RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 06/20/2017 AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business

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1 RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 06/20/2017 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business AGENDA DESCRIPTION: Consideration and possible action to initiate code amendment proceedings to Section of Title 17 (Sign Permit) of the City s Municipal Code to address Code inconsistencies and clarify permit regulations. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: (1) Initiate code amendment proceedings to clarify Section of Title 17 (Sign Permit) of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code to address Code inconsistencies and clarify permit regulations. FISCAL IMPACT: N/A Amount Budgeted: Additional Appropriation: Account Number(s): N/A N/A N/A ORIGINATED BY: Irving Anaya, Assistant Planner REVIEWED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, Director of Community Development APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: A. Current Section of Title 17 (page A-1) BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: Ensuring that the City s Development Code provides clear and concise regulations is a key component to providing a streamlined experience for residents, business owners and developers. Over the course of the next several months, the Planning Division will be proposing a number of code amendments in an effort to address existing code inconsistencies and to further clarify development requirements. On June 6, 2017, the City Council initiated the first of a series of proposed code amendments to Chapter (Lots, Setback, Open Space Area and Building Height) of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code (RPVMC). For tonight s hearing, the code amendment initiation request is for RPVMC as it relates to sign permits. This Section provides language regarding the purpose of signs within the City, which is primarily to identify the general nature of an establishment or to direct attention to a product, activity, place, person, organization or enterprise. 1

2 When applying the current sign requirements, Staff has encountered, among other things, ambiguities, legal insufficiencies, and the lack of clarity relating to uniformity of certain signs. Below are some examples of specific sections in RPVMC that warrant amending: Section (C) General Regulations: The current sign regulations are not organized under a single section or chapter, rather they are spread out into different subsections and difficult to navigate. There are also ambiguities in the number and types of signs allowed often requiring further interpretation by City Staff that often prolongs the process. Section (F)(6) Sign Programs: Current Code language does not allow an identification sign or more than 1 sign along a street frontage for shopping centers with less than 4 tenants or apartment complexes, without applying for a variance application. This has repeatedly been raised as a costly and onerous issue by business and property owners and often results in a prolonged review process or in some cases forces applicants to abandon their proposals. Design and Size Sign Regulations: The sign standards for individual storefront signs are unclear and antiquated, and do not reflect the type of signs currently requested by business owners. Furthermore, business owners repeatedly complain that the sign regulations do not benefit and help promote local businesses. Master Sign Programs: The Code is unclear as to what type of establishments and shopping centers are able to seek approvals for a Master Sign Program by the Planning Commission. Fuel and Service Stations: The Code does not provide clear design and size regulations for fuel and service stations. Sign Lighting: The current Code standards for illuminating signs are antiquated and do not reflect current technologies. Definitions: There are deficiencies in the definitions for sign-related terms used in the Code that creates ambiguity and requires further interpretation by City Staff that often prolongs the process and may result in inconsistencies. The Code language should be simplified and should include illustrations to be more userfriendly. Based on the foregoing discussion, Staff recommends that the City Council initiate the requested code amendment proceedings so that the Planning Commission and Staff, with the assistance of business owners, can collaboratively clarify certain sections of RPVMC (Sign Permits). 2

3 ALTERNATIVES: In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternatives are available for the City Council s consideration: 1. Identify specific Code criteria within Section of Title 17 that should or should not be amended. 2. Direct Staff to take no action at this time. 3

4 Sign permit. A. Purpose. 1. Signs should serve primarily to identify the general nature of an establishment or to direct attention to a product, activity, place, person, organization or enterprise. As identification devices, signs must not subject the citizens of the city to excessive competition for their visual attention. As appropriate identification devices, signs must be harmonious with the building, the neighborhood and other signs in the area. 2. The city encourages signs that improve the appearance of buildings and neighborhoods. The city invites artistry and innovation. It intends to enhance the economic effectiveness of any one identification device by preventing needless distraction and clutter from other signs in the area. 3. This section contains criteria which the director will employ to prohibit devices that fail to conform to the above intentions of suitability and safety. In all cases, each sign shall be considered on its own merit, considering its function as well as its environment. B. Sign Permits. 1. Permit Required. Unless exempted by subsection D of this section, a person shall obtain a permit from the director prior to placing or erecting any sign. In many cases, a building permit or electrical permit will also be required. 2. Application for Sign Permits. Applications for sign permits shall be made upon forms provided by the city and shall include: a. Two copies of a plan showing: i. The position of each sign and its relation to adjacent buildings or structures, ii. The proposed design, size, colors and location of signs or sign structures; b. The sizes and dimensions of all signs existing on the premises at the time of application; c. A fee, as established by resolution of the city council; and d. Such other information as the director may require to show compliance with this section and all other ordinances of the city. 3. Review of Sign Applications. The director may approve, conditionally approve or deny any application for a sign permit pursuant to the standards set forth in this section. In reviewing a sign application, the director shall apply the following criteria: a. The sign is necessary for the applicant's enjoyment of substantial trade and property rights, and the sign does not constitute needless repetition, redundancy or proliferation of signage; b. The sign is consistent with the intent and purposes of this section, as set forth in subsection A of this section; c. The sign does not constitute a detriment to public health, safety and welfare; d. The size, shape, color and placement of a sign shall be considered in order to determine if the sign is compatible with, and bears a harmonious relationship to, the building and site which it identifies; e. The location of the proposed sign and the design of its visual elements, including its lettering, colors, decorative motifs, spacing and proportions, shall be considered in order to determine whether the sign is legible under normal viewing conditions prevailing where the sign is to be installed; f. The location and design of the proposed sign shall be considered in order to determine that the sign will not obscure from view or unduly detract from existing adjacent signs; Page 1 A-1

