1 City Council Meeting: October 22, 2024 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 9.61:
SIGNS TO INCREASE FLEXIBILITY FOR SIGNAGE IN THE BAYSIDE
CONSERVATION DISTRICT AND THIRD STREET PROMENADE AREA, AND MAKE
OTHER MINOR CHANGES TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RECOVERY, PUBLIC
SAFETY AND WELFARE
WHEREAS, the City’s Sign Code was originally adopted in 1985 and as detailed in the administrative record and in Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Section
9.61.020, advances a variety of purposes and interests, including, but not limited to, protecting the health, safety, property, and welfare of the public; providing a neat, clean, orderly and attractive appearance of the community; improving the effectiveness of signs; providing for safe construction, location, erection, and maintenance of signs; preventing the proliferation of signs and sign clutter, and minimizing adverse visual safety factors to travelers of public streets and sidewalks; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, the City Council adopted the Downtown Community Plan, which sets forth a vision for the continued vitality of the Third Street Promenade as a major public space framed by a mix of retail, restaurant, and services that form unique experiences enjoyable to both residents and visitors; and WHEREAS, the Third Street Promenade is unique in both its function and layout with the sidewalk and roadway open to pedestrians and with co-planar façades that make business visibility challenging to pedestrians; and
2 WHEREAS, allowing animated signs that face only the interior of the Promenade increases business visibility and enhances overall business promotion on the Promenade, while maintaining the City’s substantial interest in traffic and pedestrian and safety and aesthetics by limiting their applicability; and WHEREAS, amending Chapter 9.61 to permit in the Third Street Promenade increased static signage by right, as well as certain animated signs, will increase business visibility and foster economic sustainability and continued vitality of the Third Street Promenade; and
WHEREAS, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have devastated many of the City’s revenue streams, including sales tax, transient occupancy tax, parking revenue, and business license revenue; and WHEREAS, adopting business-friendly policies including encouraging the use of creative signs are critical in providing greater certainty to property owners and their existing tenants, along with prospective businesses considering locating within the Promenade area; and
WHEREAS, the City further desires to make other minor changes, additions, and corrections to Chapter 9.61 to modernize and streamline language; and WHEREAS, the proposed changes to the definitions of on-premises and offpremises signage are content-neutral and consistent with the definitions upheld by the Ninth Circuit in Contest Promotions, LLC v. City and County of San Francisco (9th Cir. 2017) 874 F.3d 597); and
WHEREAS, in revising Chapter 9.61, the City Council has been mindful of legal principles relating to regulating signs and does not intend to suppress or infringe upon 3 any expressive activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States and California Constitutions.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The following sections of Article 9, Chapter 9.61, Signs, are amended as follows:
Santa Monica Municipal Code Subsection 9.61.030.0510 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.030.0510 Special event sign. A sign authorized through a community events permit issued pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.68, or through a license agreement with the City, or a Temporary Use Permit authorized pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.44.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Subsection 9.61.030.0360 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.030.0360 Off-premises sign. A commercial sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, industry or other activity which is sold, offered or conducted elsewhere than on the premises upon which the sign is located, or to which it is affixed, and which is sold, offered or conducted on such premises only incidentally if at all.
9.61.030.0360 Off-premises sign. A commercial sign that displays any message directing attention to, or other commercial speech relating to, a business, product, service, profession, commodity, activity, event, person, or institution that is 4 generally conducted, sold, manufactured, produced, offered, located, or occurs elsewhere than on the premises where such sign is located.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Subsection 9.61.030.0370 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.31.030.0670 On-premises sign. A commercial sign which directs attention to the primary business, commodity, service, industry or other activity which is sold, offered, or conducted on the premises upon which such sign is located, or to which it is affixed, or for signs authorized pursuant to Section 9.61.200(A), signs placed within twelve feet directly in front of the frontage of the premises of the primary business. Where a number of businesses, services, industries, or other activities are conducted on the premises, or a number of commodities, services, or other activities with different brand names or symbols are sold on the premises, up to one-third of the area of an on-premises sign, or 25 square feet of sign area, whichever is the lesser, may be devoted to the advertising of one or more of those businesses, commodities, services, industries, or other activities by brand name or symbol as an accessory function of the on-premises sign, provided that such advertising is integrated with the remainder of the sign, and provided also that any limits which may be imposed by this Code on the area of individual signs and the area of all signs on the property are not exceeded. The primary business, commodity, service, industry, or other activity on the premises shall mean the use which occupies the greatest area on the premises upon which the on-premises sign is located, or to which it is affixed.
