ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING TITLE 10, ARTICLE 2, TITLE 10, ARTICLE 9, AND TITLE 10, ARTICLE 18 OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO HISTORIC SIGNS (PROJECT NO. 14-0003761, ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT). City Attorney s Synopsis This Ordinance amends Title 10, Article 2, Title 10, Article 9, and Title 10, Article 18 of the Burbank Municipal Code to allow for the designation of Historic Signs and establishes development standards for such signs. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK FINDS: A. On October 8, 2015, the Heritage Commission held a public meeting to consider a proposed Historic Sign Ordinance. B. After considering the evidence presented, the Heritage Commission recommended that the Planning Board and Council of the City of Burbank ( Council ) consider the proposed ordinance. C. On November 9, 2015, the Planning Board held a duly noticed public hearing on Project No. 14-0003761, a Zone Text Amendment, to allow for the designation and preservation of Historic Signs. D. After considering the evidence presented, the Planning Board recommended that the Council of the City of Burbank ( Council ) approve the Zone Text Amendment. E. On a date to be determined, the Council at its regular meeting, held a public hearing on Project No. 14-0003761, a Zone Text Amendment, to permit the designation and preservation of Historic Signs. F. Said hearing was properly noticed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10-1-1994 of the Burbank Municipal Code. G. The Council considered the report and recommendations of the City Planner, the action and recommendations of the Planning Board as evidenced by its Resolution, and the evidence presented as such hearing.
H. The City of Burbank's unique character, history, and identity are reflected in its historic and iconic signs. I. The General Plan encourages the preservation of historic resources, and emphasizes that such resources should be altered only as necessary to meet contemporary needs. J. The General Plan encourages signs to be carefully regulated to ensure that they are attractive, appropriate for the site and appropriately balance visibility needs with community character and aesthetics. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: 1. Title 10, Article 2 of the Burbank Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the following definitions, which shall be incorporated in alphabetical order: Character-Defining Feature: A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic of a Historic Sign that contributes to its physical character and historical significance. Such features may include but are not limited to size, location, shape, materials, illumination mechanism, color, and typography. Eligible Historic Sign: A sign that has been identified as eligible for designation against local eligibility criteria. The Director maintains a list of Eligible Historic Signs, the purpose of which is to inform City staff, decision makers, and the public for future planning and decision making, and to inform property owners about the potential historic significance of their signs. Historic Resource Register: A register containing those resources that have been formally designated by City Council as a Historic Resource. Historic Sign: A sign that has been designated as a Historic Sign (HS) by the City Council. HSs are listed on the City of Burbank Historic Sign Register. Historic Sign Register: A register containing those signs that have been formally designated by City Council as a Historic Sign, pursuant to the provisions of this Article. Historic Sign Survey: A systematic and standardized process for identifying and gathering data on the City s potential Historic Signs by which signs are documented and evaluated for inclusion on the list of Eligible Historic Signs and potential eligibility for Historic Sign Preservation Incentives and listing in the Historic Sign Register.
Obsolete Sign Copy: Any sign copy, excluding Historic Signs, which no longer correctly identifies or directs attention to an existing use or product available on the premises. Period of Significance: The span of time that a sign was associated with important events, activities, or persons, or attained the character-defining features that qualify it for designation as a Historic Resource or Historic Sign. Replica Historic Signs: An accurate reconstruction of an original sign that no longer exists. The sign to be replicated must have been originally installed prior to a Period of Significance at a location that is within the current Burbank city limits. 2. Title 10, Article 9 of the Burbank Municipal Code is hereby amended to include a new division which shall read as follows: DIVISION 7. HISTORIC SIGN REGULATIONS SECTION 10-1-936: PURPOSE The Historic Sign Regulations are intended to provide for the preservation of Burbank's unique character, history, and identity, as reflected in its historic and iconic signs. The regulations will encourage property owners to preserve the unique signage and provide a clear process for modifying historic signs to meet the contemporary needs of property owners. SECTION 10-1-937: HISTORIC SIGNS SECTION 10-1-938: CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION OF HISTORIC SIGNS Prior to any sign being designated as a Historic Sign the City Council shall find that the Historic Sign satisfies one or more of the following criteria: A. Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of Burbank s or California s history and cultural heritage. B. Is associated with the lives of persons important in the past. C. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values. D. Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. E. The sign exemplifies the cultural, economic, and historic heritage of Burbank.
