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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-07-14 Ordinance 4797follows: ORDINANCE NO. 4797 ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 16.20 (SIGN ORDINANCE) OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE FOR BUS SHELTER ADVERTISING The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. finds and declares as follows: The City Council (a) The Santa Clara County Transit District ("District") owns and formerly maintained bus shelters within the City of Palo Alto; and (b) In 1995 the District entered into an agreement with Patrick Media ("Patrick"), whereby Patrick agreed to upgrade and maintain all bus shelters within the District, in exchange for the right to display advertising in a limited number of the shelters (the "program"); and (c) In 1996 the City chose not to permit advertising on those bus shelters and the District thereafter allowed the City to agree to repair and maintain those shelters at its own expense; and (d) The City has now decided to participate in the program to eliminate bus shelter maintenance expense; and (e) Participation amendment to Chapter 16.20 Municipal Code; and in the program (Sign Ordinance) will require an of the Palo Alto (f) The City Council has considered the matter and finds that participation in the program, including amendment of the Sign Ordinance, is in the public interest; II II II 030721 sm 0052871 1 SECTION 2. Section 16.20.100 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 16.20.100 Prohibited locations. Unless otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, all signs shall comply with the following location requirements: (a) Public property. No sign shall be placed on any public property, including but not limited to any city building, sidewalk, crosswalk, curb, street lamp post, hydrant, tree, shrub, tree stake or guard, railroad trestle, electric light or power or telephone or telegraph wire pole or wire appurtenance thereof or upon any fixture of the fire alarm system or upon any lighting system, street sign or traffic sign. (1) Nothing in this section shall apply to the installation of terrazzo sidewalks or sidewalks of similar construction, sidewalks permanently colored by an admixture in the material of which the sidewalks is constructed and for which the department of public works has granted a written permit. (2) Nothing in this section shall apply to the painting of house numbers on curbs pursuant to Chapter 16.36. (3) Application may be made for an encroachment permit pursuant to Chapter 12.12 for the installation of a metal plaque commemorating an historical, cultural or artistic event, loca tion or personali ty. The department of public works may grant such an encroachment permit only upon the approval of the city council. (4) Application may be made for an encroachment permit pursuant to Chapter 12.12 for a portable sign to be placed on public property. The department of public works may grant such an encroachment permit only upon the approval of the sign, pursuant to Chapter 16.48 and pursuant to the guidelines for portable signs adopted by the architectural review board. (5) Application may be made, pursuant to Section 16.20.050, for a temporary sign on public property if the sign commemorates or relates to a season or an historical, cultural or artistic event. (6) Any sign found posted on public property contrary to the provisions of this section may be removed by the division of inspectional services or the police department. 030721 smOO52871 2 (b) Fire escapes. No sign shall be erected in such a manner that any portion of the sign or its support is attached to or will interfere with the free use of any fire escape, exit or standpipe, or obstruct any required stairway, door ventilator or window. (c) Marquees. No sign shall be placed upon the roof or on the face of any marquee except on a theater. (d) Traffic. No sign shall be erected in such a manner that it will or reasonably may be expected to interfere with, obstruct, confuse or mislead traffic. (e) Intersections. No sign over three feet in height shall be erected at the intersection of any street improved for vehicular traffic, wi thin a triangular area formed by the curb lines, and their projection and a line connecting them at points thirty-five feet from the intersection of the projected curb lines, unless the sign, in compliance wi th the provisions of this chapter, has a clearance of at least ten feet above curb grade and no part of whose means of support has a single or combined horizontal cross-section exceeding eight inches. (f) Residential districts. No sign shall be erected in any residential district except as provided below: (1) Churches and other organizations. In all residential districts churches and other permitted or conditional uses in the district may erect signs on the premises identifying the premises or announcing activities thereon. (2 ) districts except identifying the situated. Identifying signs. R-1, R-E and R-2, property or building In all residential signs may be erected on which the sign is (3) Special purpose signs. Special purpose signs may be erected in residential districts in compliance with the provisions