On Tuesday, November 12th, the Hastings Planning Commission will consider a request from Dakota County to amend a sign variance request from Visual Communications, an agent for Dakota County, and make a recommendation to the City Council. The Dakota County Public Service Center campus is nearly 50 acres in size, contains several county functions, multiple large buildings, numerous building entrances, and has nearly ten different driveway entrances. In order to get visitors to their intended location, there are many wayfinding signs around the campus. They were likely installed prior to the current sign code which was adopted just over 15 years ago. The signs are fading and need to be updated. According to the meeting packet, the zoning code allows directional signs to be 4-feet tall with up to two square feet of signage. The main purpose for including directional signs in the code was for entrance and exit signs at driveways. Campus wayfinding signage was likely not contemplated in the sign code. In 2013, the Regina Hospital and Allina Specialty Clinic campus were granted a similar variance request for campus wayfinding signage due to their unique situation.
