Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 12.38 Municipal Message Center Network

The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations and requirements for the development and operation of a network of municipal message centers to be owned by the city, operated for the benefit of the city's residents, businesses, and visitors, and funded through the sale of commercial advertising space.

Municipal message centers developed and operated pursuant to this chapter shall be used by the city to display: public safety and traffic information; information regarding local events; public service messages; and commercial advertising for business conducted or services rendered or the goods produced or sold on commercially zoned property in the city; and commercial advertising for other third parties, whether located within or outside city.

(Ord. 2248, 2/13/2024)

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

"Billboard" and "digital billboard"

have the same meanings as found in Sections 5.04.030 and 5.20.040 in Hawthorne Municipal Code. These terms include any commercial off-site advertising sign erected or maintained by any person or entity engaging in the business of outdoor advertising, but shall not include any sign displaying exclusively noncommercial messages, including, but not limited to, political speech.

"Municipal message center"

means a digital billboard owned by, and developed and operated in coordination with, the city that is linked in a network to one or more other municipal message centers that allows for the coordinated display of messages across multiple digital billboards.

(Ord. 2248, 2/13/2024)

A. The municipal message center network shall be comprised of up to six municipal message centers. The location of each municipal message center shall be subject to the final approval of the city council. The network shall not expanded to any additional location unless the city council finds that a specific additional location is needed to maintain or improve the efficacy of the network, the additional location is at least 500 feet from the edge of the right-of-way of Interstate 105 and Interstate 405, and the additional municipal message center will be not oriented toward freeway traffic.

B. Each municipal message center may be placed either on city property or private property, where a lease has been negotiated with the owner.

C. No municipal message center shall be located on any property zoned primarily for residential purposes, including, but not limited to: R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 zoning.

D. The exact design and physical attributes of the municipal message centers will be subject to the city's approval, including, but not limited to: architectural style, spacing, maximum height, total number of digital display faces and maximum permitted size of each face.

E. In order to maintain the efficacy of the city's municipal message center network as a means of communicating with motorists, and to promote the city's interests in traffic safety, aesthetics, and the protection of property values by avoiding visual clutter and driver distraction, the development of new billboards shall be limited as follows:

1. Until the city's municipal message center network is complete and operational, no other new billboards shall be allowed within 500 feet either Interstate 105 or Interstate 405 as measured from the edge of the right-of-way horizontally along a line perpendicular to the centerline of applicable freeway.

2. After the city's municipal message center network is complete and operation, no other new billboards shall be allowed in any location less than 1,000 feet from any of the city's municipal message centers.

F. In order to promote civic identity and pride, each municipal message center must prominently display the city name and seal and all municipal message centers must share a uniform and distinctive architectural design.

G. Each municipal message center may contain no more than three digital display faces; provided that no two faces are oriented in the same direction.

H. The brightness of each digital sign face on a municipal message center shall be no greater than necessary to make the sign legible in direct sunlight and may not exceed 7,500 nits.

I. Each municipal message center shall be networked to every other municipal message center and capable of displaying emergency messages from a single control center.

(Ord. 2248, 2/13/2024)

The municipal message center network shall not be maintained in such a manner that it causes a reduction in federal aid highway funds as provided in Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code.

(Ord. 2248, 2/13/2024)

The city may contract with a private entity for the design, development, construction, and/or management of the city's municipal message center network. All such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the city council.

(Ord. 2248, 2/13/2024)