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Departinent rejected some of the proposals by the Chamber of Commerce dealing with the <br />varying sizes, adopting distance, and speed limit, etc. Members of Planning Commission know <br />that Lorain Rd. is 35 miles per hour and if the building is not 50 feet, more likely than not, it is <br />back no further than 75 feet. In a few instances, the buildings are even closer than that. When the <br />sign expert was consulted, he did not believe it made any sense at all to deal with the issue of each <br />parcel having to apply a formula with respect to the speed limit and how far back the sign was. It <br />is homogenized enough that the Council was able to have a uniform sign provision to benefit the <br />business community as well as conforrning with the health, safety, and welfare of the residence of <br />North Olmsted as well as those whom are dealing with the merchants in identifying where the <br />merchants are located. This ordinance has been modified numerous times in order to come up <br />with an acceptable alternative to what was proposed initially and what was proposed by the <br />experts representing the Chamber of Commerce, and the expert representing the City of North <br />Olmsted. This is what City Council has passed on to Planning Commission for review and <br />recommendation. The City Council is requesting approval to get a sign code into existence. Mr. <br />Tallon questioned if there were any comments or suggestions from the Board and audience. Mr. <br />Weinstein came forward to review his suggestions and comments of the sign package. He <br />produced a memo to Mr. Tallon and the Clerk. NOTE: See Attached. Mr. Weinstein commended <br />Mr. Gareau on his review of the history of this matter. He indicated the sign code is quite content <br />neutral and a significant improvement. The ordinance should work very well for the City and the <br />businesses. He indicated there are some issues that he would like to address. Mr. Tallon <br />indicated that he is not going to go over the memo suggestions one by one, but to please give a <br />quick overview. Mr. Weinstein indicated he intended to do so and that was why he produced the <br />memo. He went on to point out some points that were of importance to him. Mr. Weinstein <br />indicated that the most important point is the regulatory sclieme the City has chosen for "ground <br />signs." He suggested it does not work for either the City or the business community. Essentially, <br />the City is allowing medium height and bulky signs that are low and unattractive. He strongly <br />encourages the proportions to be changed. The visibility of the signs would be enhanced with a <br />slight increase in height, 15-18 feet in height, and lower the sign from 50 feet to 40 feet, to retain <br />a bonus provision for the height lowered, he could agree. His professional opinion suggests this <br />does not serve the City's interest. The second point refers to the flashing and rotating signs. Mr. <br />Weinstein indicates agrees with Mr. Gareau to some extent. Mr. Weinstein believes those signs <br />should not be prohibited, but be regulated to not produce a"Las Vegas" look. A way to do this <br />would be to place minimal time periods in between changes. What would then be produced is not <br />a flashing sign, but an electronic reader board sign to communicate certain messages at different <br />times. Mr. Weinstein indicated the issue of the need for greater attention to definitions. The <br />maintenance provision allows the removal of the sign if it is dirty, which is too broad and gives <br />too much discretion. Mr. Weinstein encourages the city to tighten the definition. He then went <br />on to discuss section 1163.05 (c ), which distance is discussed for which one must include <br />detailed drawings. He suggests 150 feet is too excessive. Mr. Weinstein indicated the problem <br />comes in when this kind of distance is specified, from a point. What is being done is specifying <br />the radius of a circle. At 150 feet, it covers over 70,000 square feet within that circle. Because it <br />is done by the square of the radius, the distance can be lowered down to 50 feet, so the distance <br />drops down to over 7,000 square feet. With the 150 feet, there is much more burden put on the <br />applicant than what is needed. Mr. Gareau indicated he respects Mr. Weinstein, however, he <br />disagrees that when it comes telling us what is best as far as height and square footage, it should <br />4