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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Ordinance Amending Title 30 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995 (Case No.
PZC-0015-2025), Relating Generally to Establishing an Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ) and Associated Standards and a Zoning Map Amendment to add the ANSOZ to Commercially Zoned Properties Along South Central Avenue and South Brand Boulevard.
1. Introduction of Ordinance Amending Title 30 of the Glendale Municipal Code Relating Generally to Establishing an Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ) and Associated Standards
2. Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Zoning Map to Reflect the New Designation Related to Placing an ANSOZ on Certain Properties Along South Central Avenue in the C3 "Commercial Service" Zone, Height District I and South Brand Boulevard in the CA "Commercial Auto" Zone
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Public Hearing
Approved for September 29, 2026 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At Council’s direction, staff prepared an ordinance for introduction and subsequent adoption that encompasses amendments to Title 30 of the Glendale Municipal Code (GMC), 1995 – specifically as it relates to establishing an Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ) and associated zoning development standards. The City Council originally initiated amendments to establish standards for animated signs in 2021, and since then this topic has been revisited on a few occasions, most recently in July of 2025. The proposed amendments include adding Chapter 30.28 to the zoning code entitled “Animated Signage Overlay Zone” and amendments to corresponding zoning standards for signs in GMC Chapter 30.33. The project also includes a Zoning Map Amendment to add the ANSOZ to all properties in the Commercial Service (C3), Height District I zone that are located along South Central Avenue between West Elk Avenue 11a 2
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and West Cypress Street and all properties in the Commercial Auto (CA) zone that are located along South Brand Boulevard between Elk Avenue and Cerritos Avenue. The ordinance will allow a maximum of one accessory ground sign to be animated, subject to proposed development standards contained in Chapter 30.28.Accessory ground signs will continue to be governed by the existing standards found in GMC Chapter
30.33, which include, but are not limited to, height, location, and area. As directed by Council, the creation of the ANSOZ is a pilot program and will sunset after a period of ten years, unless extended by the Council. The proposed zoning code and map amendments were reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 5, 2026. The Planning Commission recommended that the Council adopt the ordinance, but made recommendations related to continued allowances for installed signage upon expiration of the pilot program. Staff has incorporated the Planning Commission’s recommendations on this topic in the ordinance, for Council consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council review, introduce and subsequently adopt the ordinances amending Title 30 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, specifically as it relates to establishing an Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ) and associated standards and the Zoning Map Amendments to add the ANSOZ to all commercially zoned properties along South Central Avenue between West Elk Avenue and West Cypress Street and South Brand Boulevard between East and West Elk Avenue and East and West Cerritos Avenue.
ANALYSIS
Current Zoning Rules
The purpose and intent of sign regulations, generally, are to preserve and protect property values, create a more attractive business climate, enhance and protect the physical appearance of the community, preserve the scenic and natural beauty of designated areas, provide a more enjoyable and pleasing community, and encourage the most appropriate use of land. Sign regulations are also intended to reduce advertising obstructions that may contribute to traffic accidents and reduce hazards that may be caused by signs overhanging or projecting over public rights-of-way.
Chapter 30.33 of the GMC (the Sign Code) prohibits animated signs, which are defined in GMC Section 30.33.020 as signs “designed and constructed to give a message through a sequence of progressive changes of parts by either action or motion, flashing or color changes requiring electrical or manual energy” with some exceptions. Animated signs are interpreted to include any digital/electronic/LED sign, whether they are static, flashing, scrolling or colorful. Typically, animated signs are generally considered more 11a 3
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distracting than other types of signs and because of this are generally prohibited throughout the City to prevent sign clutter. Some exceptions include “public service” signs, such as time and temperature units and/or barber poles, or price signs at gas stations.
Additional exceptions include signs allowed in the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) and Commercial Retail (CR) zoning districts called Creative Signs, and signs approved under the City’s established Advertising Signage Overlay Zone (ASOZ). Creative signs have specific standards, are subject to Design Review, and are intended to encourage and allow developers and businesses to propose highly inventive, sculptural signs expressive of art and entertainment uses that would otherwise be prohibited by the zoning code. The ASOZ was first established in 2010 and is generally limited to the Galleria and Town Center (Americana) districts of the DSP with the intent to promote economic development and ensure an attractive business climate for the commercial heart of the downtown area. These two areas have the highest concentration of retail, restaurant and theater uses appropriate for animated signage, which is consistent with other regional centers, such as the Grove, LA Live and the Sunset Strip that typically allow such signs.
On August 24, 2021, the City Council initiated amendments to Title 30 to allow animated signs in the C3 (Commercial Service) Zone with specific sign criteria, including, but not limited to, illumination standards, sign-type, height and size, limited hours of operation, and other appropriate time, place and manner restrictions.