of Section 16.20.160. (4) Size and height. Except as otherwise provided in Section 16.20.160, wall signs in residential districts shall not exceed an area of one square foot of sign for each forty square feet of wall area except that regardless of the size of the building face, (1) any such sign or combination of signs may have an area of at least six square 030721 sm 0052871 3 feet and (2) no such sign or combination of signs shall have an area greater than one hundred fifty square feet. Freestanding signs shall meet the requirements of Table 11. No proj ecting signs or roof signs shall be erected. (5) Lighting of signs. No sign in a residential district shall be constructed in such a way that any light bulb, light filament, neon tubing or similar material is visible from the front of the sign or from beyond the property line. (6) PC planned community districts. Unless otherwise provided in the ordinance approving the PC development, signs hereafter erected in PC districts shall be governed by the rules applicable to residential districts as set forth in this subsection. (7) Signs on landscaped freeways. Notwithstanding anything elsewhere contained in this chapter, no sign shall be erected on any property adjacent to a section of landscaped freeway, expressway or any other landscaped limited access street or highway in such a way as to be viewed by persons traveling on such landscaped freeway, expressway or any other landscaped limited access street or highway except when such sign is used exclusively: (A) To advertise the sale or lease of the property upon which the sign is situated; or (B) To designate the name of the owner or occupant of the premises upon which the sign is situated, or to identify such premises. SECTION 3. Section 16.20.160 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 16.20.160 Special purpose signs. (a) Permit required. set forth in this subsection (a) Signs shall herein upon obtaining design review and Section 16.20.020. for the special be permi t ted as a permit as set purposes provided forth in I Table 1, referred to herein, can be found at the end of this chapter. 030721 sm 0052871 4 (1) Directory signs. In all districts where group occupancies in office buildings are permitted, directory signs may be erected displaying the names of the occupants of a building who are engaged in a particular profession, business or the like. Such signs shall be situated at least two feet inside the property line and shall not exceed eight feet in height. Such signs may have an area of four square feet, plus one and one-half square feet per name, in no event to exceed seventy- five square feet. (2) Construction proj ect signs. Signs may be erected in conjunction with construction projects and used for the purpose of publicizing the future occupants of the building or the architects, engineers and construction organizations participating in the project. In residential districts, no such sign shall exceed twelve square feet in area and no freestanding sign shall exceed five feet in height. In other districts no sign shall exceed the area for the applicable frontage set forth in Table 11 and no freestanding sign shall exceed eight feet in height. All such signs shall be removed before a final release on the construction is given by the building official. (3) Directional signs. Directional signs may be erected for the purpose of facilitating or controlling the efficient or safe movement of pedestrians or vehicles on private property. Such signs shall not be used for advertising purposes and particularly shall not include the name of any person, firm, company, organization or any product or service except as approved to designate directions to different businesses on the same site. Such signs shall be located on the property to which they pertain, shall not exceed an area of six square feet nor a height of three feet and shall be located at least twenty feet within the nearest property line, except that directional signs of not more than three square feet in area may be located not less than ten feet wi thin any front property line. Such signs shall not be permitted in R-E, R-1, or R-2 districts. (4) Subdivision signs. Any person or firm offering real estate for sale in an approved subdivision may erect not more than two signs indicating the location of the subdivision. No such sign shall exceed forty square feet in area. Such signs may state the name of the subdivider or subdivision or both. No such sign shall be erected on or si tuated wi thin one hundred feet of any occupied residential property. No such sign shall be illuminated. The permit for any such sign shall be issued for a period of six months. At the end of such period additional extensions of ninety days each 03072J sm 0052871 5 may be granted by the building official for good cause shown. Upon expiration of the permit or any extension thereof the sign shall be removed by the applicant. (5) Off-site advertising by art organizations. Nonprofit organizations having tax exempt status which are located wi thin the city and which have been established solely for the purpose of supporting the performing and cultural arts in the city and other jurisdictions shall be permitted to utilize