HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-06-20; City Council; 5390-3; Public Nuisance: 5335 Paseo del Norte\
CITY OF - CARLSB-AD
DATE : June 20, 1978
DEPARTMENT : City Attorney
Initial:
Dept e Hd.
C. Atty.vm
C. Mgr. 7
The City Council, at your June 6, 1378 meeting, held a public hearing to consider whether or not the T'leseloh Chevrolet sign was in violation of the Carlshad Municipal
Code. At the conclusion of the hearing the City Council
indicated-their intention to find that the sign was in violation and was, therefore, a public nuisance. The City Council determined that the sign should be removed within thirty days and that-if it was not, authorized
the City Attorney to proceed civilly to abate the nuisance.
A resolution containing the Council's findings in the matter, setting the time limit and authorizing the City Attorney to proceed to abate the nuisance, is attached. The Council should satisfy itself that the findings set out in the resolution are the findings of the Council and that they are supported by evidence which was introduced in the hear- ing on June 6, 1978.
Exhibit
Resolution NO. $466 .
Recommendation
If the City Council concurs, your action is to adopt Resolution No. $qLL .
Council act-ion
6-20-78 Resolution #5466 %&s adopted, making findings and determining
the sign was in violation and a nuisance.
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RESOLUTION NO. 5466
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF CAmSBAD, CALIFORMIA,
FINDING THAT A PUBLIC NUISANCE EXISTS
AT 5335 PASEO DEL NORTE, IN THE CITY
OF CARLSBAD, AND DIRECTING THE CITY
ATTORNEY TO TAKE APPROPRIATE LEGAL
ACTION - TO ABATE SAID NUISANCE.
WHEREAS, tile City Manager has alleged that a freestanding
sign at 5335 Paseo Del Norte, Assessor’s Parcel 211-060-10 in
the City of Carlsbad, owned by Weseloh Chevrolet Company,is in
violation of the Carlsbad Municipal Code and a public nuisance;
and
WHEREAS, Resolution No. 5364 has been adopted by the City
Council in conformance with Section 26.16.020 of the Carlsbad
Municipal Code setting a Public Hearing on the matter; and
WHEREAS, the notice requirements of Section 6.16.030 of the
Carlsbad Municipal Code have been fulfilled; and
WHEREAS, a Public Hearing in conformance with Section
6.16.040 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code was held on the 7th day
of June, 1978 at the hour of 7:30 P.M. at an adjourned regular
meeting of the. City Council at which all interested persons
were heard;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the
City of Carlsbad, California, as follows:
1. That the City Council hereby makes the following findings
of fact in regards to the Weseloh Chevrolet Company sign:
A. Municipal Code Section 21.41.070(5) requires that freestanding signs in the C-2 Zone be located on the street frontage of the lot. ,The sign in question is a freestanding sign in
a C-2 Zone. The only street frontage to the Weseloh Chevrolet property, as defined in
Section 21.04.335; is located on Paseo Del Norte.
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The sign is not located on the street frontage.
It is located at the rear property line,
within 8 feet of the.Interstate 5 freeway
right-of-way and more than 350 feet from Paseo
Del Norte, Interstate 5 is not a street because Section 21.04.325 defines it as a freeway. It is
not a street within the meaning of Section
21.41.070(5) because the property is separated from the actual roadway by an off-ramp, a drainage
ditch and is completely fenced. Section 21.04.335
defines a street as a public right-of-way affording
primary access to abutting property. Paseo Del Norte is the only street abutting the subject property and it affords the primary access thereto,
B. The sign regulations in the C-2 Zone otherwise applicable to the property are supplemented by
the provisions of a specific plan adopted for the Car Country Development by Ordinance No. 9288. It was developed as a cooperative effort by the City and the Dealers' Association which included
* Weseloh Chevrolet. That ordinance provided for a comprehensive series of City regulations of the
Car Country Development. Those regulations included a sign program which provided for strict limitations of signing and did not allow any individual dealer signs to be located adjacent to Interstate 5. Section 6(5) of the ordinance limits all properties within the Car Country
specific plan to a total of one freeway oriented freestanding sign advertising the center. The
City has approved the design of that sign on
behalf of the Car Country Auto Dealers' Association and the only freestanding freeway sign contemplated
by the specific plan has been constructed. The other automobile dealers located in Car Country
who preceded Weseloh Chevrolet have all complied with the City of Carlsbad's Municipal Code and
the specific plan and located their permitted
freestanding signs, advertising their individual
dealership, on the street frontage of Paseo Del
Norte immediately adjacent thereto, The sign in
question is located next to the Interstate 5 freeway. expressly finds that it is a freeway oriented sign within the meaning of 0rdi.nance No. 9288.
