Administrative Review Board

495 MINUTES ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD April 6, 2014 - 6:00 P.M. The Administrative Review Board met in regular session on Thursday, April 6, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, New Mexico. Members Present: Acting Chairman Ireke Cooper James Dennis Nick Martin Paul Martin Members: Chairman Tom O’Keefe Staff Present Cynthia Lopez Sam Montoia Dee Dee Moore Others Addressing the Board Nathan Allen Don Vaughan Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Vice Chairman Cooper and there being a quorum present the following proceedings were duly had and taken. Approval of the Agenda A motion was made by Board Member Nick Martin, seconded by Board Member Paul Martin, to approve the agenda. The motion passed unanimously by a vote of 4-0. Approval of the Minutes from the March 6, 2014, Regular Meeting A motion was made by Board Member Paul Martin to approve the minutes from the March 6, 2014, regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Board Member Nick Martin and passed unanimously by a vote of 4-0. Approval of the Open Meeting Resolution A motion was made by Board Member Paul Martin to approve the Open Meeting Resolution to continue with the same date and time for the regular ARB meetings. The motion was seconded by Board Member Nick Martin and passed unanimously by a vote of 4-0. Petition ARB 14-04 Off-Site Programmable Sign 1899 E. 20th Street Discussion of ARB 14-04 on April 6, 2014 Associate Planner Sam Montoia presented the staff report, a request from Allen Theaters, represented by Don Vaughan for off-site advertising. The existing sign structure was reconfigured and permitted in November 2013 to be updated with a programmable electronic sign and meets the code requirements. This request is for the content advertising off-site information. Staff is recommending denial because the off-site sign is within 100 feet of another sign, and 20th street is not 200 feet in width. Mr. Montoia stated that with denial, this sign will be allowed to stay at that location and to continue advertising for the businesses in the Allen Theater Shopping Area. Board Member Dennis asked what the width of 20th Street was stating that by using the 100 foot buffer on the map, 20th Street appears to be approximately 100 feet and that this type of sign requires a 200 foot right-of-way. He also noted that the green dot identifying the other sign appeared to be about 90 feet away (based on the buffer of 100 feet). Mr. Montoia stated that the distance of 63 feet was provided to staff by the petitioner. 496 Board Member Paul Martin asked about signatures recommending approval on the letterhead of the company across the street and if that property was provided notice. Mr. Montoia stated that yes, they were noticed because they are within the 100 list provided by the title company. Board Member Paul Martin also pointed out that in the comment from the Traffic Engineering department, Steve Krest stated that there was no objection to a programmable sign. Mr. Montoia stated that that information is based on a report from the Federal Highway Administration which concludes that programmable signs are not any more distracting to motorist than regular signs and that people tend to pay attention to the task of the road at hand. Board Member Paul Martin stated that these signs seem to be popular in town, and mentioned the sign at Bernadone’s Restaurant and the one on Main Street and asked if there were others. Mr. Montoia stated that the sign at Hutton Plaza on East 20th Street was approved for a variance to the 200 foot street width in 2010. Mr. Montoia stated that Mr. Vaughan could speak to other signs. Mr. Don Vaughan of 6028 Bayhill Drive stated Majestic Media currently controls the content on this sign, including the movie previews. This is done from a remote site and updated daily. Mr. Vaughan stated that his understanding of the code is that off-site advertising applies to old fashioned billboards, which would use the 100 foot distance to not block another sign. He stated that applying a billboard case to the new technology of this programmable sign would not make any change to the existing structure and only to the off-site advertising. He added that off-site advertising is limited to 50% of current advertising. He added that this sign is a type of landmark used for directions. Chairman O’Keefe arrived at 6:19pm Mr. Vaughan also stated that by allowing off-site advertising on the programmable sign, it reduces the need for additional signs and structures on the streets. He added that some of the content is 3rd party content for the community. He stated that the City of Farmington, PRCA Department uses this type of advertising frequently, and that public service announcements are provided at no charge. In closing Mr. Vaughan added that if this petition were denied that he would have to reduce jobs and it would have a definite impact on his business. He requested that the board approve this petition because other variances have been granted on this street. Board Member Nick Martin asked if the other petitions for this type of sign were granted. Mr. Montoia said yes, they were. Board Member Dennis asked if Allen Theaters was just using this for off-site advertising as a convenience. Mr. Vaughan stated that this sign was prewired for the programmable sign and was originally constructed with enough support for this type of sign. He added that advertising was their intent from the beginning. Board Member Dennis stated that if this existing sign had not been at this location, it would have to have been moved 100 feet away from the other sign. Mr. Vaughan stated that was true, but the 200 foot road width would still have needed a variance. Mr. Vaughan argued that the code was intended to reduce the number of traditional billboard signs; and that the application of these rules for this programmable sign was in error. He noted that staff agreed the sign could remain and that content would be the changing variable and questioned the validity of this rational to limit content. Nathan Allen of 6468 Hawkeye Street stated that when this sign was in the design stage he had talked with Mr. Vaughan with the intent to display their ads, but realized the increase in revenue by selling advertising space. He also added that a future awareness for Autism Event advertising will be donated to the agency. Board Member Nick Martin asked if they inquired into a variance at the time of the sign installation. Mr. Allen stated that at the time he thought the permit included the right to advertise using a 50/50 ratio. Mr. Allen stated he did not ask about a variance at that time. There was no one to speak in opposition to this petition. Board Member James Dennis asked staff that in Section 5.8.7 of the UDC there is a definition for billboards, but not for off-site signs. He stated that he felt this is an on-site sign. Senior Planner Cynthia Lopez stated that throughout planning methods, when you advertise off your premises, it is considered off-site. The code was written in 2008 and billboards where more of the type of things being dealt with. However, programmable signs had some controversy surrounding driver distraction and the FHWA conclusions regarding the signs are recent findings. Ms. Lopez stated to the board that staff must make their recommendations based on what the code requires. Board Member Dennis stated that he felt that the sign is not going to be removed so there will be no difference along the road. Vice-Chairman Cooper stated that he feels it is a minimum easing of the code, the sign will remain as is, but with a little more content. Board Member Paul  497 Martin felt that if you are interested in the content you will notice it, if not you’ll just drive by. He felt it is good for the community. He added that staff does a good job as they are charged with upholding the code, but also felt that these signs are different and that affects the rules and the way they are looked at. Administrative Review Board Action of April 6, 2014 Board Member Paul Martin made a motion to approve Petition No. ARB 14-04, a request from Allen Theaters, represented by Don Vaughan for off-site advertising. The motion was seconded by Board Member Nick Martin. AYE: Vice-Chairman Cooper, Board Members Dennis, N. Martin and P. Martin NAY: None ABSTAIN: Chairman O’Keefe ABSENT: None RECUSE: None MOTION TO APPROVE 4-0 Business from the Floor: There was no business from the Floor. Business from the Chair: There was no business from the Chair. Business from Members: There was no business from the Members. Business from Staff: Ms. Lopez stated that staff is looking at revising the wording regarding the 200 foot of separation of vehicle repair from a residential district to include “from a residential use”. She stated that staff would like for Chairman O’Keefe to be on the sub- committee as a representative from this board. Chairman O’Keefe agreed to this request. Adjournment: The April 6, 2014 Meeting of the Administration Review Board was adjourned at 6:43 pm. ___________________________ __________________________ Ireke Cooper – Vice-Chairman Dee Dee Moore, Office Manager 498 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY