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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWork Study Packet 04-12-05Document in C4-12-05.obd Page 1 of 1 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. ƒThe Fountain Hills Times advertised 653 sales for the year ƒSingle family sales - 557 ƒMulti-family or Organization sales - 96 ƒGarage sales held in planned developments that have organized community-wide sales held on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule. ƒSales 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. ƒCode Enforcement alters Friday work schedules to come in on Saturdays to collect illegal signs. Some weekends Code Enforcement collects 30 to 40 illegal signs. ƒRespond to calls concerning more than four sales per year at a single dwelling unit. ƒConfiscated 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