CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
October 6, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita D. Scott, City Manager
Submitted By: Betty Donavanik, Development Services Director SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 4360 APPROVING A SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT (SPA-001401-2024) TO ESTABLISH NEW SIGN REGULATIONS IN THE POMONA CORRIDORS SPECIFIC PLAN RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1) Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and 2) Introduce, waive further, and give first reading to Ordinance No. 4360 (Attachment No. 1):
ORDINANCE NO. 4360 – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT (SPA-001401-2024) TO REMOVE EXISTING SECTION 2.9 “SIGNAGE REGULATIONS” IN THE POMONA CORRIDORS SPECIFIC PLAN AND REPLACE WITH SECTION .630 “SIGNS” OF THE POMONA ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT CODE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On July 9, 2025, the Planning Commission recommended approval to amend the existing sign regulations outlined in the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan during a public hearing with a 6-0-0-1 vote. The amendment requested the removal of Section 2.9 “Signage Regulations” in the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan (PCSP) and require all signs in the PCSP to comply with the sign regulations outlined in the newly adopted standards from the Pomona Zoning and Development Code Section 630. “Signs”. This request excludes other specific plans that currently have sign regulations within their respective plans and is only applicable to the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan.
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☐ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Council members are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $500 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $500 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Fiscal Impact at this time.
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS:
A public hearing notice was published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on Friday, September 5, 2025 (Attachment No. 3).
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
Only July 9, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing regarding a Specific Plan Amendment (SPA-001401-2024), a request to remove Section 2.9 “Signage Regulations” in the Pomona Corridor Specific Plan and replace it with newly adopted sign regulations under Section 630. “Signs” of the Pomona Zoning and Development Code (Attachment No. 4). After carefully considering all pertinent testimony and recommendation of the Planning Division staff, the Planning Commission recommended approval of Specific Plan Amendment (SPA-001401-2024) on a 6-0-0-1 vote. No modifications or revisions were requested from the Planning Commission as part of the approval vote.
DISCUSSION:
Overview
The proposed Specific Plan Amendment is a request to replace Section 2.9 “Signage Regulations” and require all signs in the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan to comply with the sign regulations outlined in the Pomona Zoning and Development Code Section 630. “Signs” (Attachment No. 2). The proposed amendment will remove language that directly conflicts with First Amendment rights pertaining to freedom of speech and establish sign regulations in the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan which are compatible with the frontage standards of the Pomona Zoning and Development Code.
This amendment will exclude specific plans that currently have sign regulations within their respective plans, such as the: Downtown Pomona Specific Plan, Phillips Ranch Specific Plan, and Mission 71 Business Park Plan. Future efforts to include these plans will come under a separate action, subject to SB 18 (Government Code §6532.3(a)(1)), which requires local governments to contact, provide notice to, refer plans to, and to conduct meaningful consultation with California Native American tribes, if requested, prior to the adoption or any amendment of a general plan or specific plan.
Staff Analysis
Applicable Code Section
Pursuant to the PZDC Section 1150.G.(2), the City Council may by ordinance or resolution, adopt, amend, supplement, or change a specific plan; upon written recommendation from the Planning Commission.
A Specific Plan Amendment must be acted upon by the Approving Authority based upon the information provided in the submitted application, evidence presented in the Planning Division’s written report, and testimony provided during the public hearing, only after considering and clearly establishing all of the below listed findings and giving supporting reasons for each finding. The application must be denied if one or more of the below-listed findings cannot be clearly established.
The proposed Specific Plan, or amendment thereto, is consistent with the goals, policies, plans and exhibits of the General Plan; The proposed Specific Plan, or amendment thereto, would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare of the City; In the case of an application affecting specific property(ies), the proposed Specific Plan, or amendment thereto, will not adversely affect the harmonious relationship with adjacent properties and land uses; and In the case of an application affecting specific property(ies), the subject site is physically suitable, including, but not limited to, parcel size, shape, access, and availability of utilities, for the request and anticipated development.
Proposed Specific Plan Amendment
The purpose of the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan (PCSP) is to orchestrate private and public investment activities along the Garey Avenue, Holt Avenue, Mission Boulevard, and Foothill Boulevard corridors and to support and promote the type of investment that will enhance the beauty and vitality of the City’s primary commercial corridors. To accomplish this, the Specific Plan presents the community’s vision for the evolution and continued growth of these corridors and establishes primary means of regulating land use and development within the specific plan area. Because of their significant potential for change, the Garey Avenue, Holt Avenue, Mission Boulevard, and Foothill Boulevard corridors are identified as focus areas in the City of Pomona General Plan 2014 that require “specific planning and regulatory direction” to ensure the goals and policies of the General Plan are achieved. The Pomona Corridor Specific Plan is a tool which implements the vision of the General Plan along with its goals and policies via development standards, prioritized strategies, and city actions.
The proposed amendment would remove Section 2.9 “Signage Regulations” from the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan and incorporate the sign regulations outlined in the Pomona Zoning and Development Code (PZDC). Affected areas would include parcels abutting major arterial corridors, such as: Holt Avenue, Garey Avenue, Mission Boulevard, and Foothill Boulevard, as shown in Figure 1.1. “Specific Plan Area” below. This action would only apply to parcels located within the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan. Expansion zones are not included in this effort, as they have been absorbed by the Pomona Zoning and Development Code. Additionally, signage regulations for other specific plans are not included as part of this request.
