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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-01-14 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD January 14, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER ~ The regular meeting of the A ll iance for Commerce in Englewood (ACE) was ca ll ed to order at 11 :40 a.m .' in the City Counci l Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Lonborg presiding. Present: Lonborg, McDermott, Vasilas, Espinoza, Scha lk (ente red 11 :5 2) Absent: None Also present: Joe Jefferson, City Council Liaison (e ntered 11 :49) Jim Woodward, Mayor (ente red 11 :48) Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Coord in ator Michael Flaherty, Deputy City Manager APPROVAL OF MINUTES ~ December 10, 2009 Chair Lonborg stated that the Minutes of December 10, 2009 were to be considered for approval. It was determined there was a quorum. Chair Lonborg asked if there were any changes or adjustments to the Minutes. There were none. McDermott moved : Espinoza seconded: THE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 10, 2009 BE APPROVED AS WR ITIEN . The motion carried unanimously. II. ACE BUSINESS l>.lJ ENGLEWOOD SIGN CODE -MURAL DISCUSSION U1rector Wh ite stated included in the meeti ng packet are the current re gulations regarding murals in the City. They currently are allowed only along South Broadway. The maximum size is 120 square feet and the City cannot regulate content. Ms. McDermott noted the Code also states you cannot d irectly or indirectly advertise a product. In reviewing the Code it seems very simple and very straightforward. She stated she doesn't have any recommendations for changing the current Code. Chair Lonborg asked why murals are allowed only along South Broadway and not in the rest of the City. Mr. Hollingsworth said he bel ieves the code was modified to allow for creative signs on South Broadway. • • • ' ACE January 14, 2010 Page 2 Chair Lonborg asked if there is a need to change this Code. Mr. Flaherty said yes, because a judge found part of our Code unconstitutional. Several members questioned whether or not murals belong in the Sign Code section or should it be in another section of the Code. Ms. Mello said in Denver they are not part of the Sign Code; they are considered art. The members discussed in depth whether a mural is a sign or is art. Mr. Vasilas asked how murals have been treated in the past. Mr. Flaherty said as signs. Ms. McDermott asked if it is time for ACE to act on any part of this or make a recommendation when Planning and Zoning is addressing the issue. Should we wait till they are done with their discussions? Chair Lonborg said her personal perspective is that ACE is to recommend as advocates for business and so doesn't believe it's inappropriate even though Planning and Zoning is working on it, for ACE to say from the perspective of businesses what we would like to see . Chair Lonborg asked Mayor Woodward if he believes murals belong in the Sign Code or as part of the art code. Mayor Woodward said he believes they belong in the Sign Code if it advertises . Chair Lonborg said the current Sign Code says it cannot directly or indirectly advertise or call attention to any product. Ms. Espinoza asked if murals were separated into the art code would that open them up to the entire City. Mr. Jefferson said it could be set up however we want. They could still be restricted in certain areas . Mr. Schalk said he feels murals should fall into the Sign Code. There will always be the potential for a mural to be a sign . Mr. Flaherty said in some sign codes where a mural is determined to be art there is maximum square footage that can be devoted toward a logo. Chair Lonborg asked Mr. Schalk, from a business standpoint, if murals should be allowed to contain product advertising and logos. Mr. Schalk said yes, absolutely. Mayor Woodward said some of the new 3-D types of murals are incredible. Mr. Jefferson said making the distinction between art and advertising is very difficult. Mr. Schalk said he would approve both. No big company that is going to sponsor or allow you to present their product is going to allow you to do it poorly. They will have content restrictions and in most cases it is going to be tasteful and appropriate . Chair Lonborg said we can 't regulate that and you are assuming its all national sponsors that will do this, but she said she believes that's probably not the case with the small ' ACE January 14, 2010 Page 3 • businesses in Englewood . They may hire their next door neighbor who is a graffiti artist to paint what he thinks is a cool mural, but you may not. Mr. Schalk said he doesn't want to take that freedom away from the people. Mayor Woodward said that's art. What one person dislikes another may think is really great. Ms. Mello asked if it would be possible to get some information from the City of Denver to review. Mr. Schalk asked if someone from Denver could attend an ACE meeting in person instead of reading it in the Code. Chair Lonborg said she is fine with taking more time to discuss and think about this issue. She would like to get information from a City that does this really well. Maybe that is Denver; she doesn't know. Mr. Schalk said there is a town in Canada that is really proactive and does a good job. They found that an artistic mural stops tagging . Mayor Woodward said Pueblo has done