Article 9 — BILLBOARDS — Torrance Zoning Code

911.9.010 PURPOSE.

Billboards are recognized as a legitimate form of commercial use in the City. However, the size, number, location and illumination of billboards can have significant influence on the City’s visual environment, and can, without adequate control, create or contribute to blighted conditions. The purpose of this Article is to provide reasonable billboard control, recognizing that community appearance is an important factor in ensuring the general community welfare. Additionally, it is the purpose of this Article to eventually eliminate nonconforming billboards from the City.

911.9.020 APPROVAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION.

a) No billboard may be constructed without an approved conditional use permit and unless a sign permit therefor has been issued. Any type, style, or location of billboard development not specifically permitted by this Article shall be prohibited.

b) In making its determination, the Planning Commission shall consider, among other factors:

If the approval will be materially detrimental to the public welfare;
If the approval will substantially interfere with the orderly development of the City as provided for in the land use element of the General Plan and the Zoning Code;
If the proposed billboard will be compatible with the development of property of other persons located in the vicinity thereof;
Whether the size of the proposed billboard will be out of context with its visual environment, or be visually disruptive to neighboring properties and structures;
Whether 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;
If 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;

1. Whether the proposed billboard will comply with all provisions of this Chapter;

Approval of this permit is consistent with the intent of this Section, which is, primarily, to provide reasonable billboard control and to cause the eventual elimination of nonconforming billboards from the City.

911.9.030 MAXIMUM AREA.

a) No single-faced billboard shall be larger than seven hundred (700) square feet in area.

b) No one face of a double-faced or V-shaped billboard shall exceed seven hundred (700) square feet in area.

911.9.040 MAXIMUM HEIGHT AND AVERAGE GRADE.

a) The maximum height of billboards shall be forty-two (42) feet measured from the ground to the overall top; provided, however, that no billboard shall be located on the roof of a building.

b) A billboard intended to be seen from a freeway may be approved by the Planning Commission to extend up to thirty-five (35) feet above the grade of the outermost lane of travel should circumstances warrant.

911.9.050 SUBDIVISION BILLBOARDS.

The following provisions shall apply to billboards which have as their subject matter the location of a subdivision with improvements for sale:

a) The applicant for a sign permit and for approval of the Planning Commission must be the owner of, or the agent of the owner of, such subdivision improvements.

b) The subdivision must be located within the City of Torrance.

c) Such billboards shall not exceed more than ten (10) feet in height and twenty (20) feet in width.

d) The billboard shall be removed at the end of a period no longer than six (6) months following the completion of the subdivision improvements being advertised for sale.

911.9.060 BILLBOARDS ADJACENT TO RESIDENTIAL AREAS.

a) A billboard which is situated in a commercial or industrial zone shall not be located closer than two hundred (200) feet from any building used for residential purposes.

b) A billboard shall not be located closer than two hundred (200) feet from any public recreation area, public or parochial school, public library or church.

911.9.070 ZONING.

A billboard may be placed only in commercial, industrial or public use zones.

911.9.080 BLOCKAGE OF EXISTING SIGNS.

No billboard may be placed so as to block the view of prior existing signs which advertise the businesses on adjacent property.

911.9.090 STRUCTURE.

a) Billboards shall be provided with no more than one (1) support, and the support shall be constructed of steel. The support shall be architecturally treated to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission. At a minimum, unpainted steel structural supports and wood structural supports shall be prohibited.

b) All billboards shall comply structurally to the City’s Building Code.

c) All back or rear portions of single-faced and V-type billboards visible from a public right-of-way or other public or private property shall be screened. The screening shall cover all structural members of the sign, not including the pole supports, and shall additionally cover all electrical equipment and other appurtenances.

911.9.100 MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN BILLBOARDS.

A minimum distance of five hundred (500) feet shall be maintained between any two (2) billboards located on either side of the same street frontage; provided, however, that no more than three (3) billboards shall be located within a fifteen hundred (1,500) foot frontage on the same side of the street.

911.9.110 ILLUMINATION.

a) Any illumination used on a billboard shall be of an indirect type and shall not face toward any residential building.

b) No flashing or intermittent lights shall be used to illuminate a billboard.

911.9.120 ENCROACHMENTS.

No portion of any billboard shall project over or encroach upon any public property.

911.9.130 BILLBOARDS ADJACENT TO LANDSCAPED FREEWAY.

a) No billboard shall be placed or maintained on property adjacent to a section of the freeway which has been or hereafter may be landscaped as defined herein, if the billboard is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on such landscaped section of the freeway.

b) Any billboard which hereafter may be in violation of provisions of this Section shall be removed within three (3) years from the date when the project for the landscaping of a section or sections of a freeway shall have been completed or accepted and the character of said section or sections shall have been changed from a freeway to a landscaped freeway, whichever is later.

911.9.140 CONVERSION OF NONELECTRONIC BILLBOARDS TO ELECTRONIC.

The City hereby declares that the vested rights held by existing billboards, whether conforming or nonconforming to this Article, 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.

911.9.150 LETTERS ON BILLBOARDS.

a) Letters, figures, characters or representations in cutout or irregular form may be maintained in conjunction with, attached to or superimposed upon any billboard, but shall not extend more than five and one-half (5-1/2) feet above the top of the upper ornamental molding.

b) The total surface area of the solid portion of such letters, figures, characters or representations in cutout or irregular form extending above the top molding of the billboard shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the total area of the surface sign space of the billboard.

c) The total surface area of the solid portion of any one (1) individual letter, figure, character or representation in cutout or irregular form extending above the top molding of the billboard shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the total area of the surface sign space of the billboard.

d) The total surface area of the solid portion of such letters, figures, characters or representations in cutout or irregular form extending between the base line of the billboard and the surface of the ground shall not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total area of the surface sign space of the billboard.

e) The total surface area of the solid portion of any one (1) individual letter, figure, character or representation in cutout or irregular form extending between the base line of the billboard and the surface of the ground shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the total area of the surface sign space of the billboard.

f) When the letters, figures, characters or representations in cutout or irregular form maintained in conjunction with, attached to, or superimposed upon any billboard extended above the top of the upper ornamental molding and also between the base line of the billboard and the surface of the ground, then the combined total surface of the solid portions of such letters, figures, characters or representations in cutout or irregular form extending above the top of the upper ornamental molding of the billboard and between the base line of the billboard and the surface of the ground shall not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total area of the surface sign space of the billboard.