A sign variance was approved for Taco John’s on South Broadway to allow an additional 44 square foot of signage.

NEW ULM — Upgrades at the Taco John’s restaurant led to a variance for unique signage.

A sign variance was approved for Taco John’s on South Broadway to allow an additional 44 square foot of signage.

Business owners Andrew and Nancy Lilleodden requested an additional 22 square feet per sign. In July, the planning commission tabled this variance request to allow the Lilleoddens to consider different options for the size of the sign and consult with Taco John’s corporate office. The commission also directed staff to review sign ordinances in other Minnesota communities.

City Planner John Knisley said sign regulations vary from city to city. Some communities measure signs differently and have different maximum allowable signs. The amount of signage per wall and the building architecture can be a factor.

Knisley said New Ulm’s sign ordinance is the clearest and most straightforward of communities researched.

New Ulm defines the surface area of a sign based on the entire area within a single continuous perimeter. The sign area is calculated by simply calculating the width and length of the sign. The total surface area of all business signs on a lot shall not exceed the sum of 200 square feet per linear foot of lot frontage or 10% of the building facing area, or an area of 75 square feet. Based on New Ulm’s recommendation, Taco John’s is allowed 200 square feet of signage. The plan submitted to the planning commission requested 235.75 square feet of signs. However, Taco John’s sign was made from individual letters pinned to the building, with some letters taller than others. This means the signage being measured is not a rectangle and a simple width by length area measurement adds surface area that doesn’t technically exist.

Andrew Lilleodden proposed not counting blank space. He asked the commission to think about what is physically considered a sign.

The commissioners were reluctant to accept a different sign measurement system, preferring the current method. At the same time, the commission was willing to grant a variance because of the unique nature of the property.

Commissioner Jeff Gulden said he believes the updates were an improvement to the building and the proposed signage was complimentary. But he is concerned this opens this city up to further variance requests.

Community Development Director David Schnobrich said the last business sign variance was done in 1986. Based on the limited number of variance requests, the city believes the code requirements are adequate.

Commissioner Larry Mack agreed it was a different situation because pin letters were not considered into the code. He supported the variance because it was a unique retrofit.

Gulden made a motion to recommend the variance, with a second from Commissioner Ashley Aukes.

The recommendation was unanimously approved allowing 235.75 square feet of signage. Lilleodden will need to return for additional sign variances.

Final approval of this recommendation will come before the city council, Tuesday.

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A variance for a 1.5-foot side yard setback for a 10 foot by 12-foot storage shed on a property at 125 S. State St. was recommended by the commission.

The city code requires a 10-foot side yard setback. The proposed new shed would be located 1.5 feet from the side property line and approximately 49 feet from the rear property line. There are no locations on the property for a building this size to be placed while maintaining required setbacks. No comments were received on this variance.

Knisley said other side yard setbacks have been approved in residentially zoned properties.

The commissioners approved the variance on the condition of city staff verifying the property boundaries and the location of the proposed building on the site before the placement of the building.