5 g. The location and design of the proposed sign, its size, shape and color shall be considered in light of the visual characteristics of the surrounding area to determine that the sign will not detract from or cause depreciation of the value of adjacent developed properties; and h. The location and design of a proposed sign in commercial districts in close proximity to any residential district shall be considered in order to determine that the sign will have no adverse effect on the value and character of the adjacent residential district. 4. Appeal. Any interested person may appeal a decision of the director to the planning commission and a decision of the planning commission to the city council pursuant to Chapter (Hearing Notice and Appeal Procedures) of this title. C. General Regulations. 1. Signs Affecting Traffic Safety. Signs or devices which, by color, wording, design or location resemble or conflict with any traffic control sign or device are prohibited. 2. Sign Illumination. The approval of any illuminated sign shall not be final until thirty days after installation, during which period the director may order the dimming of any illumination found to be excessively brilliant and no sign permit shall be valid until such order has been carried out to an extent satisfactory to the director. Illumination shall be considered excessive when it prevents normal perception of objects or buildings beyond or in the vicinity of the sign. 3. Flashing and Moving Signs. Unless otherwise specified in this section, searchlights, blinkers, lasers, flashing, unusual lighting or other means of animation or moving signs are prohibited. 4. Suspended or Airborne Signs. Unless otherwise specified in this section, suspended or airborne signs, such as tethered advertising balloons, inflatable signs and/or kites, are prohibited. 5. Location. All signs shall be erected upon the premises occupied by the person or business identified by such signs. 6. Right-of-way Signs. With the exception of city signs advertising city activities or city-sponsored events; real estate lead-in signs pursuant to subsection (D)(3) of this section; and special event signs for noncommercial organizations pursuant to subsection (D)(4) of this section; no signs shall be erected in the public right-of-way unless authorized by the city council. 7. Sign Maintenance. All signs, supports, braces, guys and anchors, shall be kept in good repair, including replacement of defective parts, repainting, cleaning and otherwise maintained in a presentable condition. Any sign which is not kept in good repair and presentable condition shall be abated pursuant to subsection (H)(3) of this section. 8. No Sign Permit Required. Signs that are allowed without permits are described in subsection D of this section. 9. Sign Permit Required. Signs that are allowed with permits are described in subsections E through G of this section and are subject to the following criteria, unless otherwise specified in those subsections: a. Not more than one such sign shall be displayed per street frontage; b. Each sign shall not exceed twenty square feet in area; c. Each sign shall not exceed eight feet in height; d. Each sign shall be placed a minimum of five feet inside the property line; e. Temporary signs shall be removed upon the completion or culmination of the advertised activities. D. Signs Allowed Without a Permit. 1. The following nonilluminated signs are allowed in all zoning districts without a permit: Page 2 A-2

