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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Board of Appeals Minutes 1 August 22, 2007 BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES AUGUST 22, 2007 PRESENT: Robert Cornell, Dennis Penney, Edward Wilusz, Mark Nielsen (arrived late) Cheryl Hentz EXCUSED: Moss Ruedinger STAFF: Todd Muehrer, Associate Planner/Zoning Administrator; Karin Gehrke, Recording Secretary Chairperson Hentz called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. I. 505 KNAPP STREET John Beck-applicant, Sacred Heart Church-owner, requests variances to permit the placement of a ground sign within the required front yard setback and to exceed the permitted sign area in a residential district. Section 30-19 (B)(2)(c) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code: R-2 Two Family Residence District requires a 25’ minimum front yard setback. Also, Section 30-37 (F)(1)(c) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code: Sign Regulations limits institutional bulletin board signs to 24 square feet in area. Mr. Muehrer presented the item. Mr. Thomas Donovan, 1025 W 5th Avenue, Business Administrator for St. Jude Parish was present to represent the petitioner. He said he agreed with the staff requirement to have plantings at the base of the sign but did not understand the denial as presented by Mr. Muehrer. Mr. Muehrer explained that the request was for 28 sq. ft. of signage and the zoning only allows for 24 sq. ft. Mr. Donovan asked if that area was just for the changeable copy. Mr. Muehrer confirmed it was. Ms. Hentz asked staff if the proposed height would remain at 8 ft. if the sign space were reduced to 24 sq. ft. Mr. Muehrer explained that it would be up to the petitioner. The height of 8 ft. is not a zoning issue so it could stay that height. Mr. Donovan said that because the parishes had now combined they wanted to keep all the signs as similar as possible. He referred to the sign at the corner of South Park and Oregon St. (previously St. Vincent’s Church) as a reference. Mr. Muehrer explained that the smaller size requirement is because the 505 Knapp St. location is zoned residential whereas the South Park/Oregon St. location is zoned commercial. Mr. Wilusz asked if that was the location with the electronic sign. Board of Appeals Minutes 2 August 22, 2007 Mr. Muehrer confirmed that it was and explained that they could not have one at 505 Knapp St. because it is not zoned commercial. He went on to clarify that they could not even apply for a variance for approval. Mr. Donovan said he was comfortable with the change in size requirement. He added that they would be taking the bushes down in the back area. Mr. Cornell asked Mr. Donovan if the sides of the sign would be reduced. Mr. Donovan said Mr. John Beck would be determining how the sign would be altered. He mentioned the color of the sign on Oregon St. is red but the sign for Knapp St. would be green. Mr. Penney asked if the Madonna statue would be moved. Mr. Donovan said no, the plantings behind it will be trimmed down and new plantings added in spring. Mr. Cornell asked if the sign copy area would be reduced from east west or north south. Mr. Muehrer said it didn’t matter as long as they meet the 24 sq. ft. requirement. Mr. Cornell questioned if the size of the letters would need to change. With the reduced size of the copy area the 8” letters could potentially result in wasted space. Mr. Muehrer said it would be up to Mr. Beck to determine how they will reduce the size of the copy area. Ms. Hentz asked what made the area an R-2 district and not commercial as there is a restaurant (Mahoney’s) across the street and there used to be a meat market on the other corner. Mr. Muehrer said the street side with the restaurant is zoned commercial but the neighborhood abutting the church property consisted of single and multi-family homes and therefore has an R-2 designation. Mr. Donovan mentioned that the house next to Mahoney’s Restaurant would be torn down eventually to create a parking lot. Mr. Cornell questioned the need to enforce the smaller size of 24 sq. ft. Ms. Hentz said she agreed especially with the commercial buildings across the street. She asked Mr. Donovan if the smaller size could be achieved or if the signs came in standard sizes. Mr. Donovan said he thought thought the smaller size could be done but that Mr. Beck had planned to be at the meeting and he would be able to confirm it. Ms. Hentz asked Mr. Donovan then if he was not sure that the smaller size could be made. Mr. Donovan said he did not know enough about signs to know for sure. Mr. Wilusz commented that if the smaller size could not be achieved they could come back to the board. Mr. Penney asked Mr. Donovan if he had consulted with someone previous to the meeting since he said earlier that he did not have an issue with the reduced size. Board of Appeals Minutes 3 August 22, 2007 Mr. Donovan said he did not know about the reduced size until the staff report was read and he surmised that it would be okay. Ms. Hentz asked staff if the petitioner would need to pay another fee if they had to come back next month. Mr. Muehrer said yes. Mr. Wilusz questioned if the board should lay the item over until the next meeting so that Mr. Donovan could find out for sure if the smaller size could be accomplished. Mr. Donovan asked the board if he could call Mr. Beck in hopes of getting him to the meeting. The board agreed. Mr. Donovan left the room and returned