signs that staff feels validate the <br /> current prohibition of them. A change to the code to allow these types of signs would be a major <br /> change and should be at the direction of the City Council. Staff recommends the Planning <br /> Commission discuss the merits of allowing vs. prohibiting these types of signs and include those <br /> findings in a recommendation to the City Council. <br /> STAFF RECOMMENDATION <br /> Deny the requested Zoning Code Amendment to allow manual changeable copy signs. <br /> Staff has provided both a denial and approval resolution for consideration. The recommendation <br /> is to deny based on the findings outlined in the denial resolution. Should the commission wish to <br /> recommend approval to the City Council, findings for approval should be discussed and included <br /> into the approval resolution provided by staff. <br /> drntet attA d,!a_c,L. <br /> Janice Gundlach, City Planner <br />