CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION AGENDA ITEM 7 SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 – A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT TO ALLOW FOR A MURAL ON AN INDUSTRIALLY ZONED PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1501 EMPIRE ROAD continued from 8/17/21 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PRESENTED BY: KIM BAUER, HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLANNER VINCINITY MAP: ad o Courtesy Road REQUEST: The applicant, Paul Dreyer of Avid4 Adventure, requests approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for a mural on the south elevation of their building, located at 1501 Empire Road. There is an existing, non-confirming sign that was installed without a permit on the property. The applicant is proposing to install a code compliant sign separate from the mural and redesign the existing sign to remove all commercial advertising language to match the definition of mural as written in the Sign Code, which is as follows: CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PAGE 2 OF 7 x Mural means a sign in a non-residential area which consists of a picture or graphic illustration applied directly to a wall of a building or structure that does not advertise or promote a particular business, service, or product. The requested mural would be 7’-9” tall by 70’-0” wide, the same size as the current sign shown in the photo below. BACKGROUND: On February 1, 2020, Avid4 Adventure began leasing space as a tenant from the City of Louisville, who is the owner of 1501 Empire Road. This property is the former location of the City Services facility and yard and the City retained ownership when City Services was relocated to the Colorado Tech Center in 2015. In the fall of 2020, as a response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Louisville offered Recovery & lmprovement Matching Grants. Avid4 Adventure received a grant of $10,000 in matching funds for their work proposing to complete exterior work and install new signage. The existing sign, which includes advertising for their particular business was installed without a sign permit application. In response to staff informing the applicant that murals are not allowed and that their sign exceeded the maximum allowed size, the applicant has requested approval to keep a mural, but provide only picture or graphic illustrations. The applicant also applied for and received approval of a separate wall sign that meets the sign code, which will be installed following a decision on the mural application. Figure 1: Photo of the Subject Property with the existing non-conforming sign The City adopted the current sign code in 2019, which expanded wall sign allowances for Industrial zoned properties, and expanded mural allowances throughout the city. The current code does not permit murals on Industrial property, but allows them in CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PAGE 3 OF 7 Commercial, Mixed-Use and Downtown. To date, the city has not processed an application for a PUD Amendment to allow a mural. During the development of the current sign code, standards for Industrial property were primarily crafted with consideration of the Colorado Technology Center (CTC) context, where it was determined that murals were generally not appropriate. PROPOSAL: The applicant requests approval of a mural that would be the same size and location as the existing large wall sign that was installed without a permit. The sign would be refaced with a new design that does not include commercial speech, thus meeting the standard to be considered a mural. The mural would be oriented toward Empire Road, facing south. The mural is 7.75’ tall x 70’ wide, for a total area of 542.5 sq. ft. The southern elevation of the structure is set back roughly 170 feet from the south property line. Because the city owns the property, the Economic Vitality Director has authorized the application and submitted a letter of support for the application, provided as an attachment. The proposed design is shown on the PUD and depicted in the image below. Figure 2: Mural Details, Page 1 of the PUD The new code-compliant sign would be located lower on the front of the building below the mural. This sign is 2.5’ tall x 7.8’ wide, for a total sign area of 19.6 sq. ft. Figure 3: Photos of the code compliant wall sign proposed CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PAGE 4 OF 7 ANALYSIS: The property is subject to the City of Louisville Sign Code. Within this code, murals are regulated under Section 4: Permanent Signs; 4.8 Murals and are subject to the following standards: 1. This section applies to murals on non-residential sites. 2. Murals may be located on a principal or accessory structure facade, or other structure within a site. 3. Murals may be placed on all building facades other than facades oriented to the primary street frontage. The current proposed mural for Avid4 Adventure meets two of the three standards above, as it is located on a non-residential site and it is located on the principal structure. However, the proposed mural does not meet the following standards set forth by Section 4.8, as the subject property itself is zoned Industrial and the mural is oriented to the primary street frontage. Sign Code Standards for Murals, Section 4.8 Section 4.11c sets the regulations for Wall Signs in Industrial Areas and includes the following standards: CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PAGE 5 OF 7 1. Wall signs may be located on primary and secondary public street frontages. Only one primary frontage shall be designated per site. Sites may have more than one secondary frontage. 2. In addition to the signs in this section, buildings with public rear entrances may have a six (6) sf unlit sign above each entrance, one (1) per tenant. 3. Cabinet signs are not permitted. Sign Code Standards for Wall Signs, Section 4.11c. Section 2.3 of the sign code sets forth the criteria for modifications and waivers. a. The proposed sign(s) shall encourage excellence in design, exhibit improved creativity, promote community aesthetics, and be appropriate with the character of the area. Staff finds that the proposed mural, featuring a design with outdoor adventurers in front of a backdrop of the mountains improves both the aesthetics and creativity of the site area. During the development of the current sign code, many residents expressed their opinion of murals in a positive manner. While murals are not allowed by code in the Industrial zone, a mural of this moderate size, in context to the larger building, would promote an artistic character for the site area. Staff finds the proposal meets this criterion. b. The proposed sign(s) shall be compatible with the color, materials, and design of the on-site building(s). As the proposed mural is artistic and illustrative in nature, staff determines the colors of the mural to be compatible with the building. Because the proposed mural is designed to fit on a portion of the building overhang, staff also finds it is compatible with the CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 58, SERIES 2021 DATE: AUGUST 24, 2021 PAGE 6 OF 7 materials and design of the building. Additionally, this Industrial zone is unique and differs from other Industrial zones such as the CTC in its proximity to Downtown Louisville and the Highway 42 corridor. With many of our City’s murals already residing in Downtown, staff determines that this mural will help provide an artistic connection between this building and provides a compatible design within the context of the area overall. Staff finds the proposal meets this criterion. c. The proposed signs(s) shall be scaled and located in a manner that is compatible with the scale of the lot and the massing of the building(s), with consideration of legibility of copy area. Because the proposed design is a mural, there is no legible copy area by definition. Staff does find that proposed is compatible with the scale and massing of the building since it is proposed to be the same height as the overhanging wall feature on which it is installed and does not extend beyond the street frontage elevation onto any side elevation. Staff finds the proposal meets this criterion. d. The proposed sign(s) are otherwise in conformance with the regulations of this chapter and applicable design guidelines respecting the size, height, location, design, and appearance of the sign(s) involved. The Industrial section of the sign code does not contemplate size or appearance for murals. However, because the changes to the proposed mural will not include any commercial language or promotion, staff finds that the proposal fits the definition of a mural, and that the proposed size and design would easily meet code requirements in any other non-residential zone as it covers roughly 13% of the façade, far below the 75% or 100% of other area maximums. Staff finds the proposal meets this criterion. PUBLIC COMMENT: Staff has not received any public comments regarding the request. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the City resulting from the installation of a mural at 1501 Empire Road. PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS: The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the request on July 8, 2021 and voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the request. The minutes from this meeting are included as attachment 5. STAFF RECOMMENDATON: Staff recommends approval of Resolution 58, Series 2021, approving a Planned Unit Development to allow for a mural on an industrially zoned property located at 1501 Empire Road.