Part 5 — BILLBOARD RELOCATION

The purpose of billboard relocation approval is to enable the removal of billboards from overimpacted areas by allowing the use of alternative sites and to enable the substitution of billboards meeting modern standards for nonconforming billboards.

Relocation approval is part of the demonstrated commitment of the city council to the aesthetic enhancement of the city.

(Ord. 24201.)

Any legal nonconforming billboard may be considered as a candidate for billboard relocation approval. Such billboards may be relocated to a new site or relocated on the present site only in accordance with this part.

(Ord. 24201.)

A.

The applicant for a billboard relocation approval shall propose a relocation site based on the following considerations:

The area does not have excessive visual clutter;

The proposed relocated billboard would be compatible with uses and structures on the site and in the surrounding area;

The proposed site is not within six hundred linear feet of residential uses, residential zones or an area which has a general plan designation of residential;

The proposed site is not within six hundred linear feet of an existing billboard;

The proposed site is not in an area which is actively contemplated for or actively being upgraded. Indications of such upgrading are:

a.

A specific program for beautification or undergrounding of utilities;

b.

A neighborhood business district revitalization program;

c.

A redevelopment area;

The proposed billboard would not create a traffic or safety problem with regard to on-site access, circulation or visibility; and

The proposed billboard would not interfere with on-site parking or landscaping required by city ordinance or permit.

B.

These considerations are to serve only as general guidelines for use by the applicant in the identification of potential relocation sites.

(Ord. 24201.)

The following considerations shall serve as general guidelines in identifying candidate billboards for relocation:

A.

Areas of general priority for removal and relocation:

Downtown core area, as defined in the general plan;

Major thoroughfares leading into the downtown core area;

Streets upon which billboards are heavily concentrated and contribute to existing visual clutter;

B.

Nonconformance with the standards and requirements set forth in Section 23.04.450, including:

Minimum spacing;

Maximum height;

Maximum surface area; or

Setback from property line;

C.

Proximity to residential zoning districts or residential housing;

D.

Degree of compaction or concentration:

Physical proximity to other billboards;

Field of vision shared with other billboards;

E.

Physical condition:

Maintenance quality (i.e., apparent aging, paint condition, general repair, etc.);

Appearance of structure (i.e., number of support poles, projecting components, complexity of structure);

F.

Appearance in context:

Compatibility with nearby buildings:

a.

The billboard shares an immediate field of vision (from a public street) with an architecturally unusual or meritorious building or with a historic building;

b.

The bottom edge of the billboard is higher than the roof line of an adjacent small building, particularly a one-story building; or

c.

The plane of the billboard is substantially skewed relative to adjacent building;

Billboard in conjunction with other billboards in the field of vision creates visual clutter;

The billboard contributes to existing general visual clutter and/or competes with nearby business signs and/or buildings.

(Ord. 24201.)

A.

Prior to filing an application for a planned development zoning pursuant to Section 23.04.480, applicant shall file a request for the identification of potential candidate billboards pursuant to Section 23.04.430. The request shall contain the name of the billboard company wishing to effectuate a relocation and the location of proposed relocation site.

B.

Within thirty days of receipt of the request, the director shall provide the applicant with a list of three billboards owned by the company identified in the request which are candidates for relocation.

C.

The applicant shall have absolute discretion in choosing the candidate billboard for relocation from the list provided by the director.

(Ord. 24201.)

Any billboard relocated pursuant to this part shall conform to the following standards:

A.

Height. The height of any portion of the billboard or any of its appendages, excluding temporary extensions, shall not exceed thirty-six linear feet above the natural grade of the site. The natural grade shall be the average of the natural surface elevations measured within a twenty-five foot radius of the center of the billboard surface. A "temporary extension" is an extension of the message surface of a billboard in conjunction with a particular message display. A temporary extension shall not exceed the height limitation of a billboard by more than four linear feet.

B.

Width. The billboard, excluding temporary extensions, shall not at any point exceed a width of fifty linear feet. Temporary extensions shall not exceed the width limitations by more than four linear feet.

C.

Area. The area of the message surface of the billboard, together with its framing, excluding temporary extensions, shall not exceed seven hundred square feet. Temporary extensions to the sides and/or tops of

the display shall not exceed twenty-two percent of the area of the message surface together with its framing.

D.

Street frontage.

A billboard may be placed only on a parcel which has frontage on at least one public street; and

Billboards which are situate on common frontage sites shall be no closer to each other than three hundred linear feet, unless such billboards face in opposite directions. As used in this subsection:

a.

"Common frontage sites" means parcels which have frontage on the same side of the same street;

b.

Billboards shall be deemed to be facing in "opposite directions" only if their message surfaces are facing in different directions with external angles between these directions of not less than two hundred twenty degrees measured from the plane of the surfaces;

c.

The distance between billboards shall be the distance, measured linearly along the centerline of the street on which the common frontage sites each have frontage, between perpendicular lines drawn to the centerline of the street from such billboards at the points of the billboards closest to each other.

E.

Location away from highways or freeways.

No billboard shall be located less than six hundred sixty linear feet from the existing or proposed right-of- way (including interchanges and ingress and egress ramps) of any existing or proposed landscaped freeway, if the message surface of such billboard could be read by persons traveling on such landscaped freeway. Such existing and proposed freeways include, but are not limited to, the following:

a.

State Routes 85, 87, 280 and 237;

b.

U.S. Route 101 (bypass), southerly of Ford Road.

No billboard shall be placed within five hundred linear feet from another billboard on the same side of any interstate highway or freeway.

F.

Illumination. Billboards may be illuminated by continuous lighting. Their light source shall not have appendages which protrude more than eight linear feet from the wall on which the billboard is mounted or from the message surface of a freestanding billboard.

