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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-10-09 - AGENDA REPORTS - UHAUL SIGN VARIANCE APPEAL (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT 01 City Manager Approv Item to be presented 4Wend Deats PUBLIC HEARING DATE: October 9, 2001 SUBJECT: AN APPEAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S DENIAL OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE SIGN VARIANCE REQUEST TO ALLOW A NON -CONFORMING, 41 -FOOT HIGH, 282 SQUARE FOOT PYLON SIGN LOCATED AT 27140 SIERRA HIGHWAY. THE APPLICANT IS U -HAUL. DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution denying Sign Variance 00-007 (Master Case 00-320) thereby affirming the Planning Commission's decision. BACKGROUND An application for an Administrative Sign Variance was filed with the Planning and Building Services Department on September 5, 2000 to permit a non- conforming 41 -foot high, 282 square foot pylon sign. The subject site is permitted to have a monument sign that is six feet in height with 54 square feet of sign area. The Administrative Hearing Officer heard the item on December 18, 2000 and denied the request for a variance on January 16, 2001. The applicant appealed the Administrative Hearing Officer's decision to the Planning Commission. On August 7, 2001, the Planning Commission affirmed the decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The 3.38 -acre project site is located within the Canyon Country community of the City. The site is currently developed with a vehicle rental/storage facility. The applicant is requesting permission to maintain a non -conforming pylon sign. The pylon sign is a 41 feet in height with 282 square feet of sign area. Adopfed:&4-2(-12,zAgenda Item: ANALYSIS U -Haul is located in the community of Canyon Country with frontage on Sierra Highway. In addition, a portion of the U -Haul site backs -up to the State Route 14 on/off-ramp. The non -conforming pylon sign is intended to attract potential customers from State Route 14. However, per Section 17.19 of the Unified Development Code (UDC), freeway -oriented signs are not permitted for this type of use. The Sign Ordinance allows freeway -oriented signs for businesses engaging in the provision of food, lodging or motor vehicle fuel. In addition, the subject site is located approximately 1,261 feet from State Route 14. The Sign Ordinance intends to provide adequate visibility for each business while maintaining the aesthetics of the overall community. Granting the pylon sign would allow a special privilege not given to any other business within the City of Santa Clarita. The sign was legally installed as a pylon sign under the County sign ordinance prior to city incorporation, however, the sign has been amortized and is required to be removed. The vehicle rental/storage business is not permitted to have freeway orientation per the prior Los Angeles County or existing City Sign Ordinance. Only businesses engaged in the provision of food, fuel and lodging are allowed freeway -oriented signs. In addition, the visibility of this sign is minimal and only for a few seconds driving south along State Route 14 due to the distance of the sign from the freeway and not visible driving north along the freeway. ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER Staff presented the application and recommended denial to the Administrative Hearing Officer on December 18, 2000. The Administrative Hearing Officer denied the request for an administrative sign variance. PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING The applicant appealed the decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer on January 29, 2001. Staff presented the appeal request and recommended denial to the Planning Commission on August 7, 2001. At that meeting, the Planning Commission denied the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer. As a result of the denial, the applicant appealed the decision to the City Council. The appeal letter is attached along with the staff response to each appeal point. FISCAL IMPACT No fiscal impact to the City budget is anticipated as a result of the recommended action. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS 1. Approve the request for an Administrative Sign Variance. 2. Other action as determined by the Council. ATTACHMENTS Appeal letter Staff Response to Applicant's Appeal Resolution of Project Denial Minutes from the August 7, 2001 Planning Commission Meeting Aerial Map Photo of Pylon Sign Sign Elevation U -Haul Packet to City Council U -Haul Video to City Council CITY COUNCIL READING FILE Staff Report to the Planning Commission U -Haul Packet to Planning Commission JJL:VPB:WD s:pbs\current\!2000\00-320\agenda report CITY OF SANTA CLARITA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: A Public Hearing will be held before the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita to consider Master Case 00-320, Sign Variance 00-007. The Project Location is 27140 Sierra Highway, Santa Clarita, California. The Project Proponent is U -Haul. The hearing will be held by the Santa Clarita City Council in the City Hall Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd., 1st Floor, on the 9`" day of October, 2001, at or after 6:00 p.m. Proponents, opponents, and any interested persons may appear and be heard on this matter at that time. Further information may be obtained by contacting Wendy Deats, Assistant Planner II at 661-255-4330, Santa Clarita City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., Suite #300, Santa Clarita, CA. If you wish to challenge this action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City Council, at, or prior to, the public hearing. Dated: September 26, 2001 Sharon L. Dawson, CMC City Clerk Publish Date: September 27, 2001 phu-haul.wpd i )I FRI 09:26 AM T U-HAUL'R' INT'L FAX:6022807913 PAGE 2 PaHAUL CONSTRUCTION/RENOVATION • 2727 N. CENTRALAVENLIE. 9 NORTH a PHOENIX. ARIZONA 850041120. (602) 263.6502 • FAX To: City of Santa Clarita City Council 23920 Valencia Blvd, Suite 300 Santa Clarita, California 91355-2196 (661)255-4330 From: Janette Baranski U -Haul Int. 2727 N. Central Ave. Phx-, AZ 85004 (602) 263.6502 ext. s59a Ref: Amendment - This letter supersedes all letters dated prior to the date of this letter. Appeal of Master Case No. OO -320 - Sign Variance Request 00.007 U -Haul Facility 27150 Sierra Hwy August 15, 2001 U -Haul herby is appealing the decision of the Planning Commission, for denial to retain our freestanding sign at the above IJ -Haul facility. This decision was made at the August 7, 2001 Planning Commission meeting. U -Haul, at this site, would loss Its present visibility from Hwy 14 it made to conform. U -Haul Is a freeway oriented business that requires its customer base to be able to easily identity Its various locations and partkularly the location in Santa Clarita for return or rental of U -Haul trucks or other equipment as well as to purchase Propane Fuel which is not readily available throughout Santa Clarita. California Business and Professions code 5499 protects U -Haul under circumstances now before the City Council from being required to abate or conform our freestanding sign. Being forced to bring our sign Into compliance will create a hardship in that we will have a topographical disadvantage by not being able to communicate with our customer base and potential new customer base. This is demonstrated in the video tape and packages I have provided. Our sign, as it currently stands, provides the needed identity and communication to our customers and potential customers. Being forced to remove our existing sign denies U -Haul equal protection of the law in that similarly situated businesses are able to keep their existing signs of comparable height and size, Any decision or determination that requires U -haul to remove its sign is arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory. Our freestanding sign, as it presently exists at the subject site, there exists a topographical disadvantage so that if conformance was required, U -Haul would be unable to continue to communicate adequately, noticeably and effectively thus loosing all visibility from Hwy 14 South and drastically limiting our visibility from Sierra Hwy. The results of this creates a tremendous hardship. The requirement to abate our sign or the requirement to conform our sign constitures a violation under the United States and California Constitutions for which we have not been given or tendered fair and just compensation. City requirements to remove or conform our sign constitutes an unlawful prior restraint on rendering an ordinance unenforceable against U -Haul. Staff does not understand the meaning of commercial effectiveness as it relates to U -Haul. U -Hauls cliental are peo- ple driving large vehicles in unfamiliar territoryy. The effectiveness of our signage Is crucial in order to locate our facility in a timely manner in order to anticipate lane changes and safety enter Into our facility. Anything less than that leads to undue and necessary hardship. Establlshments for fuel, lodging or food sales are allowed to have freeway signs. U -Haul sells propane, which is a clean burning motor fuel, and has always sold propane at this location. Reducing our sign will be detrimental to the success of our Alternative Fuel Pro- gram that U -Haul has been Implementing for over 5 years. For these reasons, and others that we will produce at the time of the hearing, we hope that you will reconsider the Planning Commis- sions decision for denial to retain the use of our freestanding sign at U -Haul Facility 27150 Shauna Hwy. