Long Beach Municipal Code Div. I Use Regulations

Billboards are a principal use of land and are restricted to the zoning districts indicated in Table 54-1 of this Chapter. Any type, style, or location of billboard development not specifically permitted by this Chapter shall be prohibited.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

A Conditional Use Permit shall be obtained prior to the issuance of a building permit for any project involving construction of a new billboard or electronic billboard, conversion of an existing billboard to an electronic billboard, expansion or modification of a billboard, or addition of additional face(s) to a billboard, and as otherwise specified in this Chapter and Title. No Conditional Use Permit shall be approved unless the required findings, contained in Section 21.54.115, are made. A Conditional Use Permit shall not be required if a development agreement is applied for and executed in accordance with Section 21.54.112. Any Relocation Agreement, as provided for under the provisions of the Outdoor Advertising Act (California Business and Professions Code Section 5412 et seq.), shall be accomplished through the development agreement process.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

A. An applicant shall be eligible to apply for a development agreement in accordance with Chapter 21.29 in the event that it is infeasible to comply with the provisions of Section 21.54.160. This development agreement shall be in lieu of the Conditional Use Permit required by Sections 21.54.111, 21.54.140, and 21.54.150.

B. For the purpose of this Section, an applicant shall be required to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the relevant approval body that it lacks an inventory of non-freeway-oriented billboards eligible for removal such that would satisfy Section 21.54.160. A finding of "infeasibility" is at the discretion of the relevant approval body.

C. For the purpose of this Section, an applicant shall not be deemed ineligible to apply for a development agreement because the applicant cannot meet the lot size requirement set forth in Section 21.29.020.

D. All development agreements entered into in accordance with this Section shall contain appropriate standards and public benefits and shall comply with all other requirements and standards imposed by this Chapter, except the conditional use permit requirement of Section 21.54.111. However, the development agreement shall address the Conditional Use Permit findings of Section 21.54.115, and declare whether said findings can be made as part of the determination of appropriate standards and public benefits.

E. Billboards constructed on property owned by the City or its related agencies may be accomplished by lease or license in lieu of a development agreement, and any reference to a development agreement in this Chapter shall include leases or licenses on such properties.

F. Any aggrieved applicant or person may appeal the determination of the Planning Commission regarding a finding of infeasibility to the City Council in accordance with the appeal provisions set forth in Chapter 21.21, Division V, of this Title.

G. In lieu of meeting the removal requirements of Section 21.54.160, the terms of the development agreement shall require the following of the applicant:

1. For construction of a new freeway-oriented billboard, the applicant shall be required to permanently remove, at a minimum, an existing freeway-oriented billboard or billboards with total display surface area equal to that of the proposed billboard(s). However, a greater removal ratio may be required at the discretion of the approving body.

2. The applicant shall agree (using a written instrument to the satisfaction of the City Attorney) not to petition or apply to the State of California for the removal or reclassification of the status of a landscaped freeway section within the City of Long Beach (under Sections 2511 or 2512 of the California Code of Regulations).

3. All new freeway-oriented billboards approved under the development agreement shall be located at least three hundred feet (300') from a Residential, Institutional, or Park zoning district and shall not be adjacent to (as defined in Subsection 21.54.020.D) a landscaped freeway segment, as set forth in Subsection 21.54.120.B.2.

H. All applicants shall be eligible to apply for a development agreement for the conversion of a freeway-oriented billboard to electronic, including existing billboards located adjacent to a landscaped freeway segment, regardless of the infeasibility requirement of Subsection 21.54.112.B.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

Any contract, permit, license or agreement entered into in accordance with Chapter 16.55 of the Long Beach Municipal Code shall not be subject to the zoning regulations set forth in this Chapter.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

Each individual proposal for construction of a new billboard or electronic billboard, or modification of a billboard, or conversion of an existing billboard to an electronic billboard, shall be considered a separate application, and each application shall be separately and individually subject to a Conditional Use Permit, and the provisions and requirements of this Chapter. Multiple sites shall not be combined into one application. This Section shall not apply to applications for development agreements under Section 21.54.112.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

In addition to the required findings for a Conditional Use Permit (Section 21.25.206), the Planning Commission or City Council, as applicable, shall not approve a Conditional Use Permit for any billboard project unless positive findings also can be made for the following:

A. The proposed billboard does not represent a net increase in billboard sign area Citywide.

B. The applicant or developer has provided a written plan and a letter of intent explaining how the requirements of Subsections 21.54.160.A or B (which require removal of certain amounts of existing billboard area in exchange for rights to construct a new billboard or convert an existing billboard to electronic) will be accomplished.