2. Based on the findings contained in Paragraph 1, the
The'City Council of the City of Carlsbad
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City Council hereby determines that the Weseloh Chevrolet sign
constitutes a public nuisance in that it is in violation of
Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.41.070(5) which requires that
a freestanding sign in the C-2 Zone be located on the street
2.
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frontage. The sign in question is not so located and, therefore,
violates the code. The sign is also in violation of the
provisions of Ordinance No. 9288 in that it is a freeway oriented
sign which is not allowed by the specific plan sign regulations
adopted by said ordinance. Because the sign is in violation
of the Municipal Code on two counts, pursuant to Municipal Code
Section 21.62.010, the City Council determines that the sign is
a public nuisance.
3. The City Council further expressly finds that the City
is not estopped to proceed to remedy the violation. The City
Council finds that Weseloh Chevrolet knew of the comprehensive
sign program applicable to Car Country and the applicable sections
of the Municipal Code. Therefore; it was not reasonable for
Mr. Weseloh to claim that he relied on the building permit for
the sign which was issued in error. Furthermore, estoppel does
not apply because although the permit was issued in error, it
exp red by operation of law before the sign was installed.
Since the sign was installed after the permit expired, it was
accomplished without a valid building permit in violation of
the Building Code and estoppel does not apply. Finally, the
City Council finds that estoppel does not apply because, in so
doing, a strong public policy would be frustrated. It has been
the policy of the City of Carlsbad for a number of years to
restrict signs along the Interstate 5 freeway in order to
preserve the City's main transportation corridor as a safe and
visuaily attractive area. On-premise signs are strictly
regulated and in most cases such signs may not be located near
the freeway. Off-premise advertising signs have been excluded
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from the areas that can be viewed from Interstate 5 and the City
has successfully pursued legal actions to remove existing signs.
There are at this time no such signs existing on Interstate 5
within the City limits of the City of Carlsbad. This strong
public policy against signs adjacent to Interstate 5 was carried
forward in the specific plan that was approved for Car Country.
The City, in conjunction with the Auto Dealers' Association,
spent considerable time and effort to work out a mutually
acceptable sign program for the center.
the individual dealers to put signs near the freeway. Allowing
the sign in question to remain would frustrate this long-standing
City policy and could lead to a proliferation of signs and
preclude the maintenance of the area as the City's prime
transportation and tourist corridor. Furthermore, allowing the
sign to remain on the Weseloh Chevrolet site would be unfair to
the balance of the dealers in the Car Country area who have no
such individual signs.
That plan did not allow
4. It is the determination of the City Council that in
order to abate such public nuisance it is necessary to cause the
relocation of the sign from its present location to any point
within five feet of the east property line of subject property
adjacent to Paseo Del Norte.
5. The persons responsible for creating, causing, committin
and maintaining said nuisance willbe required to abate such
nuisance on or before July 20, 1978. If said public nuisance
is not- abated on or before such date, the City Council will cause
the abatement thereof and the expense of abatement shall
constitute a lien against the subject property and.a personal
4.
.
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obligation against the property owner of the subject property.
6. That the City Attorney is authorized and directed to
take appropriate legal action to zbate the aforesaid public
nuisance .
PASSED, APPROWD AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the
City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, held on the
20th day of June , 1978 by the following vote, to wit:
AYES : Councilmen Skotnicki, Anear and Councilwoman
NOES : Counci 1 man Packard
ABSENT : None
Cas1 er
RONALD C. PACKARD, Mayor -.
ATTEST :
(SEALj
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