6 a. Temporary religious, charitable, educational, cultural, political or other types of noncommercial posters not exceeding four square feet in area, not exceeding four feet in overall height, placed a minimum of five feet inside the property line; and displayed less than ninety days; b. Governmental or other legally required posters, notices or signs, including any city required window signs for businesses; c. Governmental flags or emblems; d. Real estate signs on private property proclaiming "For Rent," "For Lease," "Open House" or "For Sale;" provided, that the freestanding signs shall not exceed four feet in overall height, shall not exceed four square feet in area, and shall be placed a minimum of five feet inside the property line; e. Signs not exceeding one square foot in total area and displaying the name of the property owner or occupant, the address or other identification of uses clearly an ancillary part of the legal use in the district; f. One contractor's sign not exceeding four square feet or one directory sign for all contractors including banks, realtors, subcontractors, etc. Such signs shall not be displayed prior to the issuance of a building permit or after final inspection or for more than one year, whichever is less. Directory signs shall comply with subsection (D)(2) of this section, unless legally required by governmental contract to be larger. 2. The following nonilluminated signs are allowed in residential zoning districts without a permit: a. Temporary garage sale signs not exceeding four square feet in area, not exceeding four feet in overall height, and placed a minimum of five feet inside the property line. Such temporary signs shall not be erected prior to forty-eight hours of the advertised sale and shall be removed within twenty-four hours after the conclusion of the sale. 3. Lead-in or directional signs, such as "Open House," "For Sale," "For Rent" or "For Lease" signs and signs providing direction to special commercial activities may be placed in the public right-ofway, pursuant to the following restrictions: a. Lead-in or directional signs may only be placed in the right-of-way between the hours of one p.m. and six p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; b. Lead-in or directional signs placed at intersections shall be located within the public right-ofway. Only one lead-in sign may be placed per traffic direction at an intersection. The maximum number of lead-in signs at any intersection is not to exceed a total of three; c. One lead-in or directional sign may be placed within the public right-of-way adjacent to the property to which it refers between the hours of one p.m. and six p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; d. All lead-in or directional signs are to be no larger than three square feet and are to be the color combination of brown and gold; e. No lead-in or directional signs shall be placed within any traffic median. 4. Temporary banners advertising special noncommercial events may be placed in the public rightsof-way, pursuant to the following requirements: a. For purposes of this section, a temporary banner shall be permitted only to advertise a specific non-commercial event occurring on a specific date(s); b. The advertiser of a special noncommercial event shall submit an application to the director on the form provided by the city for this purpose. The application shall be filed with the director no sooner than ninety days prior to the first date when the banner will be posted. Applications shall be processed and approved on a first come, first served basis. The director shall approve the application for a particular location if it complies with the criteria set forth in this section, and shall not deny an application based on the content of the noncommercial Page 3 A-3

7 event that is being advertised or the content of the banner advertising the noncommercial event; c. The temporary banner shall be installed by the applicant only at one of the locations in the city's street rights-of-way that have been approved previously by the city council; d. Banners shall be securely attached to the structures that have been erected by the city for this purpose in the manner prescribed by the director so as not to pose a traffic hazard and/or impede pedestrian or vehicular access or visibility within the city's street rights-of-way; e. Each noncommercial advertiser shall be limited to the placement of one temporary banner within the city's street rights-of-way for each noncommercial special event; f. Each advertiser of a noncommercial event shall be limited to the placement of two special event banners within the city's street rights-of-way during each calendar year, commencing on January 1st of each year; g. Each banner shall be displayed for a maximum period of thirty days; h. The special event banner shall be removed by the applicant within twenty-four hours after the conclusion of the event that the banner is advertising or of the end of the banner display period, whichever occurs first; i. Each banner shall be four feet in height by eight feet in width and shall be made only of vinyl with a #2 grommet in each corner, which will allow for the banner to be securely affixed to the structure at the council-approved banner site location; j. Each banner must have a solid white background with blue or green letters; k. Only one logo or graphic design shall be allowed on each banner, with no color restriction; and l. Banners must be clean and in good repair at all times. 5. Temporary signs allowed by this subsection shall be removed upon the completion of the campaign, the culmination of any of the above activities, or the expiration of any other time frame specified by this section. E. Residential Uses. 1. Subdivision and real estate signs advertising real property which has been divided into five or more lots, parcels or units which are to be offered for rent, sale or lease may include the following signs; provided, that such signs are located on the property which is being advertised and such signs are removed upon the sale or rental of all lots or units, if this occurs prior to the expiration of the permit. Permits for such signs shall be issued by the director for no longer than a one-year period, on a renewable basis: a. One, nonilluminated, on-premises sign; provided, that it shall be placed a minimum of fifty feet from any residence to which the sign does not refer; b. Subdivision identification signs at the entrance to developments; provided, that no more than one such sign shall be displayed per major street access and each sign shall not exceed six feet in height and thirty-two square feet in area; c. Nonilluminated, model home signs; provided, that there shall be no more than one such sign per model home and such sign shall be displayed on the same lot as the model home and each sign shall not exceed six square feet; d. "For Sale" signs on undeveloped property of five acres or more. 2. The following signs may be allowed for multiple-family residential uses; provided, the signs are located on the property identified by such signs: a. Signs designating "Manager" or "Office;" provided, that each sign does not exceed one square foot in area; Page 4 A-4

