AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: COLLEEN T. DOAN
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
title
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 24-02 AMENDING CHAPTER 20.58 SIGNS OF TITLE 20 ZONING OF THE SIGNAL HILL MUNICIPAL CODE FOR CONSISTENCY WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS BY REMOVING LANGUAGE PERTAINING TO SIGN CONTENT, ELECTION SIGNS, PUBLIC INFORMATION SIGNS, AND ADDING REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY NON-COMMERCIAL SIGNS, CITYWIDE; AND FINDING THE ACTION TO BE EXEMPT FROM CEQA
summary
Summary:
The City’s land use and zoning regulations are contained in Title 20 (Zoning) of the Signal Hill Municipal Code. The Zoning Code carries out the policies of the General Plan by providing standards and guidelines for the orderly development of the City. Over time, amendments to the Zoning Code are necessary to clarify existing standards, implement new ones, reflect changes in law, and address evolving land use trends.
Over the past last decade, court rulings have altered the rules for City signage regulations. Recent court rulings favor content-neutral regulations, such as those governing a sign’s size, building materials, or lighting. Staff recommends the City Council introduce for First Reading an ordinance Amending Chapter 20.58 Signs of Title 20, pertaining to sign standards. The recommended action, if approved by the City Council, would amend the sign content requirements to be consistent with current case law.
Form of Notice: The City published the required Notice in the Signal Hill Tribune newspaper per Government Code §65091(a)(4) on May 31, 2024; and was posted in accordance with Signal Hill Municipal Code Section 1.08.010 on May 31, 2024.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
Goal No. 5 High-Functioning Government: Strengthen internal communication, recruitment, retention systems, and processes to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of City services.
recommendation
Recommendation:
1. Introduce an ordinance approving ZOA 24-02, entitled:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 24-02, AMENDING CHAPTER 20.58 SIGNS OF TITLE 20 OF THE SIGNAL HILL MUNICIPAL CODE FOR CONSISTENCY WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS BY REMOVING LANGUAGE PERTAINING TO SIGN CONTENT, ELECTION SIGNS, PUBLIC INFORMATION SIGNS, AND ADDING REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY NON-COMMERCIAL SIGNS, CITYWIDE; AND FINDING THE ACTION TO BE EXEMPT FROM CEQA
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Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
Background:
Last year, the City updated key provisions of the Signal Hill Municipal Code (SHMC) related to quality of life and code enforcement. During the process, the City’s Attorney’s office noted issues with the City’s Sign Code, found in Chapter 20.58. Over the last decade, court rulings have altered the rules for City signage regulations. The most influential of these court rulings determined that if a code regulates the actual content of a sign, it is presumed to be unconstitutional. (see Reed v. Gilbert 2015 576 U.S. 155.). The Courts tend to view content-neutral regulations more favorably. Examples of content-neutral regulations include those that govern a sign’s size, building materials, or lighting.
Taking this into consideration, the proposed revisions to Chapter 20.58 would eliminate the most evident content-based regulations and introduce more content-neutral ones. For instance, regulations governing political and election signs have been removed, and regulations for “temporary non-commercial signs” have been added. The proposed amendments to Title 20, Zoning of the SHMC, require review by both the Planning Commission and the City Council.
Analysis:
On May 21, 2024, staff presented Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) 24-02 to the Planning Commission (Attachment A). At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of ZOA 24-02, where the amendment would:
• Remove language pertaining to sign content;
• Remove references to election signs;
• Remove references to public information signs; and
• Add regulations for temporary non-commercial signs.
As noted in the background section, the changes are necessary to ensure the sign ordinance is consistent with case law. The proposed amendments would be applicable Citywide, and are summarized below:
To be consistent with case law, definitions for terms such as “chamber of commerce signs,” “dumping sign,” “election sign,” “event sign,” “foreign language sign,” “holiday display,” “political sign,” and “public information sign” have been removed. These types of signs necessitate a review of their content, which would place the City in non-compliance with relevant legal rulings. Consequently, the City removed sections regulating these definitions. For instance, all regulations related to “election signs” have been removed.
Staff refined the definition of “sign” to enhance clarity and ensure consistency with the proposed amendments. Additionally, new terms such as “temporary non-commercial sign” have been introduced. This new definition regulates temporary signage based on quantity rather than content. Corresponding regulations for “temporary non-commercial signs” have also been included as follows:
The addition of temporary non-commercial signs is based on the size and quantity of the signs, thereby adopting a more content-neutral approach. Staff would note that aside from the standards introduced for temporary non-commercial signs, no other changes to the development standards for signs are proposed.
For clarification and reference, the existing SHMC language is identified in normal font, the language proposed to be removed in strikethrough font, and the proposed new language in underline font. The proposed amendments also require clean-up formatting including the renumbering and reorganization of subsections of the sign ordinance (Attachment B).
CEQA Exemption
This project is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) Common Sense Exemption. Section 15061 (b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines states that an activity is covered by the Common Sense exemption that CEQA only applies to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA review.
The revisions proposed are editorial in nature and do not include any specific signage to be constructed or placed, nor would they prohibit the placement or type of signage where these could be previously placed. The revisions would not provide for or allow new signs that are not currently allowed or similar in nature to those currently allowed or alter specific sign standards with the potential to have a significant effect on the environment. There would be no potential for an environmental impact to result from the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Therefore, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), it would be common sense that this activity would be covered by the Common Sense exemption, as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, and the activity is not subject to CEQA (Attachment C).
Conclusion
The proposed changes would bring the City’s Sign Code in line with current case law and standard practice. The changes to Chapter 20.58 are not comprehensive but are instead focused on the most relevant issues to bring to Sign Code into conformance with Constitutional standards (Attachment D). The City Attorney’s Office will provide additional changes to modernize the Sign Code and make it easier to work with through a future update.
Upon introduction of the proposed Ordinance, the City Clerk’s office will cause to be posted a summary of the Ordinance pursuant to Signal Hill Municipal Code Section 1.08.010 at City Hall, Discovery Well Park, Reservoir Park, and the Signal Hill Library on or before June 14, 2024. A summary of the Ordinance will also be published in the Signal Tribune newspaper per Government Code §65091(a)(4) on June 14, 2024. The Second reading of the Ordinance will be agendized for the July 23, 2024, City Council meeting.
Waive the Reading of All Ordinances
Wherein the titles appear on the public agenda, said titles shall be determined to have been read by title, and further reading is waived. The purpose of waiving the reading of ordinances in full and authorizing reading by title only is to help streamline the Council meeting process, to avoid unnecessary delay and to allow more time for substantive discussion of items on the agenda.
Attachments:
A. Planning Commission Staff Report of May 21, 2024
B. Sign Ordinance Amendment
C. CEQA Categorical Exemption Report
D. Ordinance No. 2024-06-XXXX