San Luis Obispo Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known and cited as the “sign regulations of the city of San Luis Obispo.” (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A), 2019)

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority vested in the city of San Luis Obispo and the state of California, including but not limited to: the State Constitution, California Government Code Sections 38774 and 65850, California Business and Professions Code Section 5230 and California Civil Code Section 713. (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A), 2019)

The council of the city of San Luis Obispo has determined that these sign regulations are necessary for the following purposes:

A. Protecting and enhancing the character of the community and its various neighborhoods and districts against visual blight. Furthermore, a proliferation of signs can seriously detract from the pleasure of observing the natural scenic beauty of San Luis Obispo and the built environment;

B. Regulating the size, type and location of signs to encourage the effective use of signs as a means of communication and to provide equality and equity among sign owners and those who wish to use signs;

C. Controlling the size and number of signs is consistent with community goals and policies expressed in the general plan to ensure that new signs are consistent with overall city goals to protect San Luis Obispo’s physical identity and character by maintaining and enhancing the community with distinctive, attractive, and pedestrian-oriented commercial areas and neighborhoods. The sign regulations work together with the community design guidelines and historic preservation guidelines to achieve these goals;

D. Ensuring that the design of signs are architecturally compatible with affected structures and the character of surrounding development in order to maintain the overall quality of a neighborhood or commercial district;

E. Limiting the number and size of all signs to avoid visual clutter which is detrimental to the character of the community;

F. Protecting public safety by ensuring that official traffic regulation devices be easily visible and free from nearby visual obstructions and distractions, such as attention-getting signs, an excessive number of signs, or signs in any way resembling official signs;

G. Protecting the constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech by enacting regulations to regulate the time, place and manner under which signs are permitted, and not the content of signs. Although examples of content may be provided in these regulations, content will not be used as a basis for determining whether or not a proposed sign may be permitted. (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A), 2019)

This chapter shall apply to all property and land within the jurisdiction of the city of San Luis Obispo. It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation that owns, occupies, or controls property in the city of San Luis Obispo to construct, maintain, display or alter or cause to be constructed, maintained, displayed or altered a sign within the city except in conformance with this chapter. (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A), 2019)

A. Signs Must Comply with This Code. In all zones, only such signs that are specifically permitted or exempted in this chapter may be placed, erected, maintained, displayed or used, and the placement, erection, maintenance, display or use of signs shall be subject to all restrictions, limitations and regulations contained in this chapter. The placement, erection, maintenance, display or use of all other signs is prohibited.

B. Enforcement Authority. The community development director (the “director”) is authorized and directed to enforce and administer the provisions of this chapter with the public works director’s authority where noted.

C. Permit Requirement. Unless expressly exempted by a provision of this chapter, or by other applicable law, signs within the regulatory scope of this chapter may be displayed only pursuant to a permit issued by the city pursuant to this chapter and any applicable permits required by the building code or Title 12.

D. Message Neutrality. It is the city’s policy to regulate signs in a way that does not favor commercial speech over noncommercial speech and is content neutral as to noncommercial messages which are within the protections of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution.

E. Regulatory Interpretations. All regulatory interpretations of this chapter are to be exercised in light of the city’s message neutrality policy. Where a particular type of sign is proposed in a permit application, and the type is neither expressly allowed nor prohibited by this chapter, or whenever a sign does not qualify as a “structure” as defined in the building code, then the director shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove, or refer the sign to the architectural review commission, based on the most similar sign type that is expressly regulated by this chapter.

F. Substitution of Messages. Subject to the property owner’s consent, a noncommercial message of any type may be substituted for any commercial message or any noncommercial message; provided, that the sign is otherwise legal without consideration of message content. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval or permitting. This provision prevails over any more specific provision to the contrary within this chapter. This provision does not create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a parcel, lot or land use; does not affect the requirement that a sign structure or mounting device be properly permitted; does not allow a change in the physical structure of a sign or its mounting device; and does not allow the substitution of an off-site commercial message in place of an on-site commercial message.

G. Property Owner’s Consent. No sign may be displayed without the consent of the legal owner(s) of the property on which the sign is mounted or displayed. For purposes of this policy, “owner” means the holder of the legal title to the property and all parties and persons holding a present right to possession, control or use of the property.

H. Severance. If any section, sentence, clause, phrase, word, portion or provision of this chapter is held invalid, or unconstitutional, or unenforceable, by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any other section, sentence, clause, phrase, word, portion, or provision of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid portion. In adopting this chapter, the city council affirmatively declares that it would have approved and adopted the chapter even without any portion which may be held invalid or unenforceable. (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A), 2019)