C. The billboard shall not constitute a hazard to the safe and efficient operation of vehicles upon a street or freeway.

D. For a new billboard, adequate spacing will exist between the proposed billboard and any existing or proposed billboards in the vicinity, such that negative visual and aesthetic impacts upon the neighborhood and surrounding land uses shall be avoided.

E. The size of the proposed billboard will not be out of context with its visual environment, or be visually disruptive to neighboring properties and structures.

F. For electronic billboards, the applicant has demonstrated technically, through a light study or similar study, that the billboard will not cause light and glare to intrude upon residential land uses, including those in mixed-use districts.

G. Approval of this permit is consistent with the intent of Chapter 21.54 (Billboards), which is, primarily, to provide reasonable billboard control and to cause the eventual elimination of nonconforming billboards from the City.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

Billboards shall be allowed in the locations set forth in Table 54-1.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

Billboards shall only be located on lots abutting certain classifications of public right-of-way, as set forth in Table 54-1.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

A. General.

No new off-premises sign (billboard) shall be located:

1. On or over a public right-of-way;

2. Within ninety feet (90') of any residential, institutional or park district;

3. Within any Planned Development District (PD), unless explicitly allowed by that PD ordinance;

4. On the roof of any building whether the building is in use or not;

5. On a wall of a building or otherwise attached or integrated to, or suspended from a building, unless explicitly approved by the Site Plan Review Committee and the Planning Commission;

6. Overhanging a building; or

7. Within eight feet (8'), in any direction, of a building, measured at the nearest distance between the sign surface or structure and the building, so as not to provide an attractive nuisance for graffiti and vandalism.

B. Additional restrictions for freeway-oriented billboards.

In addition to the above restrictions, no new freeway-oriented off-premises sign (billboard) shall be placed or maintained:

1. Within three hundred feet (300') of any residential, institutional or park district;

2. Within six hundred sixty feet (660') of a section of a freeway that has been landscaped, if the advertising display is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled way of the landscaped freeway (see "Adjacent," Subsection 21.54.020.D), unless otherwise authorized by the Outdoor Advertising Act and/or Caltrans regulations. This shall include the following landscaped freeway sections:

a. 710 Freeway:

(1) North City boundary to south side of interchange with 91;

(2) South of interchange with 91 to south side of northbound Long Beach Boulevard off-ramp on east side of freeway only;

(3) South of north edge of southbound Del Amo Avenue off-ramp to south edge of northbound Del Amo Avenue off-ramp;

(4) North edge of southbound transition ramp to 405 Freeway to south edge of the 405 to 710 southbound transition ramp on west side of 710;

(5) North edge of 405 to 710 transition ramp to south edge of northbound Pacific Coast Highway off-ramp on east side;

(6) North edge of southbound Willow Street off-ramp to south edge of southbound Willow Street on-ramp on west side of 710;

(7) North edge of southbound Anaheim Street off-ramp to center line of Anaheim Street;

(8) South of Fifth Street.

b. 91 Freeway:

(1) West City boundary to east edge of eastbound Long Beach Boulevard on-ramp;

(2) Western edge of 710 Freeway right-of-way to eastern City boundary;

c. 405 Freeway—Entire length in City;

d. 605 Freeway—Entire length in City;

e. 22 Freeway—Entire length in City.

(ORD-16-0007 § 1, 2016; ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

As set forth in Section 21.54.110, any type or location of billboard development not specifically permitted by this Chapter shall be prohibited. Additionally, the following types of prohibited billboards are specified for clarity. However, this shall not limit the types of prohibited billboards to those described below:

A. Mobile billboards. Any billboard installed upon, mounted, attached, or applied to any vehicle, non-motorized vehicle, bicycle, scooter, or trailer whose primary purpose is conveyance, transportation, or support of the billboard message surface shall be prohibited from any display or placement on public or private property or the public right-of-way in a manner making it visible from any other public or private property or the public right-of-way;

B. Any billboard integrated, incorporated, or otherwise included into the architectural design of a building, unless explicitly approved by the Site Plan Review Committee and Planning Commission, or otherwise approved as part of a lease agreement entered into with the City prior to January 1, 2014; and

