§ 18.75

A.

No construction, erection, installation, relocation, or alteration of any permanent on-premises sign is permitted prior to obtaining the applicable permit.

B.

Any individual or business must obtain any and all applicable permits and/or approvals that may be required by other provisions of this code, including but not limited to building permits and electrical permits.

C.

The following table outlines the type of sign, review procedure, and approval authority:

Table 1 — Review Procedures

1 The design review board is the approval authority for a master sign program.

D.

Application Requirements. The following information must be submitted for all sign plan review applications:

1.

A scaled site plan indicating location of all signs (existing and proposed);

2.

Elevations indicating placement of all proposed signs, as well as color photographs no smaller than four inches by six inches clearly showing the elevation and placement of all existing signs;

3.

Written descriptions of proposed colors, font styles, materials, fabrication methods, and letter sizes;

4.

Any other sign permits issued and/or revoked by the city to the applicant in the three years prior to the permit application, and the type of sign for each such permit; and

5.

The address where the proposed sign will be located, including the assessor's parcel number.

E.

Permit Not Required. No permit is required for: (1) the changing of advertising copy or message on a painted or printed sign, or (2) replacing copy in signs specifically designed for the use of replaceable copy, or (3) maintenance of the sign.

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 2932, § 14, 8-11-09; Ord. No. 3054, § 13, 8-9-16)

18.75.020 - Master sign program—Multi-tenant properties.

A.

Permits for new signs, or permits for modifications to existing signs, at both existing or proposed commercial centers containing three or more tenants require submission of a master sign program to the planning division for review and approval by the design review board. All individual signs within a master sign program must conform to all applicable standards set within this chapter.

B.

Each master sign program application must provide the following information:

1.

Overall sign design, location, placement, and sizes of all signs proposed within the center;

2.

Fully-dimensioned and detailed site and elevation plans, colored renderings, and written descriptions of each individual proposed sign;

3.

Each master sign program shall contain the permitted colors, letter, and font designs, sizes, number, and locations of signs and shall be accompanied by colors and materials board. Approved master sign programs will be kept by the planning division and used in the review of any and all sign applications made by the owner or tenants of the subject property;

4.

For any application involving the revision or addition to a master sign program, the applicant must submit a new master sign program application to include details of the proposed revision as well as a mailing list of the current tenants at the subject site;

5.

The application must list whether the applicant has other sign permits that were issued or revoked in the three years prior to the year of the permit application. If the application lists such other permits, the list shall include the type of sign for each permit; and

6.

The application must include the address where the proposed sign will be located, including the assessor's parcel number.

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 2932, § 15, 8-11-09; Ord. No. 3054, § 14, 8-9-16)

18.75.030 - Permit—Decision to grant or deny.

A.

The planning division must grant, conditionally grant, or deny an application for a permit under this chapter.

1.

The planning division must grant a completed sign application that conforms with all applicable provisions in the Whittier Municipal Code for conforming signs, and all applicable planning and building permits have been validly obtained for the property upon which the sign will be erected.

2.

An application may be granted conditioned upon the modification of the sign plan or master sign plan so as to conform to these provisions, and/or conditioned upon obtaining any other applicable permits for the property upon which the sign will be erected.

3.

An application will be denied under the following conditions.

a.

The submitted sign plan or master sign plan provides for signage that exceeds the total allowable background sign area for the property, or one or more of the proposed signs does not conform with the provisions of this chapter; and the applicant has not modified the sign plan or master sign plan to conform with the planning division's guidelines and these provisions.

b.

The applicant has failed to obtain or maintain all required city, county, and state licenses and permits applicable to and required for the use of the property.

c.

The applicant has made material misrepresentations or has been intentionally misleading with respect to the requirements of Section 18.75.010(D) or 18.75.020(B).

d.

The applicant has been convicted of, or has pled guilty or nolo contendere to, violating any of the provisions in Chapters 18.72 through 18.78 (or the earlier enacted version of these provisions) within the twelve months preceding the current application.

B.

1.

The completeness of an application is determined by the director within twenty-one calendar days of submission to the planning division. If the director determines that the application is not complete, the director must notify the applicant in writing that the application is not complete and the reasons therefor, including any additional information necessary to render the application complete. Such writing shall be deposited in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, immediately upon determination that the application is incomplete.

2.

Within twenty-one calendar days following the receipt of an amended application or supplemental information, the director must determine whether the application is complete. If an amended application is not filed with the city within fifteen days of the date of the notice to the applicant that the application is incomplete, then the application is deemed withdrawn.

