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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-12-21; City Council; 7173-2; Zone Code AmendmentCITY uf CARLSBAD - AQENDA .,ILL - - 3 - 42 kik 7i7 -'. ZONE CODE AMENDMENT - POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SIGNS; ZCA-155 - CITY OF CARLSBAD )WT* DltpT. HO, h&f CmYORp * UTYArnYiS -- R~COYYLN~UA~# Both the Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommend that this item be approved and that the City Council introduce ordinance NO. 8097. ITEM EXPLANATION: This item is an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 21.41) to allow the placement of political campaign signs in the city with an established set of regulations. This item would also add a mechanism to the Municipal Code (Chapter 18.20) for removing illegal signs in the city and charging the cost of removal to the sign permittee or owner. Under the proposed ordinance, political signs would be permitted in any zone and in the public right-of- way in commercial and industrial zones and along major streets. This amendment was reviewed by the City Council at its meeting of October 19, 1982, and was referred to the Planning Comnission for a recommendation with particular attention being given to the size of the signs and to the amount of the deposit which would be required to guarantee the removal of the signs after an election. The Planning Commission's recommendation with respect to these two items is as follows: A) Size: Residential Zones *- 6 sq. ft. Commercial and Industrial Zones 16 sq. ft. Public Right-of-way 6 sq. ft. B) Deposit: Blanket $100 fee One additional matter which was discussed at the Planning Commission hearing but for which no action was taken by the Commission was a restriction on the total number of signs or total sign area allowed on an individual piece of property. Staff has discussed this with the City Attorney's Office since the Planning Commission hearing and it is believed that such a restriction is legal and enforceable. Therefore, Ordinance No. 8097 has been amended (Section 21.41.130(e)) to reflect this additional item. The Planning Commission and staff believe this amendment will insure the right of political expression to all members of the community while at the same time requiring campaign signs to be located, constructed and removed in a manner so as to assure the public safety, comfort and general welfare. Y 8 PAGE 2 Of AB # 7/74 -la The Land Ume Planning Manager has determined that this project will not c8We any significant environmental impacts and, there- fore, ha8 iS8Ucd a Negative Declaration, dated November 8, 1982, which was approved by the Planning Commission on November 24, 1982, A copy of the environmental documents is on file in the Land Use Planning Office. FISCAL IMPACTS: NO fiscal impacts would be created as a result of this amendment . EXHIBITS: 1. City Council Ordinance No. 8097 2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 2053 3. Staff Report, dated November 24, 1982, #/attachments ' -1 f 1 a 3 4 a e 1 . e 9 1c 11 12 16 17 18 I3 J 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 20 .ORDINANCE NO. 8097 ORDINANCB OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD CALIPOEI~QIA MENDING TITLE 18, CHAPTER 18.20 OF THE CARLSBAD ~NICIPAL CODE BY THE AMENDMENT OF SECTION 18,20.080 ~0 PROVIDE FOR THE REMOVAL OF UNSAFE, ILLEGAL OR ABANDONED SIGNS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUMMARY ABATEMENT OF SIGNS ON PROPERTY, AND AMENDING TITLE 21, CHAPTER 21.41 BY THE ADDITION OF SECTION 21.41.110 THROUGH 21.41.170 TO REGULATE CAMPAIGN SIGNS. The City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California doe ordain as follows: SECTION 1: That Title 18, Chapter 18.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended by the amendment of Section 18.20.080 to read as follows: 18.20.080 Removal of unsafe, illegal or abandoned sians. (a) Whenever any sign or part thereof other than those referred to in subsection (b) is erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter or whenever any sign is in a condition to be in danger of falling or is a menace to the safety of persons or property, the Director of Building and Planninq shall give written notice to the permittee, owner or person in charge of the sign. the nature of the violation, order the cessation thereof and require either the removal of the sign or the -execution of remedial work in the time and in the manner specified by the notice. The time for removal shall be not less than 15 nor more than 30 calendar days from the date of the mailing of the notice. Within 10 days of the date of mailing the notice the permittee, owner or person in charge of the sign may request a hearing before the Director of Building and Planning or his designee. The hearing shall be limited to whether the sian was erected or maintained in violation of this chapter or whether the condition of the siqn is dangerous to the safety of persons or property, Upon receipt of a written request for a hearing the Director of Building and Planning shall schedule a hearing and send written notice by first class mail of the time, place, and date for the hearing. After the hearing the Director of Building and Planning may affirm, modify or revoke the order to remove or repair. The time for compliance with the original order shall be stayed during the pendency of the hearing. Whenever the permittee, owner or person in charge of the sign fails to comply with an order of the Director of Building and Planning made pursuant to this section the Director of Building and Planning may remove or alter the siqn so that it conforms to the provisions of this chapter and chapter 21 -41. The expense of such action by the Director of Building and Planning shall be charged to the Such written notice shall specify I. 8 '1 2 z 4 c t ,'i € 9 io 11 12 i 1 13 'm* ,as 14 E= ii 15 y, 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 20 L i :m 3 parnittee, owner or person in charge of the sign. shall constitute a debt Owed to the City. thereafter be irsued to any permittee, owner or person in charge of a sign who fails to pay such costs. attorney'# feel, incurred by the City in collection of the costs shall be added to the amount of the debt. (b) Any lettering, advertisement , card, poster, sign or notice of any kind placed upon public property or on any curb, sidewalk, post, pole, lamp post, hydrant, bridge, tree or other surface located on public property in violation qf the provisions of this code or any sign which constitutes an immediate peril to persons or property may be removed without-prior notice by any officer or employee of the City of Carlsbad designated to do so by the City Manaqer. For the purposes of this subsection public property shall include any public right-of-way. 8ub8eCtiOn (b) of this section is posted or caused to be posted in violation of Section 18.20.050 of this chapter and the City ha8 incurred any expense in removing the sign or other matter or in repairing public property damaged because of the posting of the sign or other matter, the Director of Building and Planning may send a bill to the person responsible for posting or causing to be posted the sign or other matter for the actual or estimated cost of removal. Any such expense incurred shall constitute a debt owed to the City. The Director of Building and Planning may establish administrative regulations to govern the billing procedures. Each bill shall include the cost both direct and indirect involved in the removing of the signs or other matter and in administering the billing procedure. The bill shall describe the basis of the amount billed by indicating the number of signs or other matter posted illegally, the time necessary for removal, the hourly cost for removal, the right to a hearing and other relevant information. The bill shall also specify a date by which the bill is to be paid which date shall be not less than ten business days after the bill is mailed. pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. Following the hearing the Director of Building and Planning shall within ten business days after the date of the hearinq notify the person billed of any adjustment to the bill or any determination not to make an adjustment. This notification shall specify the date by which such bill shall be paid which date shall in no event be less than thirty calendar days after the date of the hearing. sign or other matter in violation of the provisions of section 18.20.050 of this code who fails to pay the amount billed such person for such violation within the period specified in this section shall also be liable for expenses incurred by the City in collecting the debt, including the cost of paying City employees or other persons engaged in the debt collection. (4) In any civil action involving any person, firm or corporation, or the chairman, president or other head of any committee or organization for violation of any of the provisions Such amount No permit shall Any Costs, including (c) (1) When a sign or other matter specified in (2) Every person billed may request a hearing (3) Any person posting or causing to be posted a 2. of section 18.20.050 prMf that the sign or other matter contains nm of or otherwise identifies such person, firm 01: corporation, 01: the particular committee or organization invO1v.d ahall conrtitute prima facie evidence that the person, firm, ~gporrtlon or chairman, president or other head of the --ittee ot organization involved posted, or caused to be posted, rruch'sign or other matter. (a) The owner of any lettering, advertisement, card, poster, sign or notice of any kind placed upon public property, or constituting an immediate peril to persons or property, which has been removed by an officer or employee of the City without prior notice to the owner pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section may request a hearing conducted by the Director of Building and Planning or his designee. The request for hearing shall be made in writing to the Director of Building and Planning no later than fifteen calendar days from the date the Director of Buildinq and Planning mails the billing statement specified in subsection (c) of this section or within thirty calendar days of the date of the removal whichever occurs first. The hearing shall be limited to determining whether the lettering, advertisement, card, poster, sign or notice war located upon pubilc property in violation of the provision8 of this chapter or constituted an immediate peril to persons or property and the accuracy of the amount billed. Upon receiving a written request for hearing the Director of Building and Planning or his designee shall set a hearing not less nor more than thirty calendar days from the date of receipt of the request and shall provide written notification of the hearing to the applicant. The notification shall include the date, time and place of the hearing. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final and non-appealable. Any lettering, advertisement, card, poster, sign or notice which has been properly removed under thiu section may be returned to the owner upon payment to the City of the costs of removal as specified in subsection (c) of this section. ff no timely request is made for hearinq or if no demand is made for the return of the materials removed the Director of Building and Planning or his designee is authorized to destroy or dispose of the removed material . defined in Sections 21.41.110 through 21.41.160 of this code except as provided in Section 21.41.150. (e) This Section shall apply to campaign signs as SECTION 2: That Title 21, Chapter 21.41 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code - is amended by the addition of Sections 21.41.110, 21.41.120, 21.41.130, 21.41.140, 21.41.150, 21.41.160 and 21.41.170 to read as follows: 021.41.110 Campaign siuns - Purpose and intent of It is the intent of Sections 21.41.110 through 21.41.160 provisions. to exempt campaign siqns from the requlations of this chapter relative to the placement of outdoor advertising signs 3. L I 1 L 4 A I I I 4 1( . 11 14 11 19 le 19 9 2a 21 22 23 24 25 26 37 28 c in all zones of the City, and to thereby encourage participation by the electorate in political activity during the period of palitical campaigns, but to permit such uses subject to regulations th8t will assure that political signs will be located, conrttucted and removed in a manner so as to assure the public safety and general welfare and to avoid the creation of a public nuisance caused by the proliferation of political Qdvertising which would be offensive to the senses and would interfere with the comfort and enjoyment of life or property. It is the purpose of the council, in adopting these Sections 21,41,110 through 21.41.160 to provide such regulations as will contribute to the public safety and general welfare and insure the right of political expression to all members of the community . a21.41.120 Campaiqn signs - Permitted when - Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, Regulations generally. campaiqn signs are permitted in any zone listed in the city subject to the regulations set forth in Sections 21.41,130 through 21.41,160. '21 -41.130 Campaign signs - Size regulations - Residential zone requlations. No political signs shall be located in any zone in the city unless they shall conform to the following regulations: (a) No sign shall exceed the size limit established by thi8 section for the zone on which it is located: not limited to R-1, R-2, R-3, R-P, R-T, RMHP and R-DH - six square feet, property except R-P - sixteen square feet. located in the public right of way shall exceed six square feet. be permitted. five feet from the front property line; provided further, that in the case of corner lots, said signs must be placed at least five feet from the property lines of the intersecting streets, and said signs shall be located at least five feet from side property lines. (d) No sign shall exceed three and one-half feet in height in the front setback a,rea. No signs shall exceed six feet in heiqht in any area unless said sign is attached flush to any building. The measurement shall be taken from the ground level to the top of said sign. In no event shall a sign exceed the height of the building to which it is attached. (e) The total area of all political signs on a single lot or parcel of property shall not exceed the limits established by subsections (a)(l) and (a)(2). (I) (2) (3) Notwithstanding subparagraph (1) or (2) no 8fgi Any residentially zoned property including but Any commercially or industrially zoned (b) Double faced signs as defined in this chapter may (c) Signs on private property must be posted at least '21,41,140 Campaian siqns in public right-of-way. Ndtwithstandinq any other provision of this code,a campaign sign may be placed in the public right-of-way adPcent 4. 9 1 a 3 4 4 0 e 9 10 11 13 14 14 16 17 lI! 19 2c 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 to a public atreet in comancrcially or industrially zoned area. or along prinm or major arterial8 in reridentially zoned areas 8ubj.a to tho following 'restrictions: b.nch8 pol. or structure supporting a traffic control sign or device, or hydrant. No sign shall be placed on any tree or shrub by any nail, tack, spike or other method which will cause physical harm to the tree or shrub. No sign shall be placed in such a manner as to obstruct the public use of the sidewalk or interfere with the Vidbility of persons operating motor vehicles or-constitute a hazard to persons using the public road or right-of-way. (d) No sign shall be placed in the roadway or on the aidewalk. (e) public-right-of-way or easement past tho sidewalk without tho consent of the adjoining property owner or person in poasession if different than the Owner. (8) Wo-algn shall be attached to any utility pole, bus (b) (c) No sign shall be placed in that portion of tha "21.41.150 Campaign signa - Time limit for posting and Campaign signs may be posted not more than thirty day. removal prior to the date of an election and shall be removed within ten days Mediately thereafter. Scope - Removal authorized when. "2&.41.160 Campaign signs - Sign permit roquired - Tho procedure for the approval of campaign sign. i. as (a) f0110w~t The zoning enforcement officer ahall notify tho (1) mca1 election: (A) Candidates for local or county office; (8) Chairmen of campaign committees for or following of the political sign requirements as provided herein: against any measure appearing on the ballot for a local or county election: and/or theh local campaign committee chairmen: campaign conanittees for or against any measure appearing on the ballot for 8tatewide election: (b) Prior to the posting of any campaign signs, the candidatc, the chairman of a campaign committee or any other person designated by the candidate or chairman who is responsibile for the posting of said sign, shall obtain a campaign sign permit. The permit, on a form prescribed by the firector of Building and Planning shall include the name, address and phone number of the candidate or campaign chairman and any person responsible for the posting of signs. The (2) State or national office: (A) Candidates for state or national office (B) State Chairmen and/or local chairmen of I/// I/// 5. 1 a 3 4 I t ‘1 € d 1c u 12 f 13 14 w kfh 9 id :s 16 17 3”g I I ia 5 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 , -. .- permit shall be signed by the candidate, chairman or person responsible for the posting of said signs. at the tin the application for the permit is made. ahall be U8ed to defray the cost of issuing the permit and a&inistering sections 21.41.110 through 21.41.160. at the time the permit is issued. refunded to the permittee within five days after the removal of the permittee’s campaign sign or signs. If the permittee does not remove the signs as required by Section 21.41.140 and this section, the signs may be removed by the Director of Building and Planning after givinq the notice specified in subsection (e) of this section. The deposit may be used to defray the cost of removal. The Director of Building and Planning may also charge any expense incurred hereunder to the permittee after complying with the provisions of section 18.20.080(c) of this code, my candidate or campaign committee which is able to show financial inability to pay the deposit required by this subsection may request a waiver from the City Council. (e) The Director of Building and Planning is hereby authorized, after giving five days written notice to the person or persons who signed the sign permit, to remove any campaign signs that do not conform to the standards herein provided. If the owner or occupant of the property on which the sign is located is present, the zoning enforcement officer shall inform him of the intention to remove the sign and the possibility of the charges for removal of said sign. The cost of such removal may be charged to the permittee as provided in Section 18,20.080(c) of this code. (c) A fee Set by city Council reSolution shall paid The fee (a). A deposit of one hundred dollars shall be paid This deposit shall be 21.41.170 Constitutionality. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The council declares that it would have adopted the chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid . /// /// . /// /// /// /// /// 6, ’4 .- 4 B??B~IVB DATE: Thi8 ordinance 8hall be effective thirty dq.8 after it8 adoption, and the City Clerk shall certify to at lm8t uno. in the Carlsbad Journal within fifteen day8 after it8 adoption. drpgtioa of thir ordinance and cause it to be publi8h.d INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a regular heating of the Carlsbad City Council held on the - 4th day of January t 1983, and thereat ter PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the 18th d8y of Janu~w 4' 0 1983 by the following vote, to wit: ATTBST t (Seal) CITY OF CARLSBAD 1200 ELM AVENUE CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 (714) 438-5531 MEMORANDUM DATE : August 24, 1982 TO: FROM : Mayor and City Council City Attorney SUBJECT : REGULATION OF POLITICAL SIGNS Some time ago the City Council directed our office to prepare a memorandum on two subjects: First, the regulation of political signs in the City of Carlsbad and, second, the ability of the City to summarily abate signs located in the public right-of- way. To aid in our recommendation of the council, we have asked the cities in the county to tell us their practice. To date, only two cities have responded to our questionnaire;-the City of San Diego and the City of Poway. Both the City.of San Diego'and 'the City of Poway have a provision for'the summary abatement of all signs located in the public right-of-way. We have undertaken our own review of various ordinances of cities in the county and found that many cities allow for the summary abatement of signs located in the public right of way. Our own ordinance allows for an abatement of illegal signs, including those signs located in the public right of way, but does not provide for the summary abatement of such signs. Summary abatement of signs, including political signs, in the public right of way has been upheld by a court of appeal in California. San Mateo, 120 Cal. Ap. 3rd 1, 173 Cal. Reporter 781 (1981) .A hearing was denied by the California Supreme Court on July 8, 1981 and the U.S. Suprene Court denied certiorari that same year, 102s. Ct. 643(1981). However, on July 30 of this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit struck down the City of Los Angeles ordinance prohibiting the placement of political signs in the public right-of-way. Taxpayers for Vincent v. Members of the City Council of the Citv of Los Anqeles, No. 80- 5686,D.C.' No. CV79-0957(July 30', 1982). This decision has created a conflict between the state law and the federal law regarding the posting of political signs in the public right-of-way.' Because of the supremacy clause contained in the United States constitution, the decision of the Federal Court will prevail until such time as the United States Supreme Court decides the matter. We do not know if the City of LoS Angeles intends to appeal the 9th Circuit decision to the U.S. The case upholding that right was Sussli v. City of i Supreme Court. simple. The court determined.that the City was unable to show that there wu a rubstantial relationship to a weighty governmental interest which justified the total prohibition of the posting political signs in a "traditional forumn. also found the City did not show that it's ordinance was the "least drastic means' of protecting the governmental interest involved. me court noted that in analyzing ordinances which regulate first amendment rights, certain rules must be applied. First, the ordinance is presumed unconstitutional and-the state must bear the burden of justifying the regulation (this is the exact reverse of the normal situation where ordinances are presumed to be constitutional and the person challenging the ordinance must show that the ordinance totally lacks any rational justification), Second, the law must bear 'substantial relation" to a 'weighty governmental interest". mird, the law must be the least drastic means of protecting ,the governmental interest, that is, the restrictions may be "no greater than necessary or.essentia1 to the protection of the governmental interest". Finally, the law must be drawn with "narrow specificity". The last test the court found not applicable to the facts of the Taxpayers for Vincent case. After setting out the rules the court analyzed- the governm'centis justification for the .regulation, put forth many of the standard arguments in support of its ordinance. Those justifications were: prevention of interference with normal public uses of the public objects; prevention of visual clutter; and prevention of traffic hazards. The court conceded that these were all ligitimate governmental concerns but found that the city did not show why the severe restriction of a total ban was necessary to protect those interests and, therefore, there was no substantial relationship between the ordinance and the governmental purpose. The reasoning of the 9th Circuit was really quite They - The City of Lo8 Angeles. h-ad The court also determined that the total ban was not the least drastic means of protecting the governmental interest involved. This is the flip side of the 'substantial relationship' test. The court did not say that cities could not impose some regulations on political signs. The taxpayers conceded that the posting of political signs may be subject to reasonable regulations as to time, place and manner of use, and the court 'agreed that there were less restrictive alternatives to abating the posting of all political signs. "Instead of a general ban", -2- the court said "the city might regulate the size, design and construction of the posters [citation omitted], institute clean up or remvu requirements [citation omitted], or provide more stringent regulations for the areas Of the city in need of more protection [citation omitted]." The court went on to say "moreover, the city might specifically prohibit the erection of signs that obscure hydrants, traffic signals, or that block motorists lines of sight. We also think it clear that the city might prohibit the posting of signs