C. Supergraphics. Any off-site advertisement meeting the definition of "supergraphic" as defined in Section 21.15.2980 shall be prohibited. The only exception shall be for a temporary supergraphic allowed under a special events permit.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

A. No new billboard shall be constructed or installed within the City through utilization of credits given by the California Department of Transportation or the Outdoor Advertising Act for relocation of billboards located in landscaped freeway segments, unless authorized by the Outdoor Advertising Act and/or Caltrans regulations. In the case that the Outdoor Advertising Act and/or Caltrans regulations authorize the City to permit construction of a new billboard using such credits, the removal requirements of Subsections 21.54.160.A or B shall apply, unless preempted by the Outdoor Advertising Act, or unless the conversion is the subject of a development agreement, in which case the provisions of Section 21.54.112 (Development Agreements) shall apply.

B. Conversion of existing billboards located in landscaped freeway segments to electronic billboards using such credits shall be allowed, and in this case the removal requirements of Subsection 21.54.160.A or B shall apply, unless preempted by the Outdoor Advertising Act, or unless the conversion is the subject of a development agreement, in which case the provisions of Section 21.54.112 (Development Agreements) shall apply.

(ORD-16-0007 § 2, 2016; ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

The City hereby declares that the vested rights held by existing billboards, whether conforming or nonconforming to this Chapter, do not allow conversion of said billboards to electronic billboards as a matter of right. No existing billboard shall be converted to an electronic billboard unless the following conditions are met:

A. A Conditional Use Permit is obtained by the applicant;

B. The billboard meets the requirements of Table 54-1;

C. The applicant obtains all required building permits; and

D. Other existing billboard display surface area is permanently removed from the City as required by Subsection 21.54.160.A or B, as applicable.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

The City hereby declares that the vested rights held by existing billboards, whether conforming or nonconforming to this Chapter, do not allow expansion of billboard area or addition of billboard faces as a matter of right. No billboard shall have its area increased or have an additional face added unless the following conditions are met:

A. A Conditional Use Permit is obtained by the applicant;

B. The billboard meets the requirements of Table 54-1;

C. The applicant obtains all required building permits; and

D. Other existing billboard display surface area is permanently removed from the City as required by Subsection 21.54.160.A or B, as applicable.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

The City of Long Beach finds that, at the time of adoption of this Chapter, a plenitude of modes of advertising were available via television, newspaper, magazines, circulars, direct mail, bulk mail, internet, email, mobile phones, City bus ads, bus stop posters, and other constantly-developing sources of ad placement. Also, the City finds that a sufficient or more than sufficient amount of billboard advertising capacity exists in the City to meet or exceed the community's need for outdoor advertising, and that a reduction in the amount of billboards Citywide will not impose any hardship upon the community through diminution of overall advertising capacity or options. Therefore, no building permit shall be issued for any new billboard, conversion of an existing non-electronic billboard to an electronic billboard, or expansion or addition of faces to an existing billboard, unless the following requirements are met:

A. An existing nonconforming billboard or billboards (as specified in Section 21.54.170) shall first be permanently removed from within the City as set forth in Table 54-2.

1. Nonconforming billboards shall be removed with the following priority, in order of highest priority to lowest:

a. Nonconforming billboards located in a residential zoning district and not adjacent to a street classified as a Freeway, Regional Corridor, or Major Arterial;

b. Nonconforming billboards located in a Planned Development District (or a subarea thereof) allowing residential uses and not adjacent to a street classified as a Freeway, Regional Corridor, or Major Arterial;

c. All other nonconforming billboards located in a residential zoning district or Planned Development District allowing residential uses;

d. All other nonconforming billboards located in a General Plan Land Use District allowing residential uses; and

e. All other nonconforming billboards.

2. Nonconforming billboards with more than one face shall be removed in their entirety and shall not be altered or partially dismantled in such a way as to leave behind one or more faces or portion(s) thereof.

B. If existing nonconforming billboards are permanently removed to satisfy Subsection 21.54.160.A, until no such nonconforming billboards (as specified in Section 21.54.170) remain in the City, then existing billboard area shall first be permanently removed from within the City as set forth in Table 54-3. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Director of Development Services, that no nonconforming billboards remain in the City.

C. In determining the existing display surface area to be removed to satisfy Subsection A or B above, if a billboard with more than one face is proposed, the sum of both faces shall be used. For example, if a billboard with two (2) three hundred (300) square-foot faces is proposed, a sum of six hundred (600) square feet shall be used to calculate the amount of removal required.

