Azusa Municipal Code Art. III Restrictions on Outdoor Advertising of Alcohol, Tobacco Products And…

The following words terms and phrases, when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

Alcoholic beverage shall mean any beverage in liquid form that contains not less than one-half percent of alcohol by volume and is intended for human consumption.

Child care center shall mean a facility, other than a family day care home, in which less than 24 hour-per-day nonmedical care and supervision is provided for children in a group setting as defined and licensed under the regulations of the state. For purposes of this subsection, "child care center" shall not include such a facility when it is appurtenant and clearly subordinate to a commercial or industrial activity, established on the same lot or parcel, and operated for the children of the employees of the commercial or industrial activity.

Church shall mean a development maintained and used exclusively for religious worship, including customary incidental educational and social activities in conjunction therewith.

Park shall mean any park, playground or grounds under control, direction or management of a public entity.

Recreational facility shall mean any recreational center or facility under control, direction or management of a public entity.

School shall include any elementary or secondary school, public or private, attendance at which satisfies the compulsory education laws of the State.

Tobacco product shall mean any substance containing tobacco leaf, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and dipping tobacco.

Youth center shall mean any designated indoor public, private or parochial facility, other than a private residence or a multiple dwelling unit, which contains programs which provide on a regular basis, activities or services for persons who have not yet reached the age of 18 years, including, but not limited to, community-based programs, after-school programs, weekend programs, violence prevention programs, leadership development programs, vocational programs, tutorial or other educational assistance or music, art dance, and other recreational or cultural activities, physical fitness activities and sports program.

(Ord. No. 98-018, § 1, 12-21-98)

(a) No person shall place or cause to be placed any advertisement for alcoholic beverages, cigarette or tobacco products or any advertisement for live or recorded telephone messages containing any harmful matter, as defined in Section 313 of the Penal Code, on any outdoor advertising signs located 300 feet off the premises of any residential unit, or 1,000 feet from any school, park, playground or recreational facility, youth center, child care center, entertainment park or church.

(b) This section shall not apply to outdoor advertising signs located on property adjacent to and designed to be viewed primarily by, persons traveling on a freeway.

(c) The distances specified in this section shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures, from the nearest point of the outdoor advertising to the nearest point of a use or zone listed above.

(Ord. No. 98-018, § 1, 12-21-98)

(a) This section shall be administered and enforced by the community development department. The department shall create and update a detailed map of the city, showing the location and boundaries of all schools, parks, playground, recreational centers and facilities, youth centers, child care centers, entertainment parks and church, and the corresponding 1,000-foot radii within which the advertising of alcohol, tobacco products and adult telephone messages is prohibited. Nothing contained in this section shall be interpreted or enforced in such a manner as to constitute a compensable limitation on the use of any advertising display pursuant to the Business and Profession Code Section 5412. The department may enter into agreements with appropriate departments to enforce this section.

(b) A 60 day amortization period shall be provided from the date that this article is in effect in which the restricted advertisements may remain, subject to removal by the 61st day.

(Ord. No. 98-018, § 1, 12-21-98)

The city council hereby finds and declares:

(1) It is unlawful for any person under the age of 21 years to obtain, possess, or control any alcoholic beverage in the state and it is unlawful for any licensee authorized to sell such products to furnish any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age.

(2) Studies have shown that the attitudes of children toward alcohol are significantly influenced by their exposure to alcoholic beverage advertisements.

(3) Studies reveal an association between juvenile alcohol use and crime, suicide, and accidents.

(4) It is unlawful for any person engaged in the manufacture or sale of tobacco products to sell or give tobacco to any individuals under the age of 18 years.

(5) Exposure to advertising reinforces existing use of tobacco products among youths, contributes to higher levels of tobacco product use among youth, and increases the intention to use tobacco products among those young people who do not yet consume them.

(6) Seventy-five percent of twelfth graders first tried cigarettes before the age of 15 and more than 3,000,000 minors under the age of 18 consume more than 947,000,000 packs of cigarettes annually.

(7) It is unlawful for any person to send or distribute any harmful matter to a minor by live or recorded telephone message.

(8) An ordinance restricting the placement of advertisements for alcohol, tobacco products and live or recorded telephone messages containing any harmful matter as defined in Section 313 of the Penal Code on outdoor advertising signs is a reasonable and necessary measure for the promotion of the welfare of minors exposed to such advertisements and is a necessary measure for reducing illegal use of tobacco products and consumption of alcohol products by minors.

(9) The restrictions contained in this article will not unduly burden the legitimate business activities of persons licensed to sell alcohol or tobacco products on a retail basis, nor prevent adults from obtaining information needed to make lawful purchases or unduly burden the legitimate business activities of persons transmitting, disseminating or distributing, as part of a commercial transaction, live or recorded telephone messages containing adult messages.

(10) By this article, the city council intends to narrowly focus its efforts on those advertisements which most directly affect minors where they live, attend school and engage in recreational activities, while protecting legitimate business activities.

(11) The placement of outdoor advertisements for alcohol, tobacco products, or adult telephone messages where minors live, attend school and engage in recreational activities currently threatens the public health, safety or welfare and therefore this article is needed for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare.

(12) The ordinance is compatible with and supportive of policies of the City of Azusa General Plan in that the proposed prohibitions on the placement of outdoor advertisements for alcohol, tobacco products and adult telephone messages will contribute to the public health, safety and welfare.

(13) Given the imposition of more restrictive standards on the placement of outdoor advertisements for alcohol, tobacco products and adult telephone messages, this article will not have a significant impact on the environment, and it is categorically exempt as a member of Class 8 of the State California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (Article 19, Categorical Exemptions) and Class 8 of the City of Azusa Local Guidelines for Implementing CEQA.

(Ord. No. 98-018, § 1, 12-21-98)