6.9. SR 07-17-2000Item # 6.9.
'~ity of
River
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor and City Council
Scott Harlicker, Senior Planne~ff~'~
July 17, 2000
Case No. CU 00-22 - Request by Snyder Drug Stores for Amendment
to Conditional Use Permit, Public Hearing
Request
Consider a request by Snyder Drug Stores for third wall sign and three I Hr.
Photo signs.
Location
Elk River Plaza
Zoning/Land Use
PUD (Planned Unit Development) / HB (Highway Business)
Attachments
· Location map
· Building elevations
· Letterfrom applicant
Overview
Snyder Drug Stores is requesting an amendment to the PUD Agreement for Elk
River Plaza to allow a third wall sign for Snyder Drug Store; the Agreement
currently allows two wall signs. The additional sign is proposed to be located on
the north side of the building. They are also requesting three 1 HR. Photo signs
to go along with the three drug store signs.
There are currently 2 Snyder Drug Store signs on the building, one on the east
side and one on the south side. There are no 1 HR. Photo signs on the building.
They do have a sign on the canopy over the drive through pharmacy window.
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
Memo to Mayor and City Council/CU 00-22
July 17, 2000
Page 2
The applicant would like a store identification sign on the north side of the
building that will be visible from School Street and south bound traffic on
Highway 169. Since the 1 hour photo service is an important marketing tool for
the store, they would like three 1 HR. Photo signs to go along with the proposed
3 business signs.
The total sign area currently approved for the building is 114 square feet, or
about 5% of the total square footage of the front elevation. The additional signs
total 82.5 square feet. The total signage on the building would increase to 196.5
square feet, or about 9% of the total square footage of the front elevation. There
is 65.5 square feet of signage proposed for each of the three building sides.
Planninq Commission Meeting
At the Planning commission held on June 27th no one spoke at the public
hearing. The applicant explained the reasons behind the request. The Planning
Commission recommended approval of the request for additional signage. They
also directed staff to research amending the sign ordinance to allow signage
based on total square footage of the front building elevation. This would allow the
business to decide to how best utilize that square footage. This method was used
in determining the amount of wall signage allowed for Walmart and Home Depot.
Recommendation
Staff and the Planning Commission do not believe this is an excessive amount of
signage and recommend the City Council approve Snyder's request for the
additional signage.
S:\PLANNING\SCOTT~CU0022CC.DOC
MEMORANDUM - Snyder's Variance Application
May 30, 2000
First request:
The store is presently permitted two exterior signs, which Snyder's is proposing
to place on the East side of the building, which will give them identification for the North
bound Hwy 169 traffic and on the South side, which will give them identification from
their parking lot, the shopping center to the South and traffic on Freeport Avenue..
The center owner will be allowed to erect a pylon sign on which Snyder's will
share space. The pylon is to be erected near the Southeast comer of their building. The
limitation of this sign is that their sign band will only be two (2) feet high, which will
limit their lower case letters to 18 inches in height so it will have limited visibility from
School Street intersection and the high speed traffic on Hwy 169.
Snyder's is requesting the right to place a sign on the North side of the building,
which will have visibility from School Street and for the South bound traffic on Hwy
169. Without this signage they have absolutely no identity to their building from the
North. As it is pointed out above, to eliminate one of the other two signs would eliminate
identification from another direction.
The need for the additional signage and variance is the result of several factors
over which the applicant has no control:
1. There is the change in elevation between the site and Hwy 169 that restricts
visibility of the store. This is the area where building identification is extremely
important, given the volume of traffic on 169.
2. The Primary access to the site is from the rear of the Snyder's building. Even if
a customer has noted the location of the store from the highway, there has to be
identification to locate the building from both School Street and Freeport Avenue.
Second request:
Snyder's is also requesting the right to place three "1 Hr. Photo" signs on three
sides of the building. The City has indicated its approval for the placement of a "1 Hr.
Photo" sign on the South side of the building, below and as a part of the "Snyders Drug
Store" sign. Snyder's feels that that placement of the "1 Hr. Photo" sign is too low on the
building and reduces the impact of the sign.
The 1 Hr. Photo service is an extremely important marketing tool for Snyder's, as
the service is offered in all of its store locations and is very effective service for pulling
customers into their stores. It is also a service offered by Walgreen's, Snyder's primary
competition in the Twin City Metro Area.
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~ LOCATION
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LOCATION
City ~ ~,~ ~ MAP
-EIN:I PR'
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Elk ~ver, MN 55330
15'-10"
13'-11"
rug
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HR PHOTO
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15'-10"
13'-11"
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HR PHOTO
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