D. In all cases, the required removals shall be completed in accordance with one of the two (2) following alternatives:

1. The required removals shall be completed prior to issuance of a building permit for the new, converted, expanded or otherwise altered billboard; or

2. The Applicant shall, as part of the Conditional Use Permit approval process, provide a cash bond or equivalent financial instrument to the satisfaction of the Director of Financial Management, in an amount as determined by the Planning Commission to reasonably insure the prompt removal of billboards in accordance with this Section.

Regardless of the alternative selected, the applicant shall provide a list of all billboards to be removed to meet the removal requirements of Subsection 21.54.160.A or B, and shall obtain a separate demolition permit for each. In order that the applicant should not be subject to possible loss of development rights lawfully obtained through a Conditional Use Permit and performance of the required removal of billboards, said development rights, once obtained, shall be considered vested for one (1) year from the date of final action of the Conditional Use Permit or the date of execution of the development agreement by the City.

E. Fractional numbers and removal. The purpose of Subsections A and B above, is to require removal of a certain amount of billboard display surface area, rather than a specific number of billboards. However, it is not desirable for an existing billboard to be altered to reduce its size to comply with these requirements, due to the negative aesthetic impacts such alteration may create. Therefore, no billboard shall be reduced in size or otherwise altered to provide for the required removal, and only whole, entire billboard(s) shall be removed. In no case shall less than the required amount of display surface area be removed.

F. Ownership. Subsection 21.54.160.B shall not come into effect until all nonconforming billboards (as specified in Section 21.54.170) are removed from within the City, regardless of the ownership or management of those nonconforming billboards. Specifically, a party owning or managing billboards shall not be eligible for Subsection 21.54.160.B if only the nonconforming billboards owned or managed by that party are removed, while other nonconforming billboards yet remain in the City.

G. Other removal. Any billboard removed or demolished from within the City, or reduced in size, not in conjunction with a project requiring removal under Subsections 21.54.160.A or B, shall not be credited toward the removal requirements of Subsections 21.54.160.A or B above.

(ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)

A billboard shall be considered nonconforming for the purposes of the removal requirements set forth in Section 21.54.160, if it is any of the following:

A. Not located in a zoning district allowed by Table 54-1;

B. Not located adjacent to a freeway or street having a street classification type allowed in Table 54-1;

C. Located on a building or building rooftop.

Table 54-1 Billboard Development Standards

Footnotes:

(a) Required spacing between billboards on same side of the right-of-way, whether electronic or non-electronic.

(b) Street classifications are as shown on the Functional Classification of Streets map in the Transportation Element of the General Plan. See equivalence table (Table 54-1A) for updated designations adopted into the 2013 General Plan Mobility Element.

(c) If a lot has frontage on a right-of-way that is a Freeway, Regional Corridor, or Major Arterial, and on a street that is not a Freeway, Regional Corridor, or Major Arterial, the billboard shall be located no more than 25 feet from the property line with frontage on a Freeway, Regional Corridor, or Major Arterial.

(d) Any billboard adjacent to a freeway right-of-way, but not freeway-oriented and not adjacent to a Regional Corridor or Major Arterial, shall be prohibited.

(e) Also allowed in the obsolete CH commercial highway zoning district.

(f) Billboards in the IP zoning district shall require approval of the Harbor Department.

(g) Size shall not be increased over that of the existing billboard unless explicitly approved by the Planning Commission.

Table 54-1A Equivalence of Street Classification Type Designations

Table 54-2 Billboard Removal Ratios for Nonconforming Billboards

Under Subsection 21.54.160.A (If any nonconforming billboards as set forth in Section 21.54.170 are still present in City)

Footnotes:

a) See Subsection 21.54.112.G for required removal for Development Agreements.

b) At a minimum. However, in order to comply with Subsection 21.54.160.E, only whole billboards shall be removed.

Table 54-3 Billboard Removal Ratios for Conforming Billboards

Under Subsection 21.54.160.B (After all nonconforming billboards as set forth in Section 21.54.170 have been removed from City)

Footnotes:

a) See Subsection 21.54.112.G for required removal for Development Agreements.

b) At a minimum. However, in order to comply with Subsection 21.54.160.E, only whole billboards shall be removed.

(ORD-16-0007 § 3, 2016; ORD-14-0006 § 1, 2014)