walls for off-site murals which may incorporate wording to name, designate, or identify the organization and/or the arts. The application shall be made jointly by the nonprofit organization and the property owner who owns the property where the mural is to be located. Said application shall be subject to review by both the visual arts jury in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2.26 and the architectural review board in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 16.48. Additionally, the following provisions shall apply: (A) The provisions of Section 16.20.130 shall be applicable to said murals except that no part of a mural shall be counted as part of the allowable sign area for the off-site location. (B) Murals must be painted directly on a building wall; no pennants or the like may be used. (C) The property owner shall give his/her consent to erect, maintain, and remove the mural. (D) The mural must be properly maintained by the nonprofit organization. (E) The visual arts jury shall establish a maximum time period for the existence of a mural. (F) The property owner shall be responsible for removing the mural at the completion of the authorized time period; however, nothing shall prevent an agreement that the nonprofit organization shall pay for and remove the mural. (G) No organization shall be permitted to have more than two off-site advertising murals at anyone time. (H) Murals which are erected on city property or with city moneys shall be regulated solely by the provisions of Section 16.20.100 and Chapter 2.26. 030721 sm 0052871 6 (6) Transit shelter advertising signs. Informa tional and advertising signs may be erected on transit shelters furnished by contract with the Santa Clara County Transit District, provided that the shelter prototype (but not each individual shelter or sign) has been approved by the Archi tectural Review Board, that the location of each shelter containing advertising signs has been approved in writing by the Director of Planning and Community Environment or designee, and that an encroachment permit has been obtained pursuant to Chapter 12.12 for each shelter placed on public property. (b) No permit required. Signs for purposes set forth in this subsection (b) shall be provided herein without design review or a required. the special permitted as permit being (1) For sale or lease signs. In all districts signs may be erected on real estate, advertising such real estate for sale or lease. In R-l, R-E, and R-2 districts such signs shall not exceed an area of six square feet. In all other districts such signs shall meet with the requirements set forth in Table 11. (2) Political signs. Political signs may be erected in conformity with this chapter including Section 16.20.100 which prohibits signs on public property. In addi tion, an election sign must be completely removed no later than six days following the day of the election to which it relates. Any election sign not removed within six days shall be considered abandoned and shall be removed by the building division. (3) Window signs. A place of business which sells goods or services to consumers may install and maintain signs on the interior face of a window of the premises or in a position inside such place of business, otherwise viewable through a window of the premises, subject to the following conditions: (A) No more than twenty percent of the total window space on a wall may be covered by window signs at any time. (B) A sign affixed to the interior face of a window and a sign inside a place of business, any point on which is within three feet of any point on the interior face of 030721 sm 0052871 7 a window, through which window said sign may be viewed from outside such place of business, shall be deemed to be a window sign for the purposes of the window coverage limitation of this section. The full area of any window sign shall be used when window coverage is calculated for purposes of this section. (C) Merchandise on display, which does not consti tute a sign (as defined in Section 16.20.010), shall be exempt from the window coverage limitation of this section. SECTION 4. The application fee for an encroachment permit issued pursuant to Section 16.20.160 (a) (6) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code shall be $300.00, increased annually by the increase in the consumer Price Index for the San Francisco- Oakland-San Jose Metropolitan area for all Urban Consumers. The Municipal Fee Schedule is hereby amended to provide for such fee. that this project is California Environmental Sections 15301 (Existing or Reconstruction) of the SECTION 5. The Council finds exempt from the provisions of the Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Facilities) and 15302 (Replacement CEQA Guidelines. II II II II II II II II II II II II 030721 sm 0052871 8 SECTION 6. This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date of its adoption. INTRODUCED: June 16, 2003 PASSED: July 14, 2003 AYES: BEECHAM, BURCH, MORTON, MOSSAR, OJAKIAN NOES: FREEMAN, KISHIMOTO, KLEINBERG, LYTLE ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: 030721 sm 0052871 9 Mayor Director of Planning and Community Environment Director of Services inistrative