on trees or shrubs." Our research has discovered that many cities in the cQunty have regulations regarding political signs. Many of those regulations establish a time period within which political signs may be put up and when they must be taken down. There is no time limit in Carlsbad on commercial signs. The present Carlsbad ordinance allows an owner of property to display any non-commercial message which would include political statements as long as the sign complies with size requirement for the 20ne in which the sign is located and a permit has been issued for the sign. impose a time limit on political signs, the city must show that. the need for the restriction is both compelling and non-discriminatory. We think it is possible for this showing to be made, particularly for campaign signs. The difficulty with time limits is determining a reasonable amount of time for the posting and removal of the sign. Because campaign signs are by nature self-limiting, i.e., a campaign sign after an election is about as useful as yesterday's paper, the need for a time limit at all is debatable. However, if council thinks that is necessary to impose a time limit, particularly one for the removal of a sign after the conclusion of the campaign, then it is our opinion that a distinction must be made between political signs which make statements of a general political nature and campaign signs, which are political signs related to a campaign for a particular issue or person at a particular election. The Tax a ers case raises an additional problem with regard to signs to be placed in the public right of way, then certain persons who desire to post other types of signs in the public right of way might argue that the council cannot discriminate between commercial and non-commercial signs under the Metromedia case. (Metromedia was the case which struck down the San Diego billboard ordinance. Council has been briefed on this previously.) While this arguement may have some facial appeal, we believe that it can be overcome in the City of Carlsbad. In regulating signs within the city limits, Carlsbad has relied upon what we think is an exception to the Metromedia ruling, that is, the city is engaged in *a comprehensive coordinated effort in its commercial and industrial areas to address other obvious contributors to an unattractive envrionment." The council has found that off premise signs are incompatible with all areas of the City. In order to sign -9- regu ation. If the council is required to allow political -3- Based on the case law that now existsr the council has three opt ions. The first *ton is to do nothing and simply proceed under our present ordinances. the summary abatement of signs which is one goal that council attempted to achieve. It also exposes the City to litigation and legal expenses because of the total ban on signs in the right-of- way. Second, the council could adopt an ordinance which would allow for the summary abatement of illegal signs. ordinance which would do just that and were ready to present it to the council when the 9th Circuit decision came down. That ordinance does not address the problem of the posting of political signs in the right-of-way because it would continue the present total ban. review. option. If the third option is adopted the abatement provisions would be similar to the attached ordinance. The third option i8 to revise the provisions of the Carlabad Municipal Code to address the Tax a era case. The ordinance would place and manner' restrictions in the public right-of-way, and would also provide for the summary abatement of all illegally- posted signs. This ordinance would be narrowly drawn to clearly speckfy the nature of the political sign that could be posted in the right-of-way, rpecffy the time for its placement and its removal, and require a clean up deposit. This optionr of Coursel would not allow for We have prepared an That ordinance is attached for council The risks of the first option are the same for this allow the posting of political + s gns subjec-t to certain "time, Our office recommends that the council accept the third option and direct our office to prepare an ordinance to regulate the posting of campaign signs and to allow the City to summarily abate illegally posted signs. Of course, our office would work with the appropriate city departments in the preparation of this ordinance before bringing it back to council. VINCENT F. BIONDO, City Attorney DANIEL So HENTSCHREr Assistant BY City Attorney DSHtdvg attachments Survey Letter from Poway City Attorney Copy of San Diego Ordinance Proposed Ordinance No. (authorizes summary abatenent) -4- ORDINANCE NO. 8102 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF , CALIFORNIA AMENDING TITLE 21, CHAPTER THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE BY THE OF SECTION 21.41.130(a)(2) AND PUBLIC PROPERTY. 0 TO REINSTITUTE THE BAN OF POLITICAL California day of I its adoption. Couny ldyn the day of , 1984 by the followi g vo e, to wit: ATTEST: ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk MARY H. ASLER, Mayor a