the same thing. Mayor Woodward noted the Comp Plan promotes cultural art and entertainment in the City. Chair Lonborg said then do we allow any and every business to have a mural or do we want to have designated areas in the City where they are allowed . Mr. Schalk said yes, you allow it. For the past few months we have had a moratorium on the enforcement of temporary signs and what have you seen? No one has gone crazy. When you start putting • restrictions on murals you restrict creativity. • Ms. Mello said as expensive as murals are people are not going to waste their money to put up something crappy. It's not cheap advertisement. Chair Lonborg asked if a logo is used, does it become a sign. Do we care? Ms. Mello said it would not bother her to have a logo used . Ms. Espinoza said she would consider it advertising. Mayor Woodward said the mural that comes to his mind in the City and is grandfathered in is the Liquor Barn . He said personally he has not heard anyone complain or be offended by it; he has heard compliments. Mr. Schalk said he feels it is a little cheesy personally. Mayor Woodward said it is better than a white wall. Mr. Schalk agreed. Whether or not it is advertising was discussed . Chair Lonborg said from a pro-business standpoint, who cares. Other members agreed. A motion was made by McDermott, seconded by Schalk to consider leaving the current code definition for Wall Mural as is with the exception of allowing murals throughout the City and allowing advertisement of a product on them . Chair Lonborg said the question on the table is does the mural count towards a business 's permanent signage allotment. She also wanted to know if the mural would be restricted to • • • ACE January 14, 2010 Page4 the business there or could they advertise another product. Does the mural have to be restricted to the business who owns the wall? Mr. Schalk said he felt it can't be part of the permanent square footage; the City will never get any murals. You have to be able to advertise other products. He stated he has been approached to place advertisement on the side of his building for a good sum of money. Why shouldn 't I be allowed to do that? Director White stated third party signs are currently prohibited in the City. Ms. Espinoza stated there are murals in Pueblo that use block letters and they are beautiful. Several suggested taking a road trip to visit some of the areas that allow murals . Chair Lonborg asked if someone does take a trip that they take pictures to show everyone. After discussion the motion was tabled until further information can be considered . The issue will be put on the March agenda . Chair Lonborg asked if the rest of ACE's feedback has been passed on to the Planning and Zoning Commission . Mr. Hollingsworth said yes , it has been given to Planning and Zoning. ~ ENGLEWOODSITES.COM Mr. Hollingsworth gave a demonstration of the current englewoodsites.com real estate database and proposed updates. Englewoodsites .com was started in 2005 and has been a major part of the City's economic development efforts for business attraction, retention and expansion . The site currently has 135 listings and every few months all brokers are contacted to verify information is correct. The updated version will launch at the end of January and City Council will be receiving an update on February 8th. Mayor Woodward asked if the new version would have a link to the County Assessor 's office. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that Staff will work with GIS Planning to include this feature as part of the updated version. Mr. Jefferson said he thinks Staff does a fantastic job of keeping the information current. The value is really in the accurate and updated information . Mayor Woodward noted englewoodsites.com won a national award a few years ago . 111. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE t?lJ Ms. Mello stated the new city maps are complete and are being distributed. The dining guide will be out soon . • • • • ACE January 14, 2010 Page 5 BID COMMENTS ttlJ Mr. Vasilas updated the members on BID activity. The BID held a meeting last Monday night. Mr. Schalk hosted the event and provided food and drink. Mr. Vasilas thanked Mr. Schalk. Mr. Schalk said you're very welcome. The domain name the BID chose was already taken. There will be a board meeting next Wednesday to choose another name. The website is currently being worked on and the video has been completed. As soon as a name is chosen for the area we can start marketing and advertising. ACE MEMBERS !t] Mr . Vasi las noted he would be out of town and unable to attend the February 11th meeting. STAFF COMMENTS ~ Chair Lonborg asked if there were any applicants for the vacant ACE positions. Mayor Woodward said appointments will be made in February. Mr. Hollingsworth said the property at 101 West Floyd has been sold to the owner of a Mac Store in Denver. He will occupy 6,000 square feet and Table Steaks is currently operating in the remaining 12,000 square feet. Mayor Woodward noted the Broadway post office may be closed and the building sold. He said comments are being taken through January 15, 2010. Mr . Vasi las said the closure would be a big loss for the City . No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at 1 :17 p.m . _The next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2010. Barbara Krecklo , Recording Secretary