F. The sign exhibits extraordinary aesthetic quality, creativity, and innovation. 10-1-939: PROCEDURE FOR DESIGNATION OF HISTORIC SIGNS A. Application for Designation Applications for designation may be submitted by any member of the public or the sign owner and supported by an Historic Sign Treatment Plan. If an application for designation is submitted by a member of the public, the Director must obtain the written consent of the sign owner in order to continue processing the application for designation. Such application shall be made in writing, in a form deemed appropriate by the Director. The application shall include the owner s consent to the designation and agreement to abide by the requirements of this Division through the execution of a covenant. The Director may require the owner to submit information regarding the historic significance of the potentially historic sign including but not limited to photographs, plans, deeds, and any other materials that may provide information regarding the potentially historic sign. An application fee may be required if so specified in the Fee Resolution. 1. The application for designation as a Historic Sign shall include a Historic Sign Treatment Plan. The Historic Sign Treatment Plan will include the following (but is not limited to): a. Description of the Historic Sign, including current address, original address (if different), date of original construction and installation, sign type, original materials, text, and type of illumination (if known). b. Historic documentation, including approved permits, site plans, elevations, and dated photographs, as available. c. Current photos of the Historic Sign, including views of all visible elevations as well as contextual images of the property as a whole. d. Narrative statement of significance against Burbank s local designation criteria. e. List of character-defining features. f. Existing and proposed elevation drawings of the Historic Sign, drawn to scale, showing height, width, depth, and area. g. Dimensioned site plan, with the existing and proposed land use, graphically showing existing and proposed location and setbacks for the proposed Historic Sign and any other existing or proposed signs on the premises, and existing and proposed site improvements. h. A list of specific treatments for character-defining features, lists of materials and/or parts to be replaced, and recurring maintenance items. i. Photo simulations of the completed sign as viewed from the street and other significant vantage points, as appropriate. j. Where an applicant produces physical evidence or documentation sufficient to prove that a proposed Historic Sign included intermittent lighting features (e.g. flashing, blinking, chasing or sequentially lit elements which create the appearance of movement) or moving parts, such sign elements may be repaired or restored conditioned upon a determination by the City that no negative safety issues will result.
B. Heritage Commission Review and Recommendation Applications for approval of Historic Signs shall be reviewed by the Heritage Commission at a public meeting. The Commission shall determine whether the sign meets one or more of the criteria for approval as a Historic Sign and, based on this determination, shall recommend to the City Council that the application be approved or denied. The Heritage Commission shall adopt a resolution stating its recommendation, focusing on the criteria set forth in Section 10-1-938, and incorporating its reasons in support or denial of the application. C. City Council Designates the Historic Sign Following the Heritage Commission s consideration of the application, the City Council shall hold a public hearing to consider the application. The applicant shall be provided with at least 15 business days notice of the hearing date. Following the public hearing, the City Council shall adopt a resolution to approve or deny the application based on the criteria specified in Section 10-1-938. D. Covenant to be Recorded If the application is approved by the City Council, the City shall record a signed covenant in the office of the County Recorder at the Resource owner s expense. The covenant, which shall run with the land and be binding on successors and assigns, shall specify which elements of the Designated Historic Resource are to be protected; and state that any alteration or removal of these elements shall be done in accordance with Section 10-1-928. This covenant shall serve as notice of the approval as a Designated Historic Resource. E. Removal of Historic Designation Should the property owner wish to remove the Historic Designation, the designation may be removed by Heritage Commission provided the two findings can be made. These findings include: 1. An attempt has been made to find a suitable donee for the sign. 2. No suitable donee site was able to be found and there are no other economically feasible means to preserve the sign. 10-1-940: PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA FOR ACTIONS SUBJECT TO REVIEW A. Permit Required No person shall demolish, construct, move, change the appearance of or make alterations to any Historic Sign without first obtaining a Permit to Alter a Designated Historic Resource pursuant to the procedure set forth in section 10-1- 928.