The topic was revisited by City Council on May 2, 2023, resulting in additional direction to allow animated signs as a pilot program (limited duration of 10 years or less unless extended) in the City’s gateway corridors, which included the C3-zoned portion of South Central Avenue and the CA zoned portion of South Brand Boulevard. Staff was directed to study and make recommendations related to sign type, size, location, objective standards, animate/change rate, hours of operation, illumination limits, and other allowable time, place and manner regulations that would mitigate any negative impacts.
During the June 24, 2025 City Council meeting staff was provided with final direction to allow animated signs as a pilot program in a defined area (“Pilot Program Area”). The area described in the Staff report could include Central Avenue from State Route 134 to Los Feliz, and Brand Boulevard from Colorado Street to Los Feliz. Staff was directed to study and make recommendations related to time, place and manner regulations that would mitigate any negative impacts of allowing animated signs in the Pilot Program Area such as:
• Dimmable/adjustable lighting;
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• Operating hours (not before 7:00 am and off after 12:00 am); • Not located directly opposite (facing) or adjacent to a residential property; • No flashing graphics or words;
• Signage cannot rotate more frequently than 8 seconds; • Only facing or oriented towards arterial streets and not residential uses; • Location to not obstruct visibility from right-of-way, subject to Public Works review; and
• Required or voluntary allowance of select types of viewpoint neutral public service announcements on such digital signs.
In preparing the proposed zoning map and text amendments, staff took all of Council’s direction from the past three hearings into consideration and incorporated the majority of them into the final ordinances attached to this report.
ANSOZ – Zoning Text Amendment
As part of the proposed amendments, a new chapter will be added to the zoning code entitled: “30.28 – Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ)” that will establish the overall intent of the overlay zone, specific standards for animated signage, as well as a clause for the ordinance to sunset after ten years, consistent with Council’s direction.
The animated signs will be permitted as accessory ground signs only, with no more than one animated sign permitted per site, and will be limited to announcements and information incidental to the primary use on the premises, which could include time, date, and location for events, pricing for commercial services or other announcements related to the business operation(s) where the sign is located. Any signs that carry advertisements not incidental to the primary use are defined as billboards and nonaccessory signs which are generally prohibited in the city.
Permitted Sign Type
The animated signage will only be permitted as an accessory ground sign, and will be limited to one per site, where some businesses may be eligible for two signs. The proposed amendments do not include any changes to existing standards for accessory ground signs, as those will continue to be regulated by GMC Section 30.33.140:
• Number: One permitted for each dedicated street frontage, and a maximum of two regardless of number of street frontages.
• Area: Total aggregate area shall not exceed 200 square feet. • Location: Must comply with setbacks, not allowed within a 25 foot triangular area on corner properties if it obstructs the view of vehicular traffic, and not allowed to 11a 5
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project over or through any portion of the roof, marquee or canopy of any building.
• Height: Maximum 25 feet above ground level
• Lighting: Required to comply with the Electrical Code • Miscellaneous: Maximum of two supporting poles permitted, minimum 14 foot clearance from lowest point of sign, not permitted within 15 feet of another accessory ground sign on the site, maximum 20 foot width, and structural members and bracing shall be concealed.
Vehicle Sales, Leasing and Rental Agencies
The majority of the businesses along South Brand Boulevard are the car dealerships, which have additional signage allowances based on their needs and associated industry standards. The animated signage will only be permitted as an accessory ground sign, and will be limited to one per site, where some car dealerships may be eligible for up to three. As it relates to accessory ground signs, the car dealerships are subject to the same provisions noted above, with some additional allowances, as regulated by GMC Section 30.33.210(D) and summarized below:
• Number: An additional ground sign is permitted along Brand Boulevard if the length of that frontage is at least 200 feet.
• Area: Shall not exceed one and one-half square feet per linear foot of site frontage, with a maximum 640 square feet allowed for all signs. • Height: Maximum of 57 feet for one. If there is more than one ground sign, the maximum height is 35 feet.
• Miscellaneous: The maximum width is 40 feet.
Staff also considered allowing the animated signs as accessory wall signs, which was discussed by City Council. However, both thoroughfares included in the ANSOZ contain numerous multi-tenant commercial developments where each tenant space could be entitled to at least one accessory wall sign. Allowing animated wall signs in these locations could result in multiple animated displays on a single building, creating visual clutter and detracting from the overall appearance of the corridor. It could also present practical challenges in coordinating the timing, brightness, and transition of multiple displays. For these reasons, staff does not recommend allowing animated accessory wall signs.
Development Standards
As noted above, animated signage would be subject to all accessory ground sign standards, as well as specific standards that include limitations on quantity, brightness, 11a 6
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locations and design to regulate impacts to traffic, light, and noise. These standards are consistent with City Council’s past direction, with many of these standards similar to what is included in the ASOZ (Galleria and Town Center) overlay zone.
Standards proposed for inclusion in GMC Section 30.28.030 are summarized below:
• Only static images are allowed, and they shall not change more frequently than each 8 seconds.
• Shall not contain messages through a sequence of progressive changes of parts by action or motion, flashing or color changes, advertising content in animated or motion picture form or having changing display/messaged formed by selective illumination of an array or individual light bulbs or LEDs displaying text or graphic images.
• Sound effects and projecting elements are prohibited. • The maximum brightness levels shall not exceed ambient light levels. The director of community development can require a lighting study, field measurements or other satisfactory methods to verify compliance with this standard.
• Required to have a dimming sensor or other similar device that automatically adjusts the brightness of the display based on changes in ambient lighting. • Only allowed to operate between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. • Must be oriented towards Central Avenue or Brand Boulevard to focus the signage along the major thoroughfares.
• Shall not interfere with vehicular traffic.
• Shall not be oriented towards or adjacent to any property developed with a residential use.
• Only allowed within the first 50 feet of the street-front property line along Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard.
Sunset Clause
As directed by City Council, the creation of the ANSOZ is a pilot program and will sunset after a period of ten years from the effective date, unless extended by the City Council. As is typical with a sunset clause, there is also a provision requiring removal of all animated signs if the ANSOZ is not extended. Staff requested direction from the Planning Commission during the August 5, 2026 hearing regarding existing signs and how long those could be permitted to remain. Based on direction received from the Planning Commission, Staff added a provision in the text amendment allowing an owner to request a 5-year time extension for a permitted animated ground sign installed pursuant to the ANSOZ. The extension can be requested once within one year of the ANSOZ expiration, and is subject to the following findings:
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• The neighborhood conditions have not substantially changed; • The design, location, size, and rate of animation do not create a visual hazard or traffic distraction for drivers on adjacent public rights-of-way; • The illumination of the sign will not create light trespass or a visual nuisance for surrounding properties; and
• The permitted animated sign and associated structures are maintained in good and safe condition, including ground maintenance, in accordance with Section
30.33.080 (E) and (F).
While this direction has been incorporated into the draft ordinance, the City Council could consider other alternatives regarding the permitted animated ground signs and their duration once the ANSOZ sunsets. Some other alternatives could include:
• Longer Time Extension: Increase the proposed 5-year extension to a longer period of time.
• Legal Non-Conforming: Allow the signs to remain when the ordinance sunsets.
These signs would be considered legal non-conforming and could be maintained as-is, which is consistent with current practice. Once a permit is required for a repair or replacement, the sign would be required to comply with current code provisions.
• Require Removal: Require all ANSOZ-installed signs to be removed upon expiration of the pilot program.
• No Sunset Clause: Remove the proposed 10-year sunset clause from the ordinance, which would allow the proposed ANSOZ to remain in effect indefinitely.
Other considerations
Council also directed staff to consider requiring or allowing a mechanism for voluntary allowance of select types of viewpoint neutral public service announcements on the animated ground signs (such as “Vote on Election Day”). Implementing these types of regulations, even if voluntary, would carry significant legal risk and would be difficult to implement. Even allowing a business to voluntarily carry a City message may be seen as a permit condition that is a prior restraint by the government on speech, which is unconstitutional. If the ordinance requires the digital sign to carry a City or other government message at times or at certain intervals, a court in a first amendment challenge to the law would deem this to be compelled government speech that would likely be subject to strict scrutiny (the requirement would only survive if there was a compelling government interest in requiring the speech on the digital sign and that interest was achieved in the least restrictive means). National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, 585 U.S. 755 (2018). Most laws cannot survive this standard 11a 8
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of review, and this law would almost certainly not either. Moreover, implementing the law would be difficult, with respect to whether all signs would have to carry the government speech, when the government message would appear (i.e., every day as the sign changed or only at certain times such as election season), and what the content of the government speech would be. For all of these reasons, staff and the Planning Commission recommend against such a requirement in the ordinance.