5 9.61.030.0370 On-premises sign. A commercial sign that is other than an off-premises sign or, if authorized pursuant to Section 9.61.200(A), displays any message directing attention to, or other commercial speech related to, a business, product, service, profession, commodity, activity, event, person, or institution, and is placed within 12 feet directly in front of the frontage of the premises where such business, product, service, profession, commodity, activity, event, person, or institution is generally conducted, sold, manufactured, produced, offered, located, or occurs.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.61.070 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.070 Sign Permit Application Requirements.
A. Application Forms and Materials.
1. Application Forms. The Director shall prepare and issue application forms and lists that specify the information that will be required from applicants for projects subject to the provisions of this Ordinance.
2. Supporting Materials. The Director shall require the submission of supporting materials as part of the application, including but not limited to statements, photographs, plans, drawings, renderings, models, material samples, contextual drawings, massing diagrams and/or models, site development history information, and other items necessary or relevant to describe existing conditions and the proposed project and to determine the level of environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
3. Availability of Materials. All material submitted becomes the property of the City, may be distributed to the public, and shall be made available for public inspection. At any time upon reasonable request, and during normal business hours, any 6 person may examine an application and materials submitted in support of or in opposition to an application in the Planning Division offices. Unless prohibited by law, copies of such materials shall be made available at a reasonable cost.
BA. Applications for sign permits shall be accompanied by the following material:
1. Site Plan. Scale plans indicating the location of existing signs to be retained or removed and proposed new signs.
2. Existing Building Elevation. Scale drawings indicating locations of all existing signs on the site or building that are to be retained and indicating the location of all existing signs on the site or building that are to be removed. Dated and signed color photographs (not slide transparencies) at least 3 inches by 3 inches minimum in size of all existing signs.
3. Proposed Building Elevations. Scale drawings indicating locations of proposed signs and existing signs that are to be retained on the site.
4. Sign Illustration. Scale drawing indicating dimensions, colors, materials, copy, illumination, and exterior structural fixtures of each sign on the site.
5. Other Information. Other information required by the guidelines and standards of the Architectural Review Board, regulations promulgated pursuant to Section
9.61.290, and, for City-Designated Historical Resources, guidelines and standards of the Landmarks Commission.
CB. For all new projects and building remodels that directly affect existing signs and for any change to a sign in a multiple-unit dwelling, a sign program shall be required and accompany the application for a sign permit. The sign program shall include, but is not 7 limited to, indications of locations, dimensions, colors, letter styles, and sign types of all signs to be retained, removed, and installed on a site.
C. The Director shall prepare and issue the application form required by this Section.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.61.140 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.140 Exempt Signs.
The following signs are exempt from the provisions of the Santa Monica Sign Code:
A. All signs that are placed inside a structure and that are either not visible through windows or building openings or are located a minimum of 5 feet from such windows or openings and from an adjacent window merchandise display base, if any; B. A special event sign, provided that they are not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (4) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A) or by Section
9.61.230;
C. Pole banners and over-the-street banners authorized pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.500;
D. Noncommercial signs, provided that they are not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (4) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A) or by Section
9.61.230;
E. Signs placed on bicycles or other shared mobility devices pursuant to and in compliance with a sponsorship agreement with the City relating to a bike share or shared mobility device system;
F. Signs placed on public transit; or
G. Signs placed on and associated with a digital wayfinding kiosk installed in the public right-of-way or public property pursuant to a license agreement with the City. 8 Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.61.160 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.160. Temporary Sign Restrictions.
The following signs are exempt from the permit requirements of this Chapter. The use of these signs does not affect the amount or type of signage otherwise allowed by this Chapter. All signs listed in this Section must be in conformance with all other applicable requirements of this Chapter and the Santa Monica Municipal Code:
A. Basic Requirements Governing Temporary Signs.
1. Illumination. No temporary sign shall be internally or externally illuminated, except if the sign is a light bulb string authorized by this Section.
2. Location.
a. Except as authorized by Santa Monica Municipal Code 4.08.490, no temporary sign shall extend into, on or over the public right-of-way of any street, alley, or other public property.
b. No temporary sign shall extend into the hazardous visual obstruction zone as established by Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.21.180, Hazardous Visual Obstructions.
3. Maintenance. Temporary signs shall be kept neat, clean, and in good repair.
Signs that are faded, torn, damaged, or otherwise unsightly or in a state of disrepair shall be immediately repaired or removed.
4. Placement. No temporary sign shall be attached to trees, shrubbery, utility poles, or traffic control signs or devices. They shall not obstruct or obscure primary signs on adjacent premises.