10-1-941: HISTORIC SIGN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS Historic Signs shall comply with the Secretary of the Interior s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Historic Signs shall also comply with the following requirements as applicable. A. Restoration and or repair of Historic Signs 1. Restoration and or repair of an Intact or nearly intact Historic Signs shall be consistent with a documented appearance that existed during its Period of Significance. 2. Restoration and or repair shall not add typographical or other elements which result in an increase in the size of the restored and or repaired sign. B. Adaptive reuse (change of copy) of Historic Signs 1. Text changes shall not result in changes to character defining features. 2. Text changes shall match or be compatible with existing text in material(s), letter size, font/typography, and color. 3. The sign shall use materials and technology representative of its period of construction. 4. The sign shall be structurally safe or can be made safe without substantially altering its historical appearance. C. Relocation of Historic Signs 1. Relocation of a Historic sign off site is discouraged unless it is technologically impractical or otherwise infeasible to maintain the Historic Sign in the original location. The burden of proof is upon the applicant and shall be to the satisfaction of the Heritage Commission. 2. Relocation of a Historic Sign shall be to a location within the original premises, or to a location deemed appropriate by the Heritage Commission. 3. If relocated to another premise, the Historic Sign shall display conspicuous text or a plaque, using a template provided by the Director, that indicates that the sign has been relocated, the date of relocation, and the original location. D. Replica Historic Signs. 1. A replica Historic Sign may only be installed on the premises where it originally existed. 2. A replica Historic Sign shall be consistent with a documented appearance that existed prior to its Period of Significance. 3. A replica Historic Sign shall utilize historical materials and technologies, or visually matching contemporary materials and technologies. 4. A replica Historic Sign shall display conspicuous text or a plaque, using a template provided by the city of Burbank, which indicates the sign is a contemporary reproduction, and the date of reproduction. 5. A replica Historic Sign shall not replicate an existing sign. 6. A replica Historic Sign shall not be a billboard sign as defined in 10-1-502. 7. Adaptive reuse of a replica Historic Signs is prohibited.
10-1-942: DUTY TO MAINTAIN STRUCTURES AND PREMISES: The owner, lessees, and any other responsible persons shall take all steps necessary to maintain the Historic Sign in good condition and to prevent any deterioration or decay that would adversely affect the value or integrity of the Historic Sign. Failure to maintain the Historic Sign in accordance with this Section is a violation of the Burbank Municipal Code and is subject to prosecution. A. Demolition. Demolition of a Historic Sign is only allowed upon approval of a Permit to Alter a Designated Historic Resource or an approved treatment plan. Demolition of a Historic Sign shall be consistent with an approved treatment plan for relocation, or subject to a maximum thirty (30) business day waiting period to facilitate salvage of the sign. The sign owner shall allow reasonable access to the sign to facilitate documentation and salvage activities. A Permit to Alter a Designated Historic Resource is not required for construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration or demolition that the Building Official certifies is required to protect public health or safety because of an unsafe or dangerous condition. 10-1-943 HISTORIC SIGN PRESERVATION INCENTIVES A. The purpose of this Section is to provide tangible incentives to property owners to designate historic and iconic signs that are reflective of the unique character, history, and identity of Burbank, and emphasizes that such resources should be altered only as necessary to meet contemporary needs. B. Incentives provided to Historic Signs 1. All Building Permit fees are waived for any work related to the preservation, maintenance or restoration of the Historic Sign. 2. An applicant may request deferral of payment of Building Permit fees for any property with a Historic Sign from the Director. 3. All Building Permit fees associated with a sign, for a property with a Historic Sign shall be reduced by ten percent, with a maximum fiscal year cap of $5,000 per property. 4. The maximum allowed sign area for a property with a Historic Sign shall be increased by ten percent. 5. The square footage of a Historic Sign does not count towards the maximum allowable signage allowed on a property. However, for properties with Historic Signs, proposed new signage must be reviewed by the Community Development Department to determine that it will not detrimentally affect the historic integrity of the Historic Sign and must otherwise comply with all other applicable development standards. 3. Section 10-1-1811: CONTINUATION OF USE OF STRUCTURE is hereby amended to read as follows: 10. Except for reasonable repairs and alterations, no nonconforming sign shall be moved, altered, removed and reinstalled or replaced, unless it is brought into
compliance with the requirements of the Burbank Municipal Code, except a Historic Sign, Eligible Historic Sign, or a Tier II Historic Sign as identified in the Historic Sign Survey (2014), may be moved, repaired, altered, removed and reinstalled or replaced, subject to the Historic Sign Development Standards. 4. This Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act in accordance with Section 15331 Historical Resource Restoration and Rehabilitation pertaining to projects consists of projects limited to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, conservation, or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitation, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (1995), Weeks and Grimmer. 5. If any provision of this Ordinance or its application is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, sections, or applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end each phrase, section, sentence, or word is declared to be severable. 6. This Ordinance shall become effective at 12:01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31 st ) day after the date of adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of, 2016. Jess Talamantes Mayor of the City of Burbank Attest: Zizette Mullins, CMC, City Clerk Approved as to Form Office of the City Attorney By: Joseph McDougall, Sr. Asst. City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF BURBANK ) I, Zizette Mullins, CMC, City Clerk of the City of Burbank, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Burbank at its regular meeting held on the day of, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: I further certify that said Synopsis was published as required by law in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Burbank, California on the day of, 2016. Zizette Mullins, CMC, City Clerk