ANSOZ – Zoning Map Amendment
During the July 2025 Council meeting, staff was directed to look into a larger Pilot Program Area, which was described in the report to include Central Avenue from State Route 134 to Los Feliz, and Brand Boulevard from Colorado Street to Los Feliz. In finalizing the proposed Pilot Program Area, staff studied these areas and ultimately decided to reduce the areas as illustrated in the map. This approach is also consistent with past Council direction from previous hearings. Staff is recommending reducing the area for the following reasons:
• The properties along Central Avenue from State Route 134 to West Colorado Street and the properties along South Brand Boulevard from Colorado to Elk are located in the DSP zone, where animated signs can already be permitted as a creative sign which is intended to encourage and allow developers and businesses to propose highly inventive, sculptural signs expressive of art and entertainment uses. Creative signs “make a positive visual contribution to the property, the zone, and the overall image of the city, while mitigating the impacts of large or unusually designed signs” (GMC 30.33.225(A)(2)). Adding the ANSOZ to this area would not be consistent with the overall intent of the creative sign standards and vision for the DSP area.
• The Galleria and Americana are also located in the DSP along Central Avenue and are already regulated by the ASOZ which was first established in 2010. The ASOZ allows for accessory and non-accessory animated signs, with strict standards and requirements for approval.
• Some of the properties located along South Central Avenue between West Magnolia and Los Feliz were rezoned in 2023 from C3 to TOD I (Transit Oriented Development I). As part of that rezone, the TOD I boundaries extend past Los Feliz Road south to the City’s boundary with Los Angeles. Including these TOD properties would extend the boundary beyond what the City Council directed. • South Brand Boulevard is home to the Brand Boulevard of Cars, a regional shopping destination with its own zoning designation of CA (Commercial Auto) which extends from Elk Avenue to Cerritos Avenue. Council’s initial direction was to add the overlay to the properties on South Brand Boulevard from Colorado 11a 9
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Street to Los Feliz Road. As noted above, the DSP zoned properties on Brand are not included. Staff is proposing to include all CA – zoned properties along South Brand Boulevard, including those south of Los Feliz Road, as the regulations should be applied uniformly to all properties in the CA-zoned, rather than a subset of similarly zoned properties. Excluding a portion of the CA-zoned with similar characteristics would create inconsistent application of the Zoning Code.
The proposed zoning map amendment includes establishing the ANSOZ over two major commercial thoroughfares in South Glendale - Brand Boulevard and Central Avenue.
Specifically, the proposed overlay zone would apply to all properties located in the C3 “Commercial Service” Zone, Height District I along South Central Avenue between West Elk Avenue and West Cypress Street and all properties located in the CA “Commercial Auto” Zone along South Brand Boulevard between East and West Elk Avenue and East and West Cerritos Avenue. These boundaries are illustrated in the proposed zoning map amendment ordinance included in this report.
PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW
The proposed amendments were reviewed by the Planning Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting and hearing on August 5, 2026. Four commission members were present, and one was absent. Representatives from St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church were present at the Planning Commission hearing and made comments in support of the ordinances. The commissioners had some questions about the proposed changes, and overall were in favor of the proposed text and map amendments as presented. Staff had requested direction from the Planning Commission regarding the proposed sunset clause and what would happen to the signs permitted during the 10- year pilot program period. As discussed above, Planning Commission’s direction was to establish an administrative procedure, subject to specific findings, that would allow a one-time extension of permitted signage. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend adoption of the proposed zoning text amendment with recommendations to add amendments allowing the permitted animated signs to remain once the ANSOZ expired in ten years, and the zoning map amendment, as presented.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
The Code requires public notice when the Council considers adoption of amendments to the zoning code and zoning map. Staff has published all required notices for this hearing. Public notice was also provided for the Planning Commission hearing of August 5, 2026. No public comments were received for that hearing, except for testimony at the hearing in support of the amendments made by representatives of St.
Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church.
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FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
The proposed zoning text and map amendments (“project”) is exempt from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(g) because the project involves new copy on existing on-premise signs, Section 15305 because the project involves minor changes to land use regulations which do not result in any changes in land use or density, and Section 15311 because the project would involve construction or replacement of onpremise signs which are minor structures that are accessory to existing commercial facilities. The text amendment establishes standards to permit animated signs as accessory ground signs in an overlay zone, with development standards for the animated signs, including limitations on size, brightness, locations, and design to regulate impacts to traffic, light, and noise. Any future sign proposals will remain subject to review against these standards.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
This item is exempt from campaign disclosure requirements.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Alternative 1: Not introduce and subsequently adopt the proposed amendments to Title 30 of the GMC, 1995 which relates generally to establishing an Animated Signage Overlay Zone (ANSOZ) and associated standards and a zoning map amendment to add the ANSOZ to all commercially zoned properties along South Central Avenue and South Brand Boulevard.
Alternative 2: Any other alternative for the proposed amendments not proposed by staff or the Planning Commission.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Rachel Dimond, Director of Community Development
Prepared by:
Vista Ezzati, Principal Planner
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Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
1. Planning Commission Motion, dated August 5, 2026
2. Previous City Council Motions related to animated signs