Augustana Lutheran’s proposed sign on sleepy Prairie Avenue.
Good News Church’s proposed sign on a very busy 4-lane, 26th Street.
I don’t need to tell you about the hypocrisy and irony of city government, it’s the reason I blog. But sometimes things stick out like a sore thumb.
Take for instance the city council’s reconsideration of the sign Augustana Lutheran is proposing (Item #21). The Planning Commission voted it down 7-0, the Planning Department also recommended denial, even though only a couple of people in the neighborhood were against it due to ‘distraction and lighting’ issues, even though the church has vowed to not make the sign animated (static changing messages) and it would shut off at 10Â PM at night.
But only a month later, look at the Planning Commission’s agenda (Item #6). A proposed digital sign by a church in a residential area on a very busy street. The Planning Commission recommends approval. While I don’t disagree with them, why is this sign OK by a church, in a residential area on a very busy street, but not the very subtle, historical looking, Augustana sign in a residential area?
While I am all for historical neighborhoods trying to retain historical aspects, I also look at two factors; Does the sign at Augustana take away anything from the historical neighborhood or distract from it? Not at all.
Does the sign harm the traffic flow or the historical nature of the traffic flow? Not even close. While Prairie Avenue is mildly busy, I don’t see anyone distracted by a static sign that gets shut off at 10 PM.
Like the code enforcement office, the planning department seems to make decisions based on the influence of certain people with fat wallets.
Hopefully the city council sends the planning department packing and approves the Augustana AND the Good News sign.