SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2021 | 9A
MEETING from page 1A
was a sticking point, as
FarleyCampbell pointed
to the Lovejoy’s logo in the
proposed mural as more
informational then allowed
by code.
“The written part of the
mural reading ‘Lovejoy’s ...
Since 1994’ that intends to
communicate a message
does not meet the defini-
tion of a mural but rather
a ‘sign’ and is subject to
FCC 4-7 Sign Regulations,
specifically for wall sig-
nage,” she said. “The ap-
plicant shall apply to the
City Building Division for
a sign permit and receive
approval prior to applying
the informational message
to the wall.”
The image provided by
Burnem of the finished
piece was large and color-
ful, showing spectacular
scenes from London and
the surrounding area. This
treatment of the London
imagery also met two of
the main elements of the
Mural Code according to
staff; the mural may reflect
the diversity of the world
and the mural may reflect
historic, cultural or natu-
ral heritage, which it does
as Lovejoy’s, is a British
themed restaurant.
Another of the criteria
which ultimately led to
staff recommendations to
approve the request, was
the fact that the mural will
not adversely dominate the
building or surrounding
areas and is harmonious
with the scale, color, de-
tails, materials and propor-
tion of the building.
“The intersection in-
cludes only two structures
whereby the other two
properties have parking
lots. The surrounding
buildings both along Nopal
and opposite are all single
story. This building serves
as the focal point for the
intersection and immedi-
ate area,” FarleyCampbell
said. “As proposed, the
mural would be the main
event on Nopal Street but
would not dominate the
surrounding area due to
the other visual elements
around the area such as the
port parking lot and sever-
al three-story buildings to
the east along First Street.”
The review of the ap-
plication was most con-
cerning to Councilor Sally
Wantz who was concerned
the mural was more of a
billboard than an image.
Wantz also mentioned
what she felt was the ten-
uous connection between
the image and Florence.
“As evidenced by the
placement of their logo
in the right corner of the
mural, the applicant ful-
ly intended to advertise
their business,” Wantz said.
“Tourists may wonder
what this has to do with
Florence, its history or its
culture, or it may cause
them to explore to find out
what that is.”
Her concerns also ex-
tended to the manner in
which the mural would
blend in thematically with
other structures and with
the neighborhood.
Shane Burnem, who
owns
Lovejoy’s
with
Heather, was on hand for
this part of the meeting,
and suggested the allure
of London was the type of
image which would draw
visitors to Old Town.
“It is an image that is de-
signed to take you some-
place, and being a business
here in town … we want
Florence to be successful,
we want it to be a destina-
tion town and we want it
to be vibrant … and that
is what we are trying to
do with this mural,” Shane
said.
FarleyCampbell
in-
formed councilors the
applicants would need to
have any alterations or
changes to the mural ap-
proved, as well as getting
approval for the sign por-
tion of the aspect.
After recap of the options
available to the council and
acceptance of the condi-
tions mandated by Farley-
Campbell and accepted
by the Burnems, the ap-
plication was approved on
a vote of 4-1, with Wantz
voting against.
Road closures requested
by two applicants were the
next major topic of the eve-
ning.
The first request con-
sidered was submitted by
Crossroads Church re-
garding a proposed clo-
sure along Maple Street
from Ninth to 10th Street
on Sunday, Sept. 12, from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for an As-
sembly of God Church
Tailgate Party.
City Finance Manager
Lezlea Purcell walked the
council through the pro-
cess used to determine the
staff recommendations, as
she did for the next request
from Gary Cargill, repre-
senting Rods N Rhodies,
Inc.
Included in the informa-
tion packet for the meeting
was a statement from Se-
nior Pastor Dale Edwards
which described what the
church was planning if the
request was granted.
“We are planning an
event for Sept., and will
be holding it in our east
parking lot, as well as our
main campus, both of
which are located between
Ninth and 10th streets on
Maple Street,” Edwards
said. “This is an event to
re-connect our congrega-
tion and neighborhood
due to COVID shutdown
and limited in-person ser-
vices. We are making an
invitation to both fire and
police for personal and
equipment for PR for that
day and we will have our
security team in charge of
parking and traffic issues
on premise, as well as first
aid.”
The application included
information on traffic flow,
first aid and sanitation sta-
tions.
There were few ques-
tions from councilors and
the approval on the Cross-
roads Church request was
granted on a unanimous
vote.
Cargill’s request for clo-
sure was more expansive,
as he was seeking approval
of a street closure for the
Rods N Rhodies Invita-
tional Car Show Car Show
and Benefit in Historic Old
Town, along Bay Street
beginning at the Siuslaw
Bridge down to the port
parking area. The area also
includes blocks of First,
Laurel, Maple and Nopal
streets and Old Town Way.
The event will take place
Saturday, Sept. 11, with
some activities occurring
the night before.
Rods N Rhodies which
has a long history of bring-
ing dozens of classic cars to
Old Town for this annual
September event.
“This event has a histo-
ry of bringing tourists and
visitors to Old Town Flor-
ence that would not ordi-
narily be here. If anything,
we usually have a problem
of restaurants not being
able to keep up with the
demand during the show,”
Cargill said. “We have
asked several restaurants if
they would consider open-
ing early for breakfast, es-
pecially for the car show
participants that arrive
early. With most Old Town
businesses sponsoring an
award, they know from ex-
perience that they will be
busy all day. We have also
allowed for the continued
use of several Bay Street
parking spaces by restau-
rants in our car calculation
so their businesses will not
be restricted.”
The councilors expressed
familiarity with the event
and related questions were
limited before the unani-
mous vote to approve the
street closure application.
The Florence City Coun-
cil Special Meeting also
included a consent agenda
for a number of projects
which have already re-
ceived the go ahead at pre-
vious council meetings.
These costs included
$95,640 for the installation
and extension of water and
sewer lines on Xylo Street
south of Coastal Highlands
development; $32,096 to
Day Wireless to provide
and install two remote dis-
patch consoles at Siuslaw
Valley Fire and Rescue;
and $54,412 to Dell to pro-
vide and install two VxRail
computer nodes.
In addition, FarleyCa-
mpbell’s request to apply
for a grant from the De-
partment of Land Conser-
vation and Development
was approved in the form
of Resolution No. 30.
Resolution No. 31 was an
authorization to apply for
the Green Legacy Hiroshi-
ma Peace Tree program for
the placement of a peace
tree in a public location,
and it was also approved.
Council reports dis-
cussed the ongoing chal-
lenges facing small munic-
ipalities and the difficulty
restaurant owners are hav-
ing purchasing and re-
ceiving food items and the
need to assist those busi-
ness owners.
Senior Economic De-
velopment Analyst Sarah
Moehrke and city staff have
been communicating with
partners at the county and
state levels to find resourc-
es to support the local food
and beverage community.
Restaurants in need of
resources, can contact
Moehrke at sarah.moeh-
rke@ci.florence.or.us for
more information.
At the end of the meet-
ing, Florence City Manag-
er Erin Reynolds gave the
council an update on the
current COVID situation,
which necessitated the can-
celling of Wednesday’s 25th
anniversary celebration for
the Florence Events Center.
She also passed along a
message from administra-
tors at PeaceHealth Peace
Harbor Medical Center,
which is in “crisis mode,”
and said they are asking
the public to get vaccinat-
ed and to be kind to local
health care workers.
For more information,
visit ci.florence.or.us.
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