moments later with Mr. Beck. Mr. John Beck, 2925 S. Oakwood Rd., Oshkosh apologized to the board for arriving late. Ms. Hentz explained the issue of the sign size. Mr. Beck asked how the board would want it done. He asked if the top portion of the sign needed to be smaller. Mr. Muehrer explained that the top (identification) portion of the sign was okay. The bottom portion of the sign for the changeable copy needed to be reduced to meet the 24 sq. ft. ordinance. Mr. Beck asked if it would be okay if the sign were 6 ft. Mr. Muehrer asked if it was a problem for him. Mr. Beck said he would like the sign larger to get three lines of copy with 8” letters on it. He mentioned that he would like the readable copy portion of the sign longer. He said it would be the same size as St. Vincent’s sign except it would not be an LED. Mr. Wilusz said he understood what Mr. Beck wanted. He wanted to know if he could make the sign smaller. Mr. Beck mentioned the LED signs are better because vandals steal letters. Mr. Muehrer explained that the LED sign is not allowed in a residential district. Ms. Hentz referenced the information that the sign would be lit from inside. She questioned if the light would be on all the time. Mr. Beck said no, it would be on a timer. Mr. Beck went on to say the goal was to make all of the signs as similar as possible because of the consolidation of the parishes. Board of Appeals Minutes 4 August 22, 2007 Mr. Cornell asked if reducing the length of the sign from 7 ft to 6-1/2 ft would be acceptable. Mr. Muehrer said no. Mr. Penney said he had difficulty seeing a hardship to justify approving the additional 4’ of signage space since the sign would not be set back against the building. Mr. Wilusz agreed. Mr. Cornell asked if the two items in the zoning request (size and location) needed to be voted on separately. Mr. Muehrer said the item could be voted on as one item as presented by staff. Motion by Ms. Hentz to approve the sign placement/location variance as requested with the following condition: a. The base of the sign shall be landscaped with low-level plantings; And to deny the sign area variance request. Seconded by Cornell. Motion carried 4-0. Ayes-Cornell/Penney/Wilusz/Hentz. Nays-None. Finding of Facts: There are unique limitations to the property. There will be no adverse impact on the neighborhood. There is no hardship to the petitioner with the denial of sign size. The approval is for the least required variance. There were no other appeals or applications to be considered. Ms. Hentz then brought forward a discussion of a citizen complaint at the last Common Council meeting regarding disturbances caused by activity at the Oshkosh Sports Complex. She shared that Mrs. Van Ornum complained about many different things (lighting in particular) from the stadium during football games being so bright she could read her newspaper by it. Council member McHugh mentioned that there was a variance approved by the Board of Appeals for lighting. Ms. Hentz went on to say she sent an email to all of the council members, Mr. Wollangk, David Buck and Todd Muehrer explaining to them that the lighting that was approved by the Board of Appeals was only for baseball/softball diamond fields and not for the football field. Mr. Cornell said he called Mr. McHugh and had a ½ hour discussion with him. They were able to clear up a lot of points that he misunderstood because of information he received from Mrs. Van Ornum via email on a weekly basis. Mr. Cornell said he went over to the Sports Center the next day and did not see any lights associated with the ball diamonds at all. Mr. Cornell went on to say that it’s been at least 18 months since they received their approval and they only have six months to act on it. If the lights would be installed now they would be non-compliant. Mr. Muehrer said if they pulled the permit it would have been valid for a year from that date. He recalls there was a condition requiring a buffer, e.g. trees. He questioned if Mr. Cornell noticed any kind of plantings that would meet that condition. Mr. Cornell said he did not. Board of Appeals Minutes 5 August 22, 2007 Mr. Wilusz said he recalled the neighbors were okay with the variance request. Ms. Hentz said Mr. Van Ornum said specifically he’d prefer the lights to be higher because they would shine down more directly on the fields rather than into the neighborhoods. Mr. Mark Nielsen then arrived and Ms. Hentz filled him in on the topic at hand. Mr. Cornell mentioned that Mrs. Van Ornum talked about the noise made by leaf blowers as well. He recalled there was discussion at the public meeting regarding cleaning up after the games and whether to do it right after the games or the next day. It was decided that if they did not clean up right after the games, debris could blow into neighboring yards overnight. He said Mrs.Van Ornum was in favor of the leaf blowing happening right after the games. Ms. Hentz referred to the baseball diamonds being on the south end and even if the lights were installed, Mrs. Van Ornum’s house is on the corner of Josslyn and Taft so the lights would not affect her at all. Mr. Nielsen said they would possibly affect the condominiums on that south end. Ms. Hentz asked Mr. Muehrer to check into the status of the permit for the baseball/softball diamond lights. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:06 p.m. Wilusz/Cornell 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Todd Muehrer Associate Planner/Zoning Administrator