Santa Ana Municipal Code § 41-1141 Overriding economic and community benefit considerations for billboard…

No building permit shall be issued for any new digital billboard, conversion/reconstruction of an existing freeway oriented static billboard, or conversion/reconstruction of an existing on-premise advertising sign to a digital billboard, until the removal ratios as required by the Operating Agreement pursuant to section 41-1113 of this article have been met by applicant. In addition, the following standards are shall apply:

(a) Nonconforming billboards with more than one (1) face shall be removed in their entirety and shall not be altered or partially dismantled in such a way as to leave behind one (1) or more faces or portion(s) thereof.

(b) 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.

(c) Any billboard removed or demolished from within the City, or reduced in size, not in conjunction with a project requiring removal under this article, shall not be credited toward the removal requirements of section.

(d) Billboards shall be removed with the following priority, in order of highest priority to lowest:

(1) Nonconforming billboards located on properties used for residential purposes or zoned for residential use.

(2) Nonconforming billboards not located adjacent to a street classified as a Freeway, Principal, Major Arterial, Primary Arterial and Secondary Arterial as defined by the Santa Ana Circulation Element, with the exception of those billboards located in Downtown Santa Ana.

(3) All other nonconforming billboards.

(e) The City may allow the applicant to post a bond guaranteeing removal of the existing billboards prior to issuing permits for the applicable digital billboard in the freeway corridor.

(Ord. No. NS-3023, § 4, 7-19-22)

The billboard removal ratio as required pursuant to section 41-1113 of this article may be reduced subject to demonstration of overriding economic and community benefits as proposed in an Economic and Community Benefits Plan attached to and incorporated in a Billboard Operating Agreement as specified in section 41-1113 of this chapter, subject to the satisfaction of the City Manager.

(Ord. No. NS-3023, § 4, 7-19-22)