Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 10-14-03 regular Council agenda — reading text

Once The TPO requests your board to adopt a supporting resolution and submit it to the TPO as soon as possible. will be resolutions are received from each member local government, the TPO' s Reapportionment Plan and resolutions resolution for Please return the submitted to the Governor for fmal Enclosed approval. is a suggested sample your use. is needed please contact me at approved resolution to my attention. If there are any questions or if additional information 800) 226- 8914 Ext 212. 91011121. 0 '" 9'~ 1:;< Sincerely yours, T -& ro, ~ Ilr: ;{11'~U4; N SEP 2D03 ~ Nick Nickoloff, AId?' RECEIVED ~ CITY OF FWB N fPO Coordinator Q ANANCE ~ I 0EPAR'Th' ", Vj ENT 1\"" v/ 0 '" Copy: Joyce Shanahan, Interim City Manager, City of Fort Walton Beach j,> "" ~ v/ f''!:~--;r,", i.)! ./ 1 ~. Ii'..,.. ":;: J . .......-,.~. and their municipalities .... planning the future transportation needs of Okaloosa and Walton Counties CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 14, 2003 Comparison ofthe Okaloosa County and City of Fort Walton Beach Sign Codes Agenda Item No. - 11  CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM Date: October 7, 2003 To: Joyce Shanahan, Interim City Manager From: Missy McKim, Director, CD'" ^ ^ ^~ Malcolm H. Foley, AICP, z~ YJ~ & Building, Supervisor Subject: Sign Ordinance Comparison REOUEST: The City Council has requested staff to compare the differences between the City of Fort Walton Beach' s sign code and that ofOkaloosa County. BACKGROUND: The Okaloosa County sign ordinance is contained in Chapter 8, of their Land Development Code, entitled " signage". This sign code was amended on September 10, 2002, ( see attached). The City of Fort Walton Beach' s sign ordinance is contained within Article IX,Chapter 20 of the City' s Code of Ordinances entitled " Signs". This new sign code replaced the previous sign regulations in their entirety and was adopted on August 14, 2001 and has been amended twice since its adoption ( see attached). Two ( 2) changes to the City' s sign code were adopted via Ordinance # 1518 ( 10/ 22/ 02) and Ordinance 1522 (11/ 12/ 02). Ordinance # 1518 amended the regulations pertaining to street ftontage, sign size and maximum height. Specifically, ftee standing sign height was increased ftom 20 ft. to 24 ft. in the C- 2, M- 1, M-2, MUCC- 2 and MUW-24 districts. Free standing signs were also amended to allow them on lots with less than 100 ft. of street frontage in all districts, except residential. The amendment provided for a sliding scale for sign area based on the street ftontage of the lot (see pages 1513 and 1514 of the city' s sign code). The amendment also clarified sandwich sign regulations in the MUMS by allowing colors consistent with the signage of the business and amended the permitted dimensions~ Finally, a landmark sign was added to the list of approved landmark signs for 235 Miracle Strip Parkway, SW Lee ( Pontiac ftee standing sign). Ordinance # 1522 was initiated by Tim Smith Acura (automobile dealership) regarding the expansion of the width of a permitted sign band on a building. ( CDS staff created and supported the changes). Specifically the amendment allowed the sign band to be increased 2. 5 times in width by 15% of the permitted horizontal length of the sign band. This accommodated a logo and provides flexibility in the design of the sign band for all business establishments throughout the City. In general, the City of Fort Walton Beach' s sign code is a more sophisticated law providing for sign regulations for a municipality with approximately 7 square miles and population of20,000. The City sign code is designed to permit specific signagetailored to a particular zoning district. The new sign code has responded to the concerns ofthe Municip~ Planning Board, Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as, individual residents by promoting t~a,tIic safety by limiting visual distraction and visual sign clutter while also authorizing harmonious integration with the appearance of the community and consistent with the architecture of the buildings and sites they occupy. 1 of 4 - Sign Code Comparison Jt i I The Okaloosa County sign code is a broad based document intended to serve the needs of a County with 935 square miles ofland area and population of 180, 000. It is very general in its application, allowing the same types of signs for any zoning district through the County including agricultural, commercial and industrial districts ( except residential districts). Both codes provide for amortization of non- conforming signs. Pursuant to Sec. 8. 07. 011 of the Okaloosa County' s sign code, all permanent nonconforming on- site signs and sign structures shall be removed, or made to comply with the requirements of the adopted sign code within three ( 3) years from the date ( 9/ t 0/ 02) upon which the sign became nonconforming. Off-site signs are amortized from two 2) to a maximum of seven (7) years based on sign cost/value ( Sec. 8. 07. 012 at page 13 of the attached Okaloosa County sign code). The City' s sign code provides for a ten 10) ( year amortization period until July, 2011, for all signs that became non- conforming when Ordinance # 1452 was adopted ( 8/ 14/ 2001). DISCUSSION: The City of Fort Walton Beach' s sign code is a ' living' document,not static, and as an on- going concern has been fine-tuned to address specific concerns. At the City-Wide Vision Plan Summit held on Saturday September 13, 2003, ''Ugly/ Too many was rated as the 3rd highest community liability. '' Traffic signs,'; congestion" and " drugs" were rated in the # 1 and #2 liability rating, respectively. Also, " Street Appeal" was rated as the 2nd area of concern within the neighborhood priority section. " Traffic Calming" was rated # 1. . New businesses that have built new facilities within the City include TGIF Fridays; Publix, Blockbuster, Lenny' s Subs, Bruster' s Ice Cream, Animal Hospital, O' Riley' s Auto Parts and Emerald Coast Collision. There have been many new businesses that have located within the City within existing buildings which are too numerous to track. Occupational licenses have held constant at approximately 2, 300 licenses issued each ofthe last 3 years. There has been no mass exodus ofbusinesses from the City, for whatever reason, including but not limited to signage. As with any new code, there was a period of adjustment for the businesses and sign contractors. However, with the educational sessions and individual assistance that CDS provides in an effort to be business fiiendly, the CDS staff have found that business owners can provide the signage they desire for their businesses. In addition, neighborhoods are pleased with the new signs that are erected for businesses because they tend to be easier to read and they create more aesthetically attractive commercial areas. In April 2003, City Council directed staff to report back to them on the comparison of the City' s sign code with that of Okaloosa County. A line- by- line comparison is not practical nor would it be particularly useful, rather staff has provided a comparison based upon a typical commercial business with 1 00 ft. of street frontage. City and County definitions are similar as described within the two codes. COMPARISONS: A typical commercial business with a 100 ft. street frontage would be entitled to 200 sq. ft. of total sign area by the Okaloosa County sign code. At the discretion of the business owner, the - free standing sign could be 150 sq. ft. in sign area with a wall sign of 50 sq. ft. in sign area ( see Table 1). Pursuant to the F ort Walton Beach sign code, a typical commercial business with a 100 ft. of street frontage and assuming a building width of90 ft. (5 ft. setbacks each side), the free standing sign could be 50 sq. ft. (maximum) and a sign band on the wall could be 202 sq. ft. or actually exceeding Okaloosa County' s permitted sign area by 52 square feet ( 252 sq. ft. total permitted sigh area). In addition to these larger signs, perpendicular, awning and window signs are permitted. 2 of 4 - Sign Code Comparison  TYPICAL COMMERCIAL BUSINESS WITH 100 LINEAR FEET OF STREET FRONTAGE COMPARISON TABLE 1. As shown in Table 2 below, the major difference between the two codes is height ( 45 ft. versus 24 ft.) and how total sign area is computed. The County Code does not limited the number of free standing signs per parcel and permits roof