John Scarffe, Black Hawk.  Monarch Casino requested a Certificate of Appropriateness for a Comprehensive Sign Plan and a variance to the sign code during a regular meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at 211 Church Street. The Council also negotiated with Canyon Casino regarding changes in parking lot plans, which included the possible addition of a huge Black Hawk logo sign.

Vince Harris with Baseline Corporation and City staff introduced the two agenda items for the Monarch Casino and Hotel. The construction of the tower is closer to being done, so Monarch has requested a comprehensive sign plan. A couple of signs will be changed, and new signs will be placed on the tower.

Other than that, it’s the same as previously approved, Harris said, and staff recommended approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) with three standard conditions. The casino also is requesting a variance to accommodate 1,061 additional feet of the sign area because of the height of the building.

Isle of Capris was approved years ago, and staff recommends approval, Harris said. Staff also recommended approval of the variance to the sign area allowance of the Sign Code to allow an additional 1,061.6 square feet of sign area for the Comprehensive Sign Plan Amendment 2018 for Monarch Casino.

The City of Black Hawk received an application request for the COA from Monarch Growth, Inc. The request outlines a proposed amendment to a previously approved COA for the Comprehensive Sign Plan for the Monarch Casino located at 488 Main Street in Black Hawk, according to the request for Council Action.

The previous COA for the approved sign plan was passed on June 22, 2016, and administratively amended on April 18, 2017. Applicant David Farahi of Denver said they are tearing off existing façade and then will make the old property look the same as the new.

He said they are at the halfway point of constructing the tower, so they are doing the hotel floors, and every two weeks, they get another floor up. In the first three floors, they have a lobby, a casino on the second floor and a restaurant on the third floor.

“You don’t know what it feels like until you walk into the space. It’s much bigger than I thought,” Farahi said. The views in this area are second to none, so it’s exciting the design team was able to use the natural environment.

He is already talking about a Labor Day 2019 event to get people here who haven’t been here for a decade or more, and to come up here and see what it’s all about.” The Council approved both the COA and the variance.

Harris presented a COA and Site Development Plan for the Canyon Parking lot. A few months ago, the Council approved a parking garage for Canyon Casino, which has now submitted a new plan with a surface lot instead of a parking garage.

Staff members have been working on a subdivision plat, but they don’t have that today. Harris recommend the Council see the presentation and have the applicant come up, and then continue the hearing.

City Attorney Corey Hoffmann said this is for discussion to reach a resolution on the improvements and they would bring it back on August 8 or the following meeting. Canyon Casino has applied for a COA and Site Development Plan, and Subdivision Improvements Agreement (SIA) for the construction of a parking lot and associated improvements, according to the staff report.

As of July 19, 2018, the provided SIA to the City from the applicant is insufficient and yet to be in a form acceptable to staff to be able to make a recommendation to the City Council, according to the request.

The staff and the applicant will work toward an acceptable SIA and exhibits, but these documents will not be ready for the July 25 meeting. “Staff recommends that City Council open the public hearing, have staff and the applicant present the project, and take any public comments on the application if anyone desires, then continue this agenda item to a future City Council agenda in order to complete the City Council review and to make a decision on the proposed project.” according to the request.

Harris told the Council the excavation would continue as previously approved. Along with the new parking lot, they would include main street improvements and an updated SIA. The access point would be in the exact same location as the garage.

It would be a surface parking lot. The Dakota parking lot is next to that. That parking lot would connect to the new parking lot, Harris said. They will have open space and plaza areas. A transformer will have a screen around it.

The sculpted rock wall was completed, and he will finish another portion of the wall with a mesh screen and surface treatment. An additional cut is proposed to be done, and that was approved for the garage and is underway, Harris said.

Alderman Hal Midcap said that’s a huge wall there. Harris said it would be 110 feet in height from the very top of the cut to the rear and south portion of the site. Based on the city’s design guidelines, staff feels the existing rock wall and new portion of rock wall, since it will be visible, should be sculpted concrete to match the existing rock wall – the wedge.

This wall is not on the same as the other. Staff recommends the entire area be sculpted concrete. The garage was close enough to the street level.

Staff proposed a COA with conditions A through H, Harris said. Condition H is the difference between staff perspective and Canyon staff. Hoffmann reminded the Aldermen that they do not today have a subdivision agreement that has costs included or anything, so that’s why he recommends continuation.

Applicant Dave Gruenwald, Hudson Ohio, said he had a plan approved several months ago. “In the meantime, we decided corporately we were not going to pursue the garage for a variety reasons, so we changed plans for a surface parking lot.”

The garage was three levels with one below grade. “I think it’s fair to say, I have two issues with the recommendation,” he said

“Your code requires that I fix what I excavate, so I don’t understand the sculpted concrete. The only time the garage would have blocked the view of the wall is if you were standing on Main Street,” Gruenwald said.

The notion the garage would block the rocks is incorrect. “I think we’ve always tried to find common ground with the folks in this room. I know more about that wall than I care to know. For me it’s all about cost,” he said.

“This is a $13.5 million project, because we get to this wall. I’m going $2 million into the project. This wall has been there a long time, and we’re making improvements to Main Street for $10,000.

That wall is going to be plainly visible no matter what, so they are considering a sign with the Black Hawk logo with 25-foot-high letters. It’s a big sign, he said.

Our team likes the sign and is opposed to the sculpted concrete. They passed two walls on the way to Monarch. If they concrete that wall, it will cost $1 million, he said.

The sign would be lighted from above. “There is no sign like this,” Gruenwald said. “I spent the last two days talking to sign guys. Hopefully, we can find common ground. We are expecting to have trucks out there this week.”

Mayor David Spellman asked the Council to look at the sign addition. It is unique. ‘Eventually, we will need a building there. The idea came from the Hollywood sign. It will be iconic.”

Gruenwald said the sign is a spring activity. It will take three months to make the sign, and they will have to use epoxy and pins and will create an escrow account for the sign company.

Alderman Paul Bennett said: “We can’t make a decision on this now. I want to see it before I approve this. Alderman Jim Johnson said the rock will fall apart through the years.

Spellman said they will come back to the Aug. 8 meeting. Harris said the packet needs to be done by this Friday for August 8.

Hoffmann said the Council is authorized to look at this. It’s looking at the entire plan anew, safety and ethics so you are authorized whether it’s sculpted concrete or what.

Alderman Benito Torrez said they need to make sure the people who are parking there are safe. “Initially for now, it’s not up to us, because we are not specialists, but we should have some kind of a report that the safety considerations are taking care of.”

Hoffmann said they are seeking guidance on what the applicant should bring back. Is the idea of a sign an acceptable solution? Gruenwald said the mesh that’s there will be repaired and all of that is for safety. The sign itself will sit about three feet from the wall and will be pinned to the wall.

Midcap asked if he could bring back both options, and Hoffmann asked if anyone on the Council objected to bringing back the sign idea, and the Council did not have objections. Gruenwald said the sculpted concrete is weather dependent.

“Excavation will take us through August. I’m concerned about the 22nd and want to find a way to expedite the building permits,” he said. Hoffmann said the documents are ready. It’s just evaluating the cost.

Staff members said they would like to have the documents by Tuesday of next week. Spellman asked if this item were not in the packet until Monday, would this be acceptable to the Council, and the Aldermen agreed that would be no problem.

The item was continued until the next meeting of the Black Hawk City Council at 3 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2018, at 211 Church Street.