8 b. Initial promotional signing; provided, that it shall not be displayed for more than six months after final building inspection and a sign shall not exceed thirty-two square feet in area; c. Temporary signs, banners, flags or pennants to promote or advertise special rentals, may be allowed subject to the permit and display requirements of subsections (F)(8)(a), (b) and (d) of this section; d. Permanent apartment identification signing; provided, that, if freestanding, a sign shall not exceed six feet in height and thirty-two square feet in area. F. Nonresidential Uses. Permanent and temporary signing may be allowed subject to the following: 1. One major identification sign shall be permitted on each building frontage in which a public entry is located; except, that a sign may be permitted upon any street side of the building. Such signs shall not exceed an area of one square foot for each lineal foot of building frontage, up to a maximum of seventy-five square feet or up to a maximum of one hundred square feet in the commercial general (CG) district. 2. All faces of said signs shall be parallel to the face of the building upon which said sign is located, except that: a. The director may approve other placement if special conditions exist due to poor visibility; b. One additional under-canopy or other pedestrian oriented sign, not to exceed an area of three square feet, may be permitted. Under-canopy signs shall be located at least eight feet above adjacent grade. 3. Signs shall not extend or be placed above the eave line or parapet of the building. 4. A permanent freestanding sign may be approved by the director if it is the major identification sign and if it does not exceed six feet in height. Such freestanding signs may be double-faced. In no event, shall a sign face exceed thirty-two square feet in area. The director may approve such a sign up to sixteen feet in height if it is the only feasible method of identification for the following developments: a. A shopping center containing four or more individual establishments having a frontage of two hundred feet or more and a front setback of fifty feet or more in which case the following standards apply: i. The sign may identify the center or complex, ii. A listing and description of the signs for all the individual establishments that will utilize the freestanding sign must be presented for review and approval by the director; b. An individual development having a frontage of two hundred feet or more and a front setback of fifty feet or more. 5. Minor, pedestrian-oriented, permanent window signs, including illuminated signs; provided, that the total area of all such signs does not exceed five percent of the total area of the windows in the face of the building upon which such signs are mounted. Governmental or other legally required permanent posters, notices or signs, including any city-required business identification signs or logos shall not count toward the maximum window coverage. Illuminated signs are subject to the regulations of subsections (C)(2) and (F)(10) of this section. 6. Sign Programs. A shopping center containing four or more individual establishments may submit an application to the city for approval of a sign program for the entire center. The sign program application shall be reviewed by the planning commission using the criteria of subsections (B)(3)(a) through (h) of this section. Notice of the planning commission hearing on the sign program shall be issued in accordance with Section (Hearing Notice and Appeal Procedures) of this title. Any interested person may appeal the planning commission's decision to the city council pursuant to Chapter (Hearing Notice and Appeal Procedures) of this title. Upon approval of a sign program by the planning commission, the director may thereafter issue permits for individual signs which conform to the approved sign program. Unless otherwise stated Page 5 A-5

9 in an approved sign program, the standards and conditions of an approved sign program shall take precedence over the standards and conditions of this section. 7. "For Sale" signs on undeveloped property of one acre or more. Such signs in the commercial general (CG) district shall not exceed twelve feet in height. 8. Temporary signs, such as banners, flags, balloons, searchlights or pennants, to promote special sales may be allowed with permit; provided, that: a. All signs, banners, flags, balloons and pennants shall be mounted only on a building, on a substantial extension of a building, or inside a window and shall not extend higher than the ridgeline or parapet of the building on which they are mounted; b. Each temporary sign or banner shall not exceed thirty-two square feet in size and no more than two such signs or banners shall be displayed at any one time; c. If searchlights are used, the light shall not result in the direct illumination of a parcel or parcels other than that upon which the light source is physically located; d. Permits shall not be issued for longer than a thirty-day, renewable period nor for more than a total of one hundred twenty days in any one calendar year; e. Upon application for a sign permit to display temporary banners, balloons, flags, searchlights or pennants, the applicant shall submit to the director a deposit fee established by the city council in the form of cash, check or money order as security for the placement of signs in accordance to these regulations. Failure to erect and/or maintain the signs in accordance with the regulations of subsection (F)(8) of this section shall result in the forfeiture of the security deposit; f. The director may approve, on an annual basis, location supports, letter style and other significant elements of sign programs similar to those commonly utilized by supermarkets, the copy of which are replaced at intervals of fourteen days or less; g. The director shall approve the location and design of semipermanent price signs for service stations; h. Temporary window signs shall be allowed without permit; provided, that the total area of such signs does not exceed ten percent of the total area of the windows in the face of the building upon which such signs are mounted and the signs are not displayed for more than thirty days. Such signs exceeding ten percent of the window area or displayed longer than thirty days are subject to the provisions of subsection (F)(5) of this section; i. One temporary identification sign may be displayed for sixty days pending approval of a permanent sign application. (Amended during supplement; Ord (part), 1997: Ord , 1985; Ord , 1984; Ord (6), 1979; Ord (part), 1977: Ord. 78 (part), 1975) (Ord. No. 527, 4, ) Page 6 A-6