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible, $inc�rcty,� Janette Baranski U -Haut Marketing cc: City Attorney - Carl Newton Robert M. Aron (Professional Law Corporatlopl. Wendy Deals /°'l iAt y./Ai44;�,4,pfx; / STAFF RESPONSE TO APPLICANT'S APPEAL The applicant submitted a letter of appeal to the Planning Commission decision on August 15, 2000. The applicant identifies issues related to the Hearing Officer's denial of the proposed request. In addition, staff has responded to each of the applicant's statements. Appeal Applicant's Statement U -Haul, at this site, would lose its present visibilityfrom Hwy 14 if made to conform. U -Haul is a freeway oriented business that requires its customer base to be able to easily idents its various locations and particularly the location in Santa Clarita for return or rental of U -Haul trucks or other equipment as well as to purchase Propane Fuel which is not readily available throughout Santa Clarita. Staff Response U -Haul is located on Sierra Highway approximately 1,261 feet away from State Route 14. The visibility of the pylon sign along the freeway traveling south is minimal and is visible for only a few seconds. The U -Haul customer would need to know where the sign is located in order to view it travelling this direction on the freeway. In addition, the sign is not visible from the freeway travelling north. The business is not adjacent to the freeway, the subject site is partially adjacent to the end of an unusually long freeway off -ramp and is therefore, not permitted to have a freeway oriented pylon sign. In addition, freeway orientation is only granted to businesses engaged in the provision of food, fuel or lodging and is primarily dependent on the freeway. The business is also not predominantly dependant on the freeway and the sale of propane fuel is incidental to the primary storage/vehicle renting use. Applicant's Statement California Business and Professions code 5499 protects U -Haul under circumstances now before the City Council from being required to abate or conform our freestanding sign. Being forced to bring our sign into compliance will create a hardship in that we will have a topographical disadvantage by not being able to communicate with our customer base and potential new customer base. This is demonstrated in the video tape and packages I have provided. Staff Response The removal of the non -conforming pylon sign is not inconsistent with the California Business and Professions Code 5499. The pylon sign does not have commercial effectiveness from the freeway due to the minimal visibility and window of opportunity to see the sign. The sign is not visible at all to northbound freeway traffic. Southbound, the customer would need to know the exact location of the sign and be diligently trying to locate it. The sign is also easy to lose sight of while driving along Sierra Highway due to its height and thus, is not commercially effective closer to the site. A monument sign at six feet in height would be eye level with customer and easily located and therefore, have higher commercial effectiveness for a customer trying to locate the business along Sierra Highway. No other business in the immediate area has a pylon, they all have monument signs for identification. The video tape shows the visibility of the pylon sign as the customer is entering the southbound freeway on-ramp approximately 1500 feet away from State Route 14. Master Case 00-320, Sign Variance 00-007 U -Haul Appeal Applicant's Statement Our sign, as it currently stands, provides the needed identity and communication to our customers and potential customers. Being forced to remove our existing sign denies U -Haul equal protection of the law in that similarly situated businesses are able to keep their existing signs of comparable height and size. Any decision or determination that requires U -Haul to remove its sign is arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory. Staff Response The sign was legally installed as a pylon sign for the previous use under the County Sign Ordinance prior to incorporation of Santa Clarita, however, the sign has been amortized and is required to be removed. Other businesses, which include a restaurant and a gas station that are located adjacent to the freeway on-off ramp have not been permitted to have a pylon sign. In addition, the restaurant was required to remove a pylon that was previously approved for Sizzler under the County. The restaurant, Chi Chi's was permitted a monument sign that is six feet in height with 54 square feet of sign area. Only businesses adjacent to the freeway engaged in the provision of food, fuel and lodging, which are dependent on the said freeway, are allowed freeway - oriented signs. None of these businesses are permitted to have freeway oriented pylon signs because although they are adjacent to the on-off ramp, they are all a minimum distance of 1,261 feet away from the freeway. Applicant's Statement Our freestanding sign, as it presently exists at the subject site, there exists a topographical disadvantage so that if conformance was required, U -Haul would be unable to continue to communicate adequately, noticeably and effectively thus loosing (sic) all visibilityfrom Hwy 14 South and drastically limiting our visibilityfrom Sierra Hwy. The results of this creates a tremendous hardship. Staff Response No topographical hardship exists at this location, the site is flat as are all the surrounding sites with high visibility along Sierra Highway, a major arterial. The visibility of the U -Haul pylon sign from the freeway is minimal for customers travelling south and not visible to the northbound traffic. The freeway is located approximately 1,261 feet away from the subject site. The visibility the applicant refers to is on-off ramp visibility. The sign is visible from the off ramp once the traveler has traveled approximately 1,100 feet down the ramp toward Sierra Highway and entering the southbound ramp travelling toward the freeway. The sign is highly visible on Siena Highway from a distance, however, once the customer is close to the site, the sign is too high to view from a vehicle, becomes difficult to locate and has minimal commercial effectiveness. Therefore, a conforming sign at a lower height would be adequate in identifying the business to customers on Sierra Highway. Applicant's Statement The requirement to abate our sign or the requirement to conform our sign constitutes a violation under the United States and California Constitutions for which we have not been given fair and just compensation. Staff Response The City Council in 1990 adopted an amortization period for all signs installed with County permits. This amortization period takes into consideration the economic impact of sign removal and replacement for all Master Case 00-320, Sign Variance 00-007 U -Haul Appeal businesses. The amortization period granted was nine years that would permit businesses to utilize existing signs and prepare for the replacement of signs. Applicant's Statement City requirements to remove or conform our sign constitutes an unlawful prior restraint on rendering an ordinance unenforceable against Maul. Staff does not understand the meaning of commercial effectiveness as it relates to Maul. U -Hauls cliental (sic) are people driving large vehicles in unfamiliar territory. The effectiveness of our signage is crucial in order to locate our facility in a timely manner in order to anticipate lane changes and safely enter into our facility. Anything less that that leads to undue and necessary hardship. Staff Response Staff has evaluated commercial effectiveness and determined that based on the distance to the freeway and the lack of visibility of the pylon sign that the sign does not have any effectiveness to capture the attention of motorists on the freeway. U -Haul's customers have an extremely limited opportunity to view the pylon sign from State Route 14, therefore, the commercial effectiveness of the sign is low. The pylon sign is not visible at all for northbound traffic. The subject site is located approximately 1,261 feet away from the closest point of the freeway. The sign itself is approximately 2,000 feet away from the freeway giving only a small window of opportunity for southbound traffic to see the sign and then change lanes and exit the freeway. Applicant's Statement Establishments for fuel, lodging and food sales are allowed to have freeway signs. U -haul sells propane, which is a clean burning motor fuel, and has always sold propane at this location. Reducing our sign will detrimental to the success of our Alternative Fuel Program that U -Haul has been implementing far over S years. Staff Response Freeway orientation is permitted for uses that are "viewed primarily from an adjacent freeway which identifies a business engaged in the provision of food, lodging or motor vehicle fuel, and which is primarily dependent upon said freeway" (UDC, Section 17.19). U -Haul is not primarily viewed from State Route 14, the business has its primary visibility from Sierra Highway and minimal visibility from the freeway itself. The sales of propane as an alternative fuel is incidental to the primary use which is vehicle rental and storage. In addition, the applicant testified before the Planning Commission that propane sales amount to about 30% of the business, 10% of which are motor vehicle sales, therefore, the business is not predominantly dependent on the freeway. s:pbs\council\00-320\response to applicant