Figure 1.1. Pomona Corridors Specific Plan – Specific Plan Area The new sign regulations can be accessed in the Site chapter of the PZDC, which is responsible for regulating site design, parking, landscape, and other site features. It consists of a combination of regulations that are appropriate to a variety of contexts, such as: transit-oriented center, special campuses, suburban neighborhoods, and open spaces. While regulations are located in the Site chapter of the Zoning and Development Code, permissions will be determined by the frontage module type assigned based on the Zoning District, as displayed in Figure 1.2. Permanent Signs – Allowed Sign Type, Frontage Module Permissions. Aligning sign types to frontage modules ensures consistency with the goals and policies of the General Plan by maintaining the desired relationship to the public-right-of way.
Figure 1.2. Permanent Signs – Allowed Sign Type
The proposed amendment request will assign the “General Frontage” module to all parcels located within the boundaries of the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan. This will only be applicable for signage regulations, since this is the scope of the action. General Frontage requires moderate to high build-to widths while allowing a wide range of modifications for pedestrian amenity spaces. This frontage module contains regulations that ensure a high-quality pedestrian environment and provides flexibility for a variety of ground story tenants. Both the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan and the General Frontage Module contemplate the same development goals for housing density and mix-use commercial development and contain similar General Plan designations. Majority of the properties within the PCSP are composed of the following General Plan designations: Urban Neighborhood District, Neighborhood Edge, Transit Oriented District, and Work Place District. In comparison, the General Frontage module is applicable for the following zoning districts: Urban Neighborhood Districts (accommodates medium-intensity multi-unit housing, office, commercial, and limited industrial uses), Activity Center Districts (intended for medium-large scale development within neighborhood centers catalyzed by a variety of residential, retail, service, and commercial buildings forms and uses in a pedestrian oriented environment and mix-use is strongly encouraged), Workplace District and Transit Oriented Districts (contains the most active and walkable districts in the city and encourages a mix of residential and commercial uses). The Zoning and Development Code’s zoning districts are tailored to implement the designations and place types established in the General Plan. Consistent land use designations with both the Pomona Corridor Specific Plan and the General Frontage module will ensure that the sign regulations are consistent with the General Plan, along with being compatible with the use types for the area.
Tribal Consultation
In accordance with Senate Bill 18 (Burton 2004) (Government Code §6532.3(a)(1)) Planning Division staff contacted the California Native American Heritage Commission for a list of Tribes with ancestral lands in Pomona and offered consultation on the proposed specific plan amendment. A formal notification of the Specific Plan Amendment was sent on October 23, 2024, via certified mail. None of the California Native American Tribes requested consultation regarding the proposed amendment.
General Plan Conformance
The Land Use and Community Design chapters of the General Plan place high priority on building form; and places focus on design that supports public activity and strengthens safety. The reiterated goals and policies in the General Plan promote the efficient use of land that encourage walking, bicycling and transit use across all place types. To accomplish this, the General Plan discusses moving away from “exclusively auto-oriented shopping and toward open-air, amenity driven formats that have both daytime and nighttime activity and are clustered at major crossroads”. Additionally, the Community Design chapter emphasizes the creation of more walkable and accessible street environments, strives to improve pedestrian safety, and improve the livability and cultural life of the community through physical design considerations.
To implement the vision set by the General Plan, the sign regulations in the PZDC prohibits the erection of new auto-oriented signs such as animated signs, digital signs, bunting signs, and mobile signage and incorporates new signage types such as painted signs, crown signs, and marquee signs. Additionally, the new signage regulations remove all language pertaining to signage content and safeguards life, health, property and public welfare by regulating the design, quality of materials, construction, illumination, location, and maintenance of signs. Despite prohibiting the installation or erection of new auto-oriented signs in the PZDC sign regulations, the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan still allows for drive-thrus and gas stations within certain segments with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit. While no new auto-oriented signage can be proposed with this amendment, the existing signage for auto-oriented uses (such as the gas stations and drive-thrus) will still be able to be updated and maintained, per Section 630.D.(5) “Sign Installation and Maintenance”. Monument signs are still permitted under General Frontage to accommodate any new gas stations with the PCSP area.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires analysis of agency approvals of discretionary “projects.” A “project,” under CEQA, is defined as “the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment” (State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378). The proposed project is considered a “project” under CEQA.
In 2014, the City of Pomona adopted a Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) associated with the discretionary project, which analyzed the environmental impacts of the City of Pomona’s General Plan Update (GPU), Corridors Specific Plan, Active Transportation Plan, and Green Plan. In conjunction with the certification of the GPU and PCSP EIR, a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) was adopted. The proposed project site was previously studied under this Certified Final EIR.
In compliance with Section 15061(b)(3), the proposed project is covered by the general rule exemption which exempts activities that can be seen with certainty to have no possibility for causing a significant effect on the environment. The project may be considered for the general rule exemption in that the proposed project only includes the amendment of text of an adopted document previously studied in the 2014 Pomona GPU Final EIR. The proposed project described above hereby meets the guidelines. Therefore, no further environmental review is required.
NEXT STEPS:
Upon approval of first reading of Ordinance No. 4360, the City Council will conduct a second reading, and 30 days thereafter, the requested specific plan amendment will become effective. Staff tentatively expects the second reading to be held on October 20, 2025, and the effective date to be November 20, 2025.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item is consistent with the following Council priorities and goals:
GOAL G: Create Economic Strategy for City That Reflects Current Opportunities and City Values.
Prepared by:
Karina Diaz
Assistant Planner
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Draft Ordinance No. 4360
Attachment No. 2 – Exhibit A: Zoning & Development Code Section 630. “Signs” Attachment No. 3 – Public Hearing Noticing
Attachment No. 4 – Staff Report & Attachments of 07-09-25 Planning Commission Public Hearing Attachment No. 5 – Staff Presentation
Ordinance No. 4360 - Update to Sign Regulations in the Pomona Corridors Specific Plan (SPA-001401-2024)