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NOTICE OF THE
WORK STUDY SESSION OF
THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
Mayor Wally Nichols
Councilman Mike Archambault Councilwoman Keith McMahan
Councilman John Kavanagh Vice Mayor Kathleen Nicola
Councilman Ed Kehe Councilman Jay Schlum
TIME: 5:00 – 7:00 P.M.
WHEN: TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2005
WHERE: COMMUNITY CENTER
13001 N. LA MONTANA DR. (BALLROOM #1)
WORK-STUDY SESSION AGENDA
ALL WORK-STUDY ITEMS LISTED ARE FOR DISCUSSION ONLY. NO ACTION CAN OR WILL BE TAKEN. The primary
purpose of work session meetings is to provide the Town Council with the opportunity for in-depth discussion and study of specific subjects.
Public comment is not provided for on the Agenda and may be made only as approved by consensus of the Council. In appropriate
circumstances, a brief presentation may be permitted by a member of the public or another interested party on an Agenda item if invited by the
Mayor or the Town Manager to do so. The Presiding Officer may limit or end the time for such presentations.
1.) CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL – Mayor Nichols
2.) DISCUSSION of garage sales and garage sale signage.
3.) ADJOURNMENT.
DATED this 9th day of April, 2005.
By: Bevelyn J. Bender, Town Clerk
The Town of Fountain Hills endeavors to make all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Please call 837-2003 (voice) or 1-800-367-8939
(TDD) 48 hours prior to the meeting to request a reasonable accommodation to attend this meeting or to obtain agenda information in large print format.
Supporting documentation and staff reports furnished the council with this agenda are available for review in the Clerk’s office.
Town of Fountain Hills
Town Council Agenda Action Form
Meeting Type: Worksession Meeting Date: April 12, 2005
Submitting Department: Planning and Zoning Contact Person: Richard Turner
Consent: Regular: Requesting Action: Report Only:
Type of Document Needing Approval (Check all that apply):
Public Hearing Resolution Ordinance
Agreement Emergency Clause Special Event Permit
Special Consideration Intergovernmental Agreement Acceptance
Grant Submission Liquor/Bingo License Application Plat
Special Event Permit Special/Temp Use Permit
Other:
Council Priority (Check Appropriate Areas):
Education Public Fitness Library Services
Public Safety Community Activities Economic Development
Public Works Human Service Needs Parks & Recreation
Town Elections Community Development Finance
Regular Agenda Wording:Discussion of Garage Sales and Signage
Staff Recommendation: See PowerPoint Fiscal Impact: Yes $Approximately $1,500 per year
Purpose of Item and Background Information:A few months back staff started to receive a number of
complaints from citizens about garage sales and signage. Then council received a letter and pictures from a
concerned citizen that was upset with the aesthetics of these signs. Staff has investigated complaints concerning
garage sales and signage. We will be presenting information on the number of sales, the Town’s regulations, how
we are dealing with complaints about sales and signage, how other communities deal with issues, options to our
present regulations and pro’s and con’s of these options. We will present our recommendation, for community-
wide garage sales, and outline the advantages and hurdles to this approach. We will also relay some feedback we
have received from some in the community to this idea.
List All Attachments as Follows:PowerPoint presentation, citizen letter and picture and sample flyer for Town-
wide garage sales
Type(s) of Presentation:Powerpoint
Signatures of Submitting Staff:
____________________________ _____________________________________
Department Head Budget Review
(if item not budgeted or exceeds budget amount)
____________________________
Town Manager
April 12, 2005
Town of Fountain Hills
Council Work Study Session
Garage Sales and Signage
Illegal Garage Sale Signs Collected March 28, 2005
Continued - March 28 & April 2, 2005
Continued – April 2, 2005
Town Council Work Study Session
History of Issues: Garage Sales and Signage
1. Each code enforcement officer worked once every other
month on Saturdays collecting illegal signs. Then the council
and code enforcement started to receive packets with
photographs from concerned citizen.
2. Code enforcement officers step up enforcement by altering
Friday work schedules and working Saturday mornings
collecting illegal signs. Code enforcement has continued
receiving complaints from concerned citizens.
3. Sales are usually held over a 3 day period. When code
enforcement is not on shift then the signs continue to come
out. Additional signs for sales even returned after they have
been confiscated and destroyed.
Garage Sales for 2004
How many are there?
The Fountain Hills Times classified advertisement section was checked in 2004.
The Fountain Hills Times advertised 653 sales for the year
Single family sales - 557
Multi-family or Organization sales - 96
Garage sales held in planned developments that have organized
community-wide sales held on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule.
Sales that are not advertised in the local paper.
Exclusions:
Current Rules for
When and Where Sales can be Held
•The garage sale can only be conducted within
the property holding the sale.
•The garage sale must sell only items that are
primarily surplus to the residential use.
•The sale shall only be held for 3 consecutive days
and only 4 times per year in the same dwelling
unit.
•The sale and related activity shall be limited to
the hours between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Placement and Size of Signs
•Signs must set 3 feet behind the curb and no signs in the
medians.
•No signs on Shea Blvd.
•One sign every 300 feet per roadway with the same message.
•5 signs per destination.
•Signs displayed between sunrise and sunset.
•Maximum size 4.5 feet and minimum size is 4 feet.
•Maximum height 3 feet.
