4917 Eden Avenue, Sign Variance

No Variance, please. We have very clear ordnances against these kinds of apartment building signs. This will set a precedent that other developers will point to and lead to more anti-resident recommendations from a staff that cares more about appeasing developers than following rules and asking developers to do the same. Staff trust is at an all time lows due to instance after instance like this of recommendations that clearly alter the character of the city and flout the rules at the expense of current residents in favor of developers. It’s not right, the city council needs to take a firm stance and be clear that the city's staff job is not to make life worse for the residents of Edina while doing everything they can to help outside parties. Residents should not have to constantly weigh in on variances brought by developers as these should be the exception, but in Edina, lately, it’s the rule. Developers need to play by the rules if they wish to build in Edina. Let’s keep Edina in demand by up holding the rules in place that make this such a desirable city to live in and develop. Please again, vote no on this variance and please reiterate to staff to tell developers to play by the rules.
Exceptions should only be in the case of a clear resident benefit. As mayor Hovland has said, staff should ask “what’s the resident ROI?”
Thank you,

No variance, please!

The sign request appears to be very self serving by the developer with only negative impact for city residents. Developers must abide by current zoning laws.

An illuminated sign on the Maison Green apartment building would be a distraction, create light pollution and detract from the character of Edina - this is not the Las Vegas Strip. Please listen to residents and do not approve the Maison Green sign variance. Going forward, please ensure that zoning is followed - that is a basic requirement of city officials.

No variance, please!
This building advertising sign is a roadside distraction and poses a safety hazard for Edina residents and visitors.

Roadside objects, such as the advertising sign proposed by the Maison Green apartment complex, are a distraction for motorists.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that "[a]bout 3,000 people die in auto accidents due to distracted driving every year." In 2021, the Minnesota Department of Transportation found that distracted driving contributed to 2,165 injuries and 26 deaths. In four years, 2017-2021, "one in nine crashes" were due to distracted drivers.

Driver distraction, according to the NHTSA, is a form of inattention in which a driver "is delayed in the recognition of information needed to safely accomplish the driving task because some event, activity, object, or person within or outside the vehicle compels or induces the driver’s shifting attention away from the driving task.”

As Senator Amy Klobuchar noted about distracted driving, “We all know that five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road . . . which means for a diver traveling 55 miles per hour, you actually are going the length of a football field blindfolded" (Edina Sun Current).

Edina’s Mayor, City Council, Commissioners, City Manager & Staff have a duty to encourage drivers to stay focused. In other words, look straight ahead, not up 1000 ft to see a building sign!

Removed by moderator.

No variance, this is not good for our climate action plan and it sets precedent for all of the other projects that council has approved in the area. We have gps that can get people to their destination we don’t need large annoying glowing signs in a residential area. Please do not allow this variance.

My Name is Susan Lee. I reside at 6708 POINT DR.

It is the duty of the Planning Staff to first and foremost enforce the current City zoning ordinances.
When Staff prepares a report for our volunteer boards and commissions, diligence must be used to provide a complete disclosure of the full meaning of the ordinance and of the requirements to enforce current zoning. A variance is a serious matter because it can expose the City to setting a future precedent for even more variances to follow.
Edina zoning code Chapter 36 Article XIII title, “SIGNS" states that, “the purpose of this article is to PROTECT and promote the GENERAL WELFARE, health, safety and order within the city through the establishment of a comprehensive and impartial series of standards, regulations and procedures governing the erection, use and display of devices, signs or symbols.
It goes on to further emphasize that Article XIII is intended to “ensure that the public is not endangered, ANNOYED OR DISTRACTED by the unsafe, disorderly, INDISCRIMINATE OR UNNECESSARY use of such communicative facilities.
No illuminated signs for multifamily residential towers have previously been permitted. None of the following multi-story residential buildings have such signage today: Point of France, Aria, One Southdale Place, Onyx, The Bower, Avidor.
The closest analogy would be the Westin Hotel, which embodies all of the reasons why towers in Edina should not be permitted to have illuminated signage visible at night at the top of the building. The illuminated Westin sign can be seen more than a mile away, visible to the entire Cornelia neighborhood to the west and the City of Richfield residential neighborhoods to the east. Because the Maison Green building is literally located at the highest point on highway 100 This illuminated sign will be visible at night to the low-rise single-family neighborhoods west of highway 100 including Melody Lake, Birchcrest and those southeast of 100: Golf Terrace Heights and the Concord neighborhood.
How does this correlate with “ensuring that the public is not annoyed or distracted by the indiscriminate or unnecessary use” of signs?
The Findings in the Staff report cite the location of the building on highway 100 as the source of the practical difficulty. There is simply no difficulty in being located at the top of a hill, completely unblocked by any other structures. The request was found to be reasonable, with the implication that those on a highway are looking around for building signage. As we all know, GPS mapping is ubiquitous in cars and cell phone apps. Very few people use paper maps or even look for building signage. The size of the sign is NOT reasonable given that it will be ILLUMINATED and have an unobstructed clear path of viewing towards many key residential areas due to its enormous height. The building itself has already altered the essential character of the neighborhood. For Staff to conclude in their report that an illuminated sign will not alter the character further is doing a great disservice to all residents.
I ask that the Council respond affirmatively to this appeal request and overturn the granting of the variance. I also ask that the Council hold the City Manager and his staff accountable to prioritizing the needs of City residents ahead of the needs of developers. Thank you.