| Board of
Adjustments Meeting Minutes
PERRY CITY OFFICES
DECEMBER 6,
2006
7:00 P.M.
OFFICIALS
PRESENT: Chairman Everett Reynolds presided and conducted the meeting.
BOARD MEMBERS: Greg
Hansen, Joey Wilkinson and Boyd Montgomery.
OTHERS PRESENT:
Weston Saunders, Greg Young, Steve Hicks and Judy Hartvigsen.
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Meeting was
called to order at 7:05 p.m.
II. REVIEW AND ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
There were no
changes to the agenda.
7:06:59 PM Motion: Board Member Boyd Montgomery
moved to adopt the agenda as provided. Seconded by Board Member Greg Hansen.
All were in favor.
III. DISCUSSION ITEMS SAUNDERS OUTDOOR ADVERTISING - VARIANCES TO SIGN ORDINANCE
04-01, SECTION 16.4.
(VARIOUS LOCATIONS WEST OF I-15)
7:07:43 PM Chairman
Reynolds opened the meeting for a Public Hearing at 7:07 p.m.
There was some
discussion regarding the number of signs to be approved for variances. Mr.
Saunders of Saunders Outdoor Advertising explained he is requesting variances
for six signs located on five different parcels. They are all located on the
west side of I-15 within the corridor where billboards are allowed. City
Attorney, Bill Morris provided a review of the applications stating all of his
findings of fact and his recommendations.
7:09:38 PM Weston Saunders: explained the application is a simple request to enlarge
the size of six billboard signs. On the west side of the Freeway, Rocky
Mountain Power has a considerable easement parallel to I-15 and billboards are
not allowed there. He asked for the same size as the state allows which is 1000
sq. ft. Perry City ordinance allows 800 sq. ft. as a maximum size for
billboards. Mr. Saunders explained the setback behind large power lines and
indicated the area on a diagram he provided with the application. He submitted
five separate applications, one for each parcel. There are actually two signs
on one parcel for a total of six signs in the variance request. The signs meet
the minimum requirement of being 500 feet from another sign.
7:17:16 PM Steve
Hicks: represented Fish and Wildlife Service and is the current manager of
the Bear River Refuge. He stated Perry City pledged there would be no more
development south of the Pointe Perry project when it was approved. He
considered this proposal detrimental to the refuge. Raven nesting and raptor
perches are bad for the refuge. Allowing the variance will encourage signs
where before it was not as likely to have them. He wanted to point to the
Pointe Perry CC & Rs that give verbage regarding signs and they only allow 40
ft. of height. He read from requirements regarding signs in the CC & Rs
document stating no sign would be placed that would negatively impact migratory
birds. He knows they don’t have anything to do with any area other than Pointe
Perry but they were approved by the City for the project. He stated the board
should want to be consistent with the use of land along the corridor.
7:19:47 PM Board Member Wilkinson asked if Mr. Hicks could
see a significant difference in the currently allowed size and the increase
allowed by the variance. Mr. Hicks stated the increased size encourages them to
build more signs where they would not have done so under the existing
ordinance. There is such a huge setback it is not profitable for them to do a
sign so just the size restriction will restrict someone from wanting to build a
sign there, but no, technically a larger sign does not make a different impact
than a smaller one.
7:21:11 PM Weston Saunders: it was noted there might be an increased raptor population
because of the signs. There are currently nine or ten signs on the east side of
the freeway. This is only 1000 ft. away from those signs. He does not see
raptors nesting in the existing signs. As far as light pollution goes, they
will be lighted the same as the others from the bottom up.
7:22:23 PM The public hearing was closed at 7:22 p.m.
7:22:29 PM The Board discussed the proposal. Board Member
Montgomery asked about the hours of lighting. Mr. Saunders stated some clients
want all night others want the lights off at midnight. Board Member Montgomery
wondered if migratory birds fly at night. Board Member Hansen commented that CC
& R’s drafted for Pointe Perry were not done by Perry City but by the developer
and the city has no control over them. Mr. Hicks stated they were part of the
Corps of Engineers permit that the City participated in. Mr. Saunders
suggested working with the sBird Refuge to accommodate their needs.
7:31:08 PM Chairman Reynolds summarized the five criteria
that need to be met in order to grant a variance. Rocky Mountain Power has an
easement that is totally out of control of the property owner or sign
company. This is a special circumstance on the west side of the freeway.
Signs on the east side can be closer to the freeway. The state law does allow
billboards to be 1000 sq. feet in size. The Board is addressing these six signs
only and only these parcels of land. Current ordinances allow for everything
but the size and state law allows for that size of billboard. Board Member
Hansen suggested addressing each criteria individually:
- Literal enforcement would cause unreasonable hardship.
The setback distance is unreasonable. The hardship exists because of the
165-foot wide power line easement on the west side of the freeway.
- The special circumstance not applying to other property
in the district would be the lack of any power line easement on the east side
of the freeway.
- Because of the easement, property owners on the west
side cannot enjoy the same benefit of a billboard sign near the freeway.
- The zoning ordinance allows signs so the spirit of the
ordinance is not jeopardized. No individual is being given special treatment
over someone else.
- The applicant has demonstrated compliance to the
process.
7:40:11 PM MOTION: Board Member Greg Hansen stated that
having met the five criteria for granting the variance he moved to grant the
variance based on the finding of fact for the five parcels and six signs only.
Seconded by Board Member Joey Wilkinson.
The chairman called for discussion. Board Member
Montgomery wanted to specify this would only apply to the west side of the
freeway. Chairman Reynolds stated the variance is for just the five parcels not
the entire west side. Board Member Montgomery stated it would not be construed
as an allowance for anything else and 1000 sq. foot signs are allowed.
A vote was taken on the motion. All were in favor.
Mr. Hicks was recognized to speak and stated another
comment that on point number four, the board considered only the applicant and
the land owners wanting the signs not the adjoining property and the enjoyment
of those land owners. Board Member Hansen explained the signs are already
allowed within 600 feet on each side of the freeway.
7:44:35 PM MOTION: Board Member Boyd Montgomery moved to
adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Board Member Joey Wilkinson. All approved.
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
__________________________________ ________________________________
Everett
Reynolds Judy Hartvigsen
Chairman
Secretary
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