•Signs may only be constructed of wrought iron, sheet metal, 1/8
inch thick plastic or of wood that is at least 3/8 of an inch thick.
Problems with the current situation
•Different regulations for businesses and churches than
residence.
•Not enough staff to cover required shifts for illegal sign
collection.
•No incentive for residence to abide by current regulations.
•Signage returns after enforcement hours have passed.
Code Enforcement alters Friday work schedules to come in
on Saturdays to collect illegal signs. Some weekends Code
Enforcement collects 30 to 40 illegal signs.
Respond to calls concerning more than four sales per year at a
single dwelling unit.
Confiscated signs are returned to the owner or disposed of.
Preventative Measures Conducted by
Code Enforcement Services
Code Enforcement Services
Realtor
“If we have to abide by the rules then we should not allow
these garage sale signs to clutter up the streets.”
Church
“You folks won’t allow us to put out a banner for advertising
youth programs, but you allow the town to be inundated with
garage sale signs every weekend. I don’t think that’s right.”
Citizen
“Just about every weekend I have people taking rocks from
my yard to hold up those hideous garage sale signs, I’m tired
of it. Can’t the Town do something about this.”
Complaints from the Community:
Comparisons to Other Upscale Communities
Kirkland, WA (pop.43,720)
Sign can only be displayed on
the property holding the sale.
Carefree, AZ (pop. 3,000)
Sign can only be displayed on
the property holding the sale.
A $100 permit is required.
New Braunfels, TX (pop. 36,494)
Sign can only be displayed on
the property holding the sale.
Paradise Valley, AZ(pop. 13,644)
Signs are only allowed with a
permit.
Richmond Hts, MO. (pop. 9,500)
Sign can only be displayed on
the property holding the sale.
The sale must be conducted in
the rear yard of the home.
Inver Grove Hts, MN (pop. 30,000)
Sign can only be displayed on
the property holding the sale.
Note: All Towns and Cities have a limit on the amount of garage sales that can be held in a year.
Options to the Solve Problem
1. Central kiosk that would locate and advertise sales.
•One sign per sale located on the property holding the sale.
•Four sales per year per dwelling unit.
2. Community-wide sales.
•One sign per sale located on the property holding the sale.
•2-4 sales per year.
3. Not allowing garage sales.
4. Keep existing code and increase enforcement by
adding staff.
5. Do Nothing.
1. Central kiosk.
•P – Helps eliminate signs, provides a central location for
advertisement and a locater map for sales.
•C – Cost of kiosk and maintenance.
2. Community-wide sales.
•P – Helps eliminate signs, controls amount of sales every
weekend and may help local businesses such as
restaurants or other retail shops.
•C – Increased traffic, additional burden for Town staff,
cost for advertisement and other associated cost.
Pro’s & Con’s
3. Not allowing garage sales.
•P – No Signs and no traffic.
•C – Little community support.
4. Keeping existing code and increase enforcement by
adding additional staff.
•P – Fewer illegal signs.
•C – Increase cost for additional enforcement officer.
5. Do nothing
•P – No additional cost.
•C – Continued complaints and continued sign collections.
Pro’s and Con’s Continued
Community-wide sales
•Limited number of events per year
Staff Recommendations
•Town provides newspaper advertisement.
•Cost is less than $1500 per year.
•Registration through the P&R department.
•More customers for sales because there
are more sales on one day.
•Improves the beauty of the Town by
removing sign clutter.
•Nuisances caused by sales are limited to
sale weekends.
Community-wide sales
Advantages
•Sales can become a Community event.
•May help local businesses by increasing
potential customers on sale weekends.
•Realtors and residents abide by the same
rules.
•Enforcement made easier and less costly.
Advantages Continued
•Dissemination of information of
change.
•Changing mindset.
•Regulation changes.
•Establish procedures.
Hurdles to Overcome
•6 month education process
•Community notification.
•Press release, channel 11 and the Town’s
website.
•Take out an ad in the garage sale
section of the Times.
•Open house meetings.
Implementation
Feedback From Our Community on
Town-Wide sales.
Fountain Hills Christian Center
Would support this activity 100%
“Put us down for a big Yes! What
a great idea.”
Fountain Hills Senior Center
“Count us in! Unsold items could
be donated to Goodwill Industries.
A great tax write off. This would
be a great thing to do. Other
communities do it like McDowell
Mt. Ranch”.
Community Theater Youth
Group
They would like to take part.
Barbara Moran “Ladies in
the Hood”
Organization of 40 women
That meet monthly. They
were looking at organizing
something like this. “Count us
in!”
United Methodist Church
“We think it would be a good idea and
would like to take part in this”.
Marianne Wiggishoff (Capital Consultants)
Standard signs are used.
Properties Managed:FireRock CC. A gated community, no sales
allowed. Sunridge Canyon, two community sales per year.
Dave Henderson (Red Mt. Management, LLC)
“A Town policy created for a Town-wide sale would be a good thing.
But not allowing individual HOA’s to govern what they want to do as a
community is not.”
Properties managed:Crestview, Westridge, Stoneridge and Eagle
Ridge.
Michael Latz (Golden Valley Property Management)
“Having Community-wide, publicized garage sales would really draw
non-Fountain Hills people to the community and increase traffic at
businesses, including restaurants.
30 properties in Fountain Hills.
Feedback Continued
Photographs of illegal signs
taken by a citizen complainant.
•Illegally placed
•Constructed
•Left out overnight