08/31/1970 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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"llJl 3df e 8/31/70 I I Councilman Mohr suggested.that the council look into the whole problem of the highway oriented district and the 15' setback problem. Mr. Teague agreed and felt the distance of setback should be reconsidered. Perhaps some exception could be given for signs that were not objectionable. I I Mayor Anderson said restructuring the highway oriented district would be a long and invol ved 'pr09.~SS. Parts of the ordinance could be amended, but he would hesitate to go through the whole hearing process of the sign ordinance again. If the Council thinks the 15' setback is equitable and benefits the city, this should be reaffirmed. It was certainly his understanding that I billboards were excluded from the 15' setback. There are many things which could II accommodate the hardship about which the Council is concerned. II Mrs. Niven agreed that it would be desirable to act on the 15' setback for the benefit of enforcement, and to remove any question of inequity with those II I who had installed signs in the last two years and were required to conform. il I' City Manager ~~id' the City Attorney had already interpreted the present ordinance e as banning billboards in the 15' setback area, and there was no reason the Council !I could not act at its next meeting to clarify this point. I I Mayor Anderson suggested the Council reaffirm the 15' setback and then the Manager and staff could work out some method that would r~lieve hardship of Mr. Obie. I Mrs. Hayward moved seconded by Mrs. Beal to affirm that the 15' setback for highway oriented district includes all signs except identitYs~~e~; Mrs. Hayward clarified that this would give an indication that the Eugene City Council continued to consider there would be a 15' setback in the highway oriented district for all signs other than identity signs. Mr. Mohr failed to see the need for this motion, since a vote on the proposed II amendment would accomplish the same thing. Mrs. Hayward agreed, but felt this " motion would clarify the action for the staff and the public. il Vote taken on motion as stated. Motion carried. 'I Mr. Gleaves asked that the Council not act on the amendment at the next regglar II Council meeting, stating that this would put the Obie Company in the position of starting court proceedings because of citations received from the building depart- ment. City Manager siad the citation procedure is administrative and he felt I perhaps this matter could be dealt with administratively. II Mr. Vernon Gleaves reiterated his contention that the intent of the Council had been not to exclude billboards from the 15' setback area, and requested that the Council not pass this amendment. He 11 I distributed copies of a proposal of conditions to allow billboards which have been in existence up to September 1, 1970 to remain in the 15' setback area, and requested the Council to defer the matter II I for futher study and request the City Attorney to prepare an appropriate ordinance to carry out this intention. I I Mrs. Betty Niven reviewed the history of the decision regarding the 15' setback and explained that I it had never been arbitrary. It was arrived at through mathmatical calculations designed to permit I identity signs for businesses in the highway oriented district without blanketing. Mrs. Niven I I said the sign committee had run a questionnair.e in the ~ewspaper and received a surprisingly good I I response. Most Citizens fo the city did not feel that outdoor advertising was necessary or I e desirable in the city. It rightly belonged in open country. Because in the city of Eugene it I happened that most of the billboards belonged to one company and the impact of prohibition would I be too great on that one company, an effort was made to compromise and allow billboards back of the 15' setback the same as all other except identity signs. II In answer to Mrs. Hayward, Mrs. Niven pointed out that in the two years since adoption of the sign Ii ordinance, all signs constructed, with the exception of one identity sign, have been outside the II 15' setback. If billboards were now to be allowed within this area, great inequity would result. She explained that every district where people travel at high speeds is considered a highway I oriented district. In answer to Dr. Purdy, Mrs. Niven said buildings can be built to the property line in the Highway Oriented District, but generally speaking, they are not being built in this way in many instances. I Mr. McDonald felt the suggestion made by Mr. Gleaves to allow Mr. Obie to retain his signs made some I sense if a sign was in a field with no property nearby. ,Mrs. Niven said Mr. Gleaves suggestion II I might be permissible if it read "Outdoor advertising sturcture would be permitted to be within the 15' setback area in lieu of the identity sign permitted." It is very clear the ordinance allows only one sign in this area, regardless of whether it utilizes the overall allowance. 11 Mrs. Lois Smith of League of Women Voters said she had b~en a member of the sign committee and that Ii I this matter was discussed and understood, and that it had been a compromise to have billboards \ in the city at all. She urged that the Council support the Planning Commission recommendation regard- i ing the sign ordinance. , II e I I II I Ii 8/31/70 - 10 I' If '! ,I ...olIl