HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Cover letter for proposed ordinance 55
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City Attorney's Office
515 Clark Avenue, P. O. Box 811
Caring People Ames, IA 50010
Quality Program Exceptional Service Phone: 515-239-5146 •Fax: 515-239-5142
April 8, 2011
The Honorable Ann Campbell, Mayor
and Members of the City Council
of the City of Ames, Iowa
Re: Ordinance Permitting Temporary Portable Signs on Sidewalks in Downtown Service Center
Dear Mayor Campbell and Members of the City Council: `
Currently the Ames Municipal Code prohibits the placement of signs on or over any public
property. Last year representatives from the Main Street Cultural District met with city staff
members to discuss options for permitting "sandwich board" signs in front of downtown
businesses. Feedback was received from the businesses and from the City departments that
might be involved in issuing sign permits and enforcing sign regulations. The results of those
discussions were reported to the City Council in a staff report.
On September 28, 2010, the City Council considered several options described in the staff report,
and then directed staff to prepare a draft ordinance permitting the placement of temporary
portable signs on sidewalks in the Downtown Service Center (DSC) zoning district. Council's
direction was to prepare an ordinance that would do the following: s
Establish a permit process for temporary sidewalk signs in the DSC;
Require businesses to remove signs at the closing time or 10:00 PM, whichever is earlier;
Allow all businesses within each building to be eligible for a sidewalk sign permit; 1
Limit the size of signs to 2 t/z feet in width and 4 feet in height;
Require applicants to provide an indemnification agreement and liability insurance;
Prohibit illuminated signs and signs attached to sidewalks,poles, or furniture;
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Provide for the ability of the City to terminate permits and remove signs to protect public
safety;
Require a minimum of four feet of unobstructed sidewalk space.
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The attached ordinance draft is modeled after the Cedar Falls ordinance. It complies with the
September 28 staff report and the specific direction given by Council with one exception, and
that is the minimum unobstructed sidewalk space required for placement of a sign. The staff
report considered by Council suggested a minimum unobstructed sidewalk space of four feet,
which is the same as the City requires for sidewalk cafes and temporary obstructions. The draft
ordinance would require a minimum unobstructed space of five feet, however, and is based on
recommendations contained in pedestrian safety guides and ADA guidelines.
As explained in the Pedestrian Safety Guide:
The width of a sidewalk depends primarily on the number of pedestrians who are
expected to use the sidewalk at a given time — high-use sidewalks should be
wider than low-use sidewalks. "Street furniture" and sidewalk cafes require extra ,k
width, too. A sidewalk width of 1.5 m (5 ft) is needed for two adult pedestrians to ;
comfortably walk side-by-side, and all sidewalks should be constructed to be at
least this width. The minimum sidewalk widths for cities large and small are:
Local or collector streets -- 1.5 in (5 ft)
Arterial or major streets -- 1.8 to 2.4 in (6 to 8 ft)
CBD areas-- 2.4 to 3.7 m (8 to 12 ft)
Along parks, schools, &other major pedestrian generators -- 2.4 to 3.0 in
(8 to 10 ft)
Many 1.2-m (4-ft) sidewalks were built in the past. This width does not provide
adequate clearance room or mobility for pedestrians passing in opposite
directions. All new and retrofitted sidewalks should be 1.5 in (5 ft) or wider.
The ADA considers sidewalks to be "accessible routes." The U.S. Access Board's ADA '
Accessibility Guidelines require wider sidewalks for new construction, but they do allow older,
narrower sidewalks to function as accessible routes as long as they comply with minimum
standards. ADAAG Section 4.13.7 requires that any sidewalk with less than five feet of clear
width must provide for regular "passing zones" of at least five feet by five feet. While a sign
ordinance with a minimum clear width of four feet might comply with the ADA guidelines as
long as wider passing zones remain available on every block, a wider unobstructed space is
recommended. The Cedar Falls ordinance on which the Ames draft is based provides for a
minimum of five feet of unobstructed sidewalk space. The Matthews Model Municipal
Ordinance requires a minimum of six feet of unobstructed space. i.
If the Council proceeds with passage and adoption of the ordinance providing for five feet of
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unobstructed sidewalk space, it would be my recommendation to later amend the sidewalk caf6
and temporary obstruction permit ordinances to also require five feet of clear space. If, however,
the Council wants to proceed with adoption of a sidewalk sign ordinance specifying a minimum
of four feet of clear space, that can be done by oral amendment at first passage.
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The Council gave direction that the permit fee for sidewalk signs should be set at thirty-five
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dollars ($35.00). Since fees are set annually by resolution of Council rather than by ordinance,
the draft ordinance does not specify a fee. The Council may adopt a fee by resolution upon third !'
passage of the ordinance. The Council also suggested that businesses with sign permits be j
required to identify their signs by affixing a permit number. The City Clerk uses a similar
procedure for issuing permit stickers for placement on newspaper vending machines, and that
procedure could also be made applicable to sidewalk signs.
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The draft ordinance does provide that if a sidewalk sign permit is denied or revoked, the decision
may be appealed to the Building Board of Appeals. The ordinance also specifies that a business
holding a valid sidewalk cafe permit does not need to pay an additional permit fee and does not
need to post additional liability insurance to obtain a sidewalk sign permit for the same location.
The draft ordinance has been reviewed by the staff of the Inspections Division and the City
Clerk's office. I understand that both offices found the draft to provide an efficient and
manageable procedure for issuing and enforcing sidewalk sign permits.
Yours truly,
Douglas R. Marek
City Attorney
c: Diane Voss, David Brown
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