Redwood City Municipal Code § 3.52 Balancing

This title may be known as the "Redwood City Sign Ordinance," or the "Sign Ordinance."

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)

This Article regulates signs, as defined in this Article, located on private property which is not public right-of-way, and on properties which are owned by public entities other than the City, and over which the City has land use regulatory authority. Further, this Article does not regulate signs used in conjunction with special public events, when such events are regulated by Article III of this Chapter. The City's policies regarding private party signs on property owned or controlled by the City, as well as on public rights-of-way, are stated in Article III of this Chapter. Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Article, all signs within the regulatory scope of this Article shall be erected and maintained in conformity with this Article.

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)

This Article states the legislative decisions made by the City Council regarding display of signs on regulated land, after carefully balancing many competing factors and interests. This Article consolidates all general provisions relating to the installation, regulation and amortization of signs on regulated land throughout the City.

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)

The City has a reputation as a community of natural beauty, distinctive architecture and historic tradition. Signs significantly affect the aesthetic appeal of the City and its streetscapes; they also affect the quality of the visual environment and influence perceptions of local economic conditions. The purpose of this Article is to ensure that information by signs on regulated land is presented safely and effectively in a manner which enhances the quality of the visual environment, aids in attracting shoppers and other visitors, and promotes traffic safety and convenient circulation for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. This Article is enacted to further the public health, welfare and safety, and to serve the City's interests in promoting community aesthetics, commerce and tourism, to serve the interests in the safety of traffic, pedestrians and animals, to protect and preserve property values, and to protect the right of free speech by sign display.

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)

The objects of this Article include:

A. Implementation of General Plan: To implement the goals and policies of the City General Plan by establishing uniform standards and procedures to control the size, type, number, design, placement, illumination and maintenance of signs on regulated property;

B. Site Relevance: To encourage signs that are attractive and functional for the type of establishment to which they may pertain, and that are in scale and architectural harmony with the project site, project building(s), adjacent buildings and development in the commercial district or neighborhood in which they are located;

C. Reduction of Visual Clutter: To reduce visual clutter by generally prohibiting the erection, construction or use of any off-site commercial signs on permanent structures (billboards), oversized signs, roof signs, animated signs and electronic message signs, other than those which are already legally existing in the City as of the date this Article, or when a prior version of this Article containing a similar provision first took effect;

D. Aesthetics: To enhance the aesthetic appeal of commercial streetscapes and minimize distractions to motorists by limiting the percentage of any storefront window that may be covered with signs and by limiting the combined area of signs displayed on any building facade;

E. Neighborhood Preservation: To protect and preserve the character of residential areas by prohibiting commercial signage in such areas, except as required by State law or applicable judicial decisions;

F. Historic Preservation: To establish procedures to allow the continued use, maintenance and repair of nonconforming historic signs that preserve locally recognized values of community appearance or that reflect unique characteristics of development;

G. Safety: To promote traffic safety by prohibiting signs that constitute a traffic hazard or obstruct the visibility of motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, or cause confusion by virtue of visual similarity to traffic control signs; and

H. Updating: To encourage the upgrading, updating or removal of signs that are poorly maintained, out of character with their surroundings, or do not conform to this Article.

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)

The principles, policies, rules and regulations stated in this Section (the "Basic Principles") apply to all signs within the regulatory scope of this Article and to all provisions of this Article, and override more specific provisions to the contrary.

A. Administration Authority: The Director is authorized and assigned the duty of enforcing all provisions of this Article.

B. Compliance and Permits: No person shall erect, place, display or maintain any sign in violation of this Article. To insure compliance with this Article, a sign permit shall be required for any sign, except as provided herein.

C. Administrative Interpretations: All interpretations of this Article are to be exercised in light of the City's message neutrality and message substitution policies stated in this Section. Where a particular type of sign is proposed in a permit application, and the type is neither expressly allowed nor prohibited by this Article, or whenever a sign does not qualify as a "structure" as defined in the Redwood City Building Code, then the Director shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the application based on the most similar sign type, using physical and structural similarity, that is expressly regulated by this Article.

D. Message Neutrality: It is the City's policy and intent to regulate signs in a manner which is consistent with the speech freedoms of both the United States and California constitutions, by enacting regulations which are content neutral, while recognizing the differing levels of protection as to noncommercial and commercial messages.

E. Message Substitution: Subject to the property owner's consent, a noncommercial message of any category or content may be substituted, in whole or in part, for any allowed commercial message or any noncommercial message, provided that the sign structure or mounting device is legal without consideration of message content. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval or permitting. In addition, any sign display area which is available but unused, on any particular lot or parcel, may be used for signs displaying noncommercial messages, at any time; such signs are subject to a permit only if the sign qualifies as a "structure" under the Building Code. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a site; it does not create a right to substitute an off-site commercial message in place of an on-site commercial message; it does not create a right to substitute an off-site commercial message in place of a noncommercial message, no matter where such noncommercial message may be located; it does not affect the requirement that a sign structure or mounting device be properly permitted; it does not authorize changing the physical method of message display without a permit.

F. Purpose of Permitting: All permitting and approval processes required by this Article are intended to insure compliance with this Article and various safety codes, as well as to prevent the loss of time, effort, materials and investment which might otherwise be invested in an illegal sign.

G. Noncommunicative Aspects of Signs: All rules and regulations concerning the noncommunicative aspects of signs including, but not limited to, location, size, allowable area, height, illumination, spacing between signs, orientation and density, etc., stand enforceable independently of any permit or approval process.

H. Billboard Policy: It is a fundamental land use policy of the City to completely prohibit the construction, erection or use of any and all billboards (as defined herein), other than those which legally exist in the City, or for which a valid permit has been issued and has not expired, as of the date on which this provision, or when a prior version of this Article containing a provision to the same effect, was adopted. In approving this Article, the City Council affirmatively declares that its billboard policy is a fundamental land use policy, and that it would have adopted this billboard policy even if it were the only provision in this Article. The City Council intends for this billboard policy to be severable and separately enforceable even if other provision(s) of this Article may be declared, by a court of competent jurisdiction, to be unconstitutional, invalid or unenforceable. This provision does not prohibit agreements to relocate presently existing legal billboards as encouraged by State law, including, but not limited to, Business and Professions Code section 5412 as that Section may be amended from time to time.

I. Property Owner's Consent: No sign may be displayed on private tangible property or other regulated land without the property owner's consent.

J. Signage Rights and Duties: As to all signs attached to real property, the signage rights, duties and obligations arising from this Article attach to and travel with the land or other property on which a sign is mounted or displayed. This provision does not modify or affect the law of fixtures, sign-related provisions in private leases (so long as they are not in conflict with this Article or other law), or the ownership of sign structures. This provision does not apply to hand-held signs or other images which are aspects of personal appearance.

K. Master Sign Program/Precise Plans: Master Sign Programs for specific developments, planned developments, specific plans, precise plans as well as special sign districts or sign-related overlays, when duly approved by the City, may modify the rules stated in this Article as to the noncommunicative aspects of signs, but may not override or modify any of the Basic Principles stated in this Section. All of the provisions of this Section shall automatically apply to and be deemed a part of any master sign program, precise plan, sign district or sign-related overlay zoning, which is approved after the date on which this provision, or a prior version of this Article containing the same provision, was adopted.

L. Mixed Use Zoning Districts: For purposes of this Article in zoning districts allowing both residential and nonresidential uses, all legal residential uses shall be treated as if they were located in a residential district which would allow a residential unit of the same type (i.e., single-family residence and/or multifamily residence), and all legal nonresidential uses shall be treated as if they were located in a nonresidential district allowing nonresidential uses of the same type.

M. Severance: If any provision of this Article or the application thereof is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity shall not affect any other provision or application of this Article that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to this end, all of the provisions of this Article are severable. In adopting this Article, the City Council declares that if it had known that certain provisions were legally invalid, it would have adopted the Article without such provisions.

(Ord. No. 2309, § 2, 5-7-07)