C.

The director, planning commission or design review board —as applicable—must consider the application and issue a decision within sixty days of the determination of a complete application for a sign plan review, or within sixty days of the determination of a complete application for a master sign program.

D.

The director's planning commission's, or design review board's decision must be hand-delivered or mailed to the applicant forthwith.

E.

The applicant may request additional time beyond that provided for in this chapter or may request a continuance regarding any decision or consideration by the city of a pending application. Extensions of time sought by applicants are not to be considered delay on the part of the city, or constitute failure by the city to provide for prompt decisions on applications.

F.

Failure by the city to render a decision within the time frames established in any part of this chapter is deemed a grant of the permit application.

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 2932, §§ 16, 17, 8-11-09; Ord. No. 3054, §§ 15, 16, 8-9-16)

18.75.040 - Permit—Appeal of decision to city council.

A.

1.

A decision by the director, planning commission, or design review board, as applicable, to conditionally grant, deny, or revoke a sign permit may be appealed to the city council. The applicant must submit a written request for an appellate hearing by the city council within thirty days of the date the city's decision is hand-delivered or mailed, whichever is earliest. The written request must be accompanied by a processing fee, as determined by resolution. A schedule of fees is available at City Hall. Failure to timely appeal a decision to the city council, or submission of a written request without the processing fee, is deemed a waiver of the right to appeal the decision.

2.

The city council must notify the applicant of an appellate hearing date within ten days of receipt of the written request and processing fee. The hearing date must be within twenty days of the date of mailing of the notice for the hearing.

B.

Content and Conduct of Hearing.

1.

Rights of the Parties. The parties (the appellant and the city) have the right to: (i) be present at the hearing; (ii) represent themselves or be represented by counsel; (iii) testify in their own behalf; (iv) call and examine witnesses, regardless of which party first called the witness to testify; and (v) rebut any adverse evidence.

2.

Admissibility of Evidence. The city council will hear all evidence that is relevant and material to the issues raised by the appeal. Any relevant evidence is admissible if it is the type of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely on in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of any common law or statutory rule of evidence that might make admission improper over objection in civil actions in courts of competent jurisdiction in the state of California. All witnesses must be sworn in by the recording secretary prior to giving testimony.

Relevant hearsay evidence is admissible, but may not be solely relied upon by the city council to reach a determination.

3.

Degree and Burden of Proof. The city has the burden to prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence, that is, evidence which has more convincing force and the greater probability of truth than the evidence which is offered in opposition to it; evidence which as a whole shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.

4.

Decision by the City Council. After all the speakers have been heard and all the evidence has been reviewed, the hearing shall be declared closed. After close of the hearing, members of the city council may publicly discuss the matter before them and may ask questions of persons who have spoken before them. Upon the conclusion of the discussion, a member of the city council will ask for a motion declaring the decision of the board. The motion must be made and seconded, and voted upon by the city council. An appeal is approved if a motion with appropriate findings is carried by a majority vote of the members voting. The failure to carry a motion to approve constitutes denial of the appeal. The city council's written decision and findings must be made within seven days of the hearing. The city council's decision must forthwith be mailed or delivered in person to the appellant.

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 2932, § 18, 8-11-09; Ord. No. 3054, § 17, 8-9-16)

The city council's decision is final. The decision is deemed final on the day that it is deposited into the U.S. mail, addressed to the applicant at the address provided on the sign permit application. The notice of decision must provide that the applicant has the right to challenge the city council's decision in a court of law, in accordance with the provisions of Section 1094.8 of the California Code of Civil Procedure.

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

A.

Any permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be revoked by the city on the basis of any one or more of the following:

1.

One or more of the signs has been constructed or erected in a manner which violates one or more of the conditions imposed upon the issuance of the sign plan or master sign program permit, or fails to conform to the plans described in the application.

2.

The permittee has failed to obtain or maintain all required city, county, and state licenses and permits.

3.

The permit is being used to erect a sign relating to an activity or location different from that for which the permit was issued.

4.

The permittee has misrepresented a material fact in the permit application.

5.

The business or activity for which the permit was granted has been abandoned or has changed to a different business.

6.

The applicant is convicted of, or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, violating any of the provisions in Chapters 18.72 through 18.78 (or the earlier enacted version of these provisions, if applicable).

(Ord. 2900 § 5 (part), 2007)

Chapter 18.76 - SIGN CONSTRUCTION AND PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS