HomeMy WebLinkAbout02 CONT ITEM TEMP SIGNS WITHIN THE PUBLIC ROW - AGENDA REPORT ITEM # 2
MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 28, 2017
TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: CONTINUED ITEM - TEMPORARY SIGNS WITHIN THE PUBLIC
RIGHT-OF-WAY
SUMMARY
On August 8, 2017, the Planning Commission held a second workshop on the topic of
temporary signs within the public right-of-way and discussed three (3) code amendment
options addressing the regulation of temporary signs in the public right-of-way in light of
the United States Supreme Court decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, AZ. The
Commission received public input and directed staff to return with a modified option for
Commission consideration prior to public notification and the publication of public hearing
notices. This item was continued from the September 26, 2017, and November 14, 2017,
Planning Commission meetings.
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RECOMMENDATION
If the draft standards contained within Table 1 are consistent with the Planning
Commission's direction, staff will prepare an ordinance and conduct required public
noticing and targeted noticing to impacted properties prior to the Planning Commission
public hearing.
Planning Commission Report
November 28, 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 2
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Chapter 4 of Article 9 of the Tustin City•Code (TCC) contains the City's sign regulations.
These regulations were initially adopted in 1991 as part of a comprehensive sign code
amendment. Subsequent amendments addressing specific subject areas were adopted
in 1993, 1995, and 2007.
2015 United States Supreme Court Decision
On June 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Reed v. Town
of Gilbert, AZ, and determined that categorizing signs based on their content violated
the First Amendment. In response to this decision, many cities nationwide must review
their existing sign codes to determine if they are in violation of the First Amendment.
The current Tustin Sign Code categorizes signs based on content. To avoid conflicts
with the law established by the United States Supreme Court decision, several revisions
to the City's sign regulations addressing temporary signs in the public right-of-way are
recommended. The most important sign types to be addressed at this time include
temporary off-premises commercial signs and temporary non-commercial signs.
• Temporary off-premises commercial signs are temporary signs that relate to the sale
of any merchandise, product, service, commodity, or other item activity for private
benefit or gain which are not sold or produced on the premises upon which the sign
is placed. Temporary off-premises commercial signs include business identification
signs, garage sale signs, and real estate open house signs.
• Temporary non-commercial signs are temporary signs that do not relate to the sale
of any merchandise, product, service, commodity, or other item or activity for private
benefit or gain and include political signs, protected speech signs, public event
signs, and non-profit event signs.
Additional amendments to the Tustin Sign Code addressing on-site commercial signs
are planned to be brought before the Planning Commission and City Council at a future
date.
City Actions and Community Input -
The City has conducted three (3) workshops on the topic of temporary signs in the
public right-of-way. On February 21, 2017, the City Council and Planning Commission
held a joint workshop and on March 28, 2017, and August 8, 2017, the, Planning
Commission held public workshops on this issue. "
Outreach for the workshops included the Tustin Chamber of Commerce, local non-profit
organizations, the Tustin Unified School District, the two (2) local associations of
realtors, local places of worship, and other stakeholders who may have an interest in
this issue.
Planning Commission Report
November 28, 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 3
On August 8, 2017, the Planning Commission considered three (3) code amendment
options addressing the regulation of temporary signs in the public right-of-way in light of
the United States Supreme Court decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, AZ. The
Commission received public input and directed staff to return with a modified version of
Options One and Two ("Modified Option") for Commission consideration prior to public
notification and the publication of public hearing notices.
The August 8. 2017, staff recommendation to prohibit temporary signs in the public
right-of-way (former Option Three) has been removed from further consideration based
on the Planning Commission's collective direction to not proceed with this option. This
item was continued from the September 26, 2017, and November 14, 2017, Planning
Commission meetings.
ANALYSIS
The following analysis describes the City's existing regulations for temporary signs
within the public right-of-way and the proposed changes under the Modified Option.
Proposed Code Amendment - Modified Option
As directed by the Planning Commission on August 8, 2017, a Modified Option for
amending the City's sign regulations is provided to allow temporary signs in the public
right-of-way and be consistent with the Reed decision.
The Modified Option would allow temporary non-commercial signs and temporary off-
premises commercial signs in certain areas of the public right-of-way. These signs would
be subject to uniform standards regulating the size, height, placement, and maximum
number of signs that are the same as, or similar to, the City's existing standards. The
regulation of the signs would not be based on the content of the commercial signs or non-
commercial signs. The Modified Option would also establish time limits for posting all
temporary signs in the public right-of-way and would allow up to twenty (20) temporary
commercial signs per enterprise to be posted throughout the city on weekends. Table 1
provides a summary of the existing and proposed standards.