G.

Setback. Freestanding billboards shall be set back from abutting streets in accordance with the most stringent of the following requirements:

The setback requirements of Chapter 20.80;

The setback requirements of Sections 20.40.200 to 20.40.300 of Title 20; or

The setback from preexisting buildings on abutting sites specified hereinafter:

a.

If the closest preexisting building on each of the abutting sites is within two hundred linear feet of a proposed freestanding billboard, the billboard shall be set back from the abutting street behind the shortest line which can be drawn between those preexisting buildings from the exterior wall (including the edge or corner) of each which is closest to and exposed toward the streetline; or

b.

If only one abutting site has any preexisting building within two hundred linear feet of the proposed billboard, then setback from the abutting street shall be at least equal to the distance between the streetline and the closest preexisting building on the abutting street.

c.

An "abutting site" for purposes of Section 23.04.450.G.3. is a parcel which abuts both the parcel on which the proposed billboard will be situated and the street from which the billboard is to be set back.

(Ord. 24201.)

As part of the application for billboard relocation the applicant shall submit to the city a recorded agreement between the owner of the property from which the billboard is proposed to be removed and the applicant, which expresses the concurrence or acquiescence of said owner to the relocation.

(Ord. 24201.)

An applicant may propose on-site relocation approval. Any billboard so relocated shall conform to the standards set forth in Section 23.04.450. This provision shall not be construed to permit continuation of a billboard on a vacant lot being developed.

(Ord. 24201.)

A.

Billboard relocation shall be permitted only pursuant to a planned development combined district rezoning in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 20.120 of Title 20.

B.

The application for planned development zoning for billboard relocation shall specify the location of the billboard which is the candidate for relocation selected by the applicant, pursuant to Section 23.04.430.C.

C.

In addition to the billboard, the planned development district shall incorporate all of the uses, rights and limitations of the existing base zoning district or special sign zone as those may be amended from time to time in this Code.

(Ord. 24201.)

The billboard which is approved for relocation must be removed from the original site prior to construction or installation of the billboard pursuant to the planned development zoning.

(Ord. 24201.)

A.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this part, nothing in this part shall prohibit the city, a billboard owner, and the owner of the real property upon which the billboard is located from all entering into a contractual arrangement to allow for an alteration in the height of an existing, legal nonconforming billboard in exchange for the removal of other legal nonconforming billboards in the city when the contract meets all of the following minimum criteria:

The contract does not permit nor allow for the erection, defined in Section 23.02.160, of any new billboard nor increase the number of billboard panels located in the city; and

Fulfillment of the contractual obligations shall result in a net reduction of the number of billboards located in the city that are not otherwise already scheduled for removal by the real property owner or billboard owner or through final order of condemnation other order of a court of competent jurisdiction; and

The contract provides for the removal of any and all billboards to be removed under the contract prior to or concurrently with effecting any change in the height of the existing legal nonconforming billboard; and

The contract does not allow the height of any billboard, or any of its appendages, to exceed fifty feet, measured from the natural grade of the site; and

The contract contains language satisfactory to the city attorney under which the billboard owner and/or real property owner agree to release and indemnify the city from any and all potential liability and damages resulting from work performed and services rendered under the contract and language satisfactory to the risk manager under which the billboard owner and/or real property owner agree to acquire and maintain appropriate insurance policies related to the work to be performed and services provided under the contract.

B.

The city council shall not approve a proposed contract unless the city council makes all of the following findings regarding the contract:

The proposed contract meets all of the criteria set forth in subsection A.; and

The contractual provisions are consistent with the city's general plan and the purposes of this part and this title; and

Fulfillment of the provisions of the contract would result in an overall reduction of visual clutter and visual blight in the city; and

Fulfillment of the provisions of the contract will preserve or further the public health, safety or welfare.

C.

Any alteration to the height of an existing billboard shall be processed and permitted only through a sign adjustment permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this title, including without limitation the provisions regarding the alteration of a legal nonconforming sign set forth in Part 3 and Part 4 of Chapter 23.02; provided, however, that the director may issue a sign adjustment permit only after making the findings required by Section 23.02.1340 and also finding that the sign adjustment permit application is consistent with the applicable billboard height alteration contract approved by the city council.

D.

The resulting billboard shall remain a legal nonconforming billboard for so long as the erection and maintenance of the resulting billboard is in full compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract and sign adjustment permit issued therefor.

E.

Any billboard removed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be processed and permitted only through an adjustment permit issued in accordance with the provisions of Section 20.100.500.

F.

The city council may approve such a contract and the director may issue the required permit(s), all in accordance with its normal and existing practices, policies and procedures. Under no circumstance shall any person have the right to have a contract executed to allow for an alteration in the height of an existing legal nonconforming billboard in exchange for the removal of other billboards in the city under the provisions of this section. Nothing contained in this section shall, in any event or under any circumstances, be deemed or construed to confer upon any person the right to have such a contract executed by the city.

G.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 23.02.870, the director of planning, building and code enforcement, or other person designated by the city manager, shall administer the provisions of this section and, for each proposed contract, provide a report to the city council on the criteria set forth in subsection A. above and on the facts and analyses pertaining to the findings required under subsection B. above, as well as a recommendation to the city council on each proposed contract.

H.

The billboard owner or real property owner shall pay to the city the applicable fees to administer and process the provisions of this section. The fees required to be paid under this section shall be as set forth in the schedule of fees established by resolution of the city council. Such fees shall be charged to cover the cost of preparing maps, publishing and distributing of notices, performing environmental review, and other administrative expenses necessarily incurred to administer the provisions of this section. No part of such fees shall be returned because of the disapproval or denial of any contract or permit.

(Ord. 26393.)