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Planning Commission Report
November 28, 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 4
TABLE 1 - EXISTING STANDARDS AND PROPOSED MODIFIED OPTION FOR
TEMPORARY SIGNS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Sign Topic Existing Proposed
Type Modified Option
Size 3 square feet 4 square feet
Temporary Height 4 feet high 4 feet high
Off-Premises
Commercial Location One per open Two per enterprise per
Signs house per intersection
direction change
Real Estate
Open House
Signs, Garage 25-300 feet from
Sale Signs, an intersection 25-300 feet from an
some Business intersection
Identification Duration 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Signs Fridays, Saturdays, and
Sundays only
Copy Generic signs only Sign content virtually
unregulated
Maximum No maximum Maximum of 20 citywide per
Number enterprise(located in Tustin,
but not eligible for permanent
signage)
Business Prohibited See above
Identification
Size 6 square feet 4 square feet
Temporary
Non_ Height 4 feet high 4 feet high
Commercial Location Max of 3 abutting Max of 1 of a certain sign
Signs any property abutting a property and the
sign must be 25-300 feet from
Political Signs, an intersection
Protected Duration 45 days prior to 45 days and removed 5 days
Speech Signs, and 5 days after after event--45 days total
Public Event ,
Signs*, Non- election-50 days
profit Event total
Signs Copy Varies depending Sign content virtually
on type of sin unregulated non-commercial
*Public event signs Maximum No maximum No maximum
are installed by the Number
City and are not
described in this
table
Planning Commission Report
November 28, 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 5
Rationale — Modified Option
Based on the Reed decision, the proposed code amendment would need to allow
virtually any sign content on temporary off-premises commercial and non-commercial
signs. The following discussion explains the rationale for the proposed standards:
• Sign Blight
To reduce sign blight to some extent while allowing temporary real estate open
house signs and garage sale signs in the public right-of-way, the Modified Option
proposes that temporary off-premises commercial signs be required to be
associated with a commercial enterprise in Tustin for which permanent business
identification signs are not authorized, This would allow most real estate
professionals and residents to temporarily display real estate open house signs
and garage sale signs in various locations within the public right-of-way.
However, it would also allow other types of businesses such as home-based
businesses to post signs in the public right-of-way throughout the city.
• Sign Clutter
In response to Planning Commission direction to limit the potential for sign clutter
while accommodating temporary off-premises commercial signs in the public
right-of-way, the Modified Option proposes that a maximum of twenty (20)
temporary off-premises commercial signs per commercial enterprise be allowed
within the City at any one time, and that these types of signs be allowed from
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The higher
number of allowable signs under the Modified Option is proposed based on the
Commission's desire to allow more than ten (10) signs per enterprise citywide.
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Planning Commission Report
November 28, 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 6
• Real Estate and Home Business Signs
For real estate open house signs, staff has analyzed a reasonable number of
turning movements to reach an open house from major arterials and has
determined that twenty (20) signs would provide sufficient turning directions to
motorists.
It is important to keep in mind that the maximum of twenty (20) signs citywide
would also apply to the approximately 850 home-based businesses throughout
the city. It is anticipated that many of these business will want to take advantage
of the opportunity to advertise their businesses throughout the city on weekends.
There are approximately forty (40) major intersections in the city, at which these
signs would be most visible to the public (Attachment A).
• Non-commercial Signs
Under the Modified Option, no citywide limit is proposed for the maximum
number of temporary non-commercial signs in the public right-of-way. However,
the size, height, location, and duration of the signs would be regulated.
The Modified Option would allow temporary non-commercial signs in the public
right-of-way to be displayed for a maximum of 45 days from the date of
placement. This time limit of 45 days would give political candidates, non-profit
organizations and others a sufficient amount of time to display their signs for
public notification purposes and to remove them.
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• Other Cities
There are currently only five (5) other Orange County cities that allow temporary
non-commercial signs in the public right-of-way. In those five (5) cities, the
Planning Commission Report
November 28. 2017
Temporary Signs
Page 7
allowable duration ranges from ten (10) days to seventy (70) days. A time limit of
forty-five (45) days is close to the midpoint of this range. In addition, several
non-profit organizations based in Tustin have expressed their support for a time
period of at least forty-five (45) days.
• Enforcement
Given the large number and types of temporary non-commercial signs that could
be placed in the public right-of-way under the Modified Option, it will be difficult to
enforce the time limit and efficiently determine which temporary non-commercial
signs have been posted for more than forty-five (45) days. Although the date of
sign posting can be required on the back of the sign, this information would only
be visible by closely inspecting each individual sign. Therefore, enforcement
costs would be significant, but unknown, as the costs would depend on the level
of enforcement and the number of signs posted in the public right-of-way.
For temporary off-premises commercial signs, enforcement would be less
complicated, as signs would only be allowed in the public right-of-way on Fridays,
Saturdays, and Sundays during specified hours. However, it may be difficult and
costly to determine whether a commercial enterprise has posted more than
twenty (20) signs throughout the city.
Public Outreach
In addition to the public noticing required by State law, staff recommends that noticing
be provided in advance of the public hearings to those properties that could be most
impacted by the proposed code amendment. Impacted properties include residences
and other sensitive uses that have frontages at or near intersections on higher traffic
volume streets throughout the city, many of which are located in Old Town.
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Scott Reekstin zabeth A. Ransack
Principal Planner Director of Community Development
Attachment A: City Map of Major Intersections for Temporary Signs
S SCMPCREPORT12017aTemporary Signs Report Contrnued November 28 vers:or doc
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ATTACHMENT A
City Map of Major Intersections for Temporary Signs
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Major Intersections for Temporary Signs
City of Tustin