9 5. Public Hazard. No temporary sign shall be erected or maintained that, by reason of its size, location, or construction, constitutes a hazard to the public or impairs accessibility.
6. Collection of Temporary Signs Placed in the Public Right-of-Way. The City may collect temporary signs placed in the public right-of-way that are not authorized by this Chapter. The recovery and disposition of any such sign is governed by Section
9.61.280.
B. Authorized Temporary Signage in Any Residential Zone. In any residential zone, temporary signage shall be allowed for each and every parcel without issuance of a permit and shall not affect the amount of type of signage otherwise allowed by this Code as follows:
1. At any time, up to 2 temporary signs of up to 8 square feet in sign area or one temporary sign of up to 16 square feet in sign area and one window sign of no more than 4 square feet in sign area;
2. At any time, light-bulb strings;
3. Up to 120 days (consecutive or nonconsecutive) per calendar year, up to 2 additional signs of up to 8 additional square feet of sign area or one sign of up to 16 square feet in sign area; or
4. Public signs, provided that they are not of the type prohibited by paragraphs (1) through (4) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A).
C. Authorized Temporary Signage in Any Commercial Zone. In any commercial or industrial zone, temporary signage shall be allowed for each and every parcel without 10 issuance of a permit and shall not affect the amount or type of signage otherwise allowed by this Chapter as follows:
1. At any time, up to 2 temporary signs of up to 10 square feet in sign area or one temporary sign of up to 20 square feet in sign area;
2. Up to 120 days (consecutive or nonconsecutive) per calendar year, up to 2 additional freestanding signs of up to 8 additional square feet of sign area or one sign of up to 16 square feet in sign area;
3. For one 60-day period per calendar year, one temporary on-premises banner not exceeding 20% of the front building façade area or one 100 square feet, whichever is less, not extending above the second-floor floor line;
4. For the duration of the temporary use authorized pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.370, a temporary sign not to exceed 16 square feet in sign area;
45. For two 30-day periods in any calendar year, a temporary window signs not to exceed 20% of the first floor's total frontage glass area and that do not extend above the second-floor floor line; or
56. Public signs, provided that they are not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (4) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A).
D. Within the Main Street Commercial Zoning District, each business shall be allowed one temporary on-premises sign in addition to the temporary signs authorized by subsection C, provided that the temporary sign complies with the following requirements:
1. The sign shall not be larger than 10 square feet in size; 11 2. The sign face shall be no wider than 2.5 feet and no taller than 4 feet and limited on 2 sides/faces with a total square footage of sign area not to exceed 20 square feet;
3. The sign shall be a portable sign;
4. The sign is not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (4), (6), (7), and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A) or by Section 9.61.230; and
5. The sign shall be removed when the business is closed.
E. Within the Bayside Conservation District bound by 2nd Court, 3rd Court, Broadway, and Wilshire Boulevard, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, a temporary sign permitted by this Section may be displayed for up to 12 consecutive months. The Director may grant one 6-month extension for each 12-month period if a request is filed prior to the expiration of the initial 12-month period.
F. Temporary signs are prohibited signs, except as provided by this Section or otherwise exempt pursuant to Section 9.61.140.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.61.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.200 Bayside Conservation (Promenade) District.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Chapter, the following signs all nonprohibited signs approved by the Review Body shall be permitted in some limited areas of the Bayside Conservation (Promenade) District for establishments with frontage on the Third Street Promenade on the following terms:
A. There shall be no limit on the maximum total sign area of permitted signs for signs that face the Third Street Promenade and signs on mid-block buildings with frontage on the Third Street Promenade that wrap an upper-level building corner. 12 B. Signs that cover windows that service an occupied tenant space shall be required to have 50% visual transparency. Areas of glazing above 15 feet on single story buildings are exempt from this requirement.
C. Temporary signs shall be allowed in conformance with SMMC 9.61.160(E).
D. Projecting Signs that face the Third Street Promenade must be placed at least ten feet above the sidewalk,and may not project more than 42 inches from the building façade. Three-dimensional signs are Projecting Signs and sign area shall not exceed 10 square feet. Sign area for three-dimensional signs shall be measured as viewed from the Third Street Promenade elevation.
E. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Chapter, the following prohibited signs are allowed in the Bayside Conservation (Third Street Promenade Area) District:
1. Subject to Section 9.61.200(F), below, animated signs, including but not limited to digital display signs composed of a sign face, building face, and/or any building or structural component that displays still images, scrolling images, moving images, or flashing images, including video and animation, through the use of grid lights, cathode ray projections, light emitting diode displays, plasma screens, liquid crystal displays, fiber optics, or other electronic media or technology that is either independent of or attached to, integrated into, or projected onto a building or structural component, and that may be changed remotely through electronic means.
2. On façades facing the Third Street Promenade, supergraphic signs consisting of an image projected onto a wall or printed on vinyl, mesh, or other material with or without written text, supported and attached to a wall by an adhesive and/or by using stranded cable and eye-bolts and/or other materials or methods. 13 3. For establishments with frontage on the Third Street Promenade, Portable signs not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (7) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A). The sign shall be removed when the business is closed.
4. For establishments with frontage on the Third Street Promenade, Upper Level signs are allowed on façades facing the Third Street Promenade, so long as they are not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (9) and (11) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A).
F. Animated signs permitted pursuant to this Section are allowed on the following conditions:
1. Sign must be located only on a façade facing the Third Street Promenade.
2. For one-story buildings: maximum allowable sign area and placement shall be the area above the storefront up to the roof line and for the width of the tenant space.
3. For buildings of two-stories or greater, maximum allowable sign area shall be the area above the storefront up to the sill level of the second floor and for the width of the tenant space. The sign may be placed anywhere on the building façade so long as the maximum allowable sign area is not exceeded.
4. Signs may not cover windows.
5. Sign lighting shall not be of an intensity or brightness that will create a nuisance for properties in direct line of sight to the sign. Illumination is limited to 0.3 foot candles above ambient lighting at the property line, and a maximum brightness of 300 candelas per square meter at night (from sunset to sunrise), and 5,000 candelas per square meter during the day (sunrise to sunset).
6. Signs must be dimmable.
14 7. The sign luminance contrast ratio shall not exceed 30:1.
8. The City may require a sign illumination plan in accordance with any adopted administrative regulations pursuant to this section as part of the application process to demonstrate compliance with all applicable standards.
9. Animated sign faces shall operate only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., and shall be turned off between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
10. Signs are not eligible for a sign adjustment under Section 9.61.130.
G. The City Manager shall have authority to adopt administrative regulations governing the specifications of signs permitted by this Section, including but not limited to regulations on brightness, refresh rate, and approval of a sign illumination plan including illumination testing protocols.
H. Nothing this Section would supersede the façade alteration requirements set forth in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.55.
A. Portable Signs. A portable sign, provided that each such sign complies with the following requirements:
1. Limited to one portable sign for each business;
2. The sign is an A-frame or sandwich board type of portable sign;
3. The sign is placed within 12 feet directly in front of the building's frontage for the business utilizing such a sign, and so long as the sign is:
a. Not placed within 5 feet of a fire hydrant,
b. Not placed within 5 feet of a corner at an intersection, c. Not secured to any existing City- or public utility-owned facility, including, but not limited to, poles or trees, and
15 d. Not placed so that less than a 5-foot contiguous sidewalk width is kept clear for pedestrian passage at all times;
4. The sign shall not be larger than 10 square feet in size;
5. The sign face shall be no wider than 2.5 feet and no taller than 4 feet and limited on 2 sides/faces with a total square footage of sign area not to exceed 20 square feet;
6. The sign is not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (7) and (9) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A);
7. The sign shall be removed when the business is closed; and
8. The sign is affixed with a decal in a manner that is clearly visible to the public.
B. Upper-Level Signs. An upper-level sign that does not affect the total sign area, provided that each such sign complies with the following requirements:
1. Limited to no more than 2 upper-level signs per business;
2. The sign is not placed above the third-floor floor line;
3. The sign is either: (a) a banner sign with a sign area not to exceed 10 square feet and a letter height not to exceed 24 inches, or (b) a projecting sign not more than 5 feet high and 2 feet wide with a letter height not to exceed 18 inches or logo height not to exceed 24 inches;
4. The maximum projection over the public right-of-way is no more than 42 inches; and
5. The sign is not of the type prohibited by subsections (1) through (9) and (11) through (12) of Section 9.61.180(A).
16 Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.61.210 is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.61.210 Maintenance.
A. All signs and sign support structures, together with all of their supports, braces, guys, and anchors, shall be kept in repair and in proper state of preservation.
B. The display surfaces of all signs shall be kept neatly painted or posted at all times.
C. Whenever an existing sign is removed as part of any approval granted pursuant to this Chapter, the building façade shall be patched and repaired in a manner consistent with the adjacent, undamaged finish surface. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. Pursuant to Sections 615 and 619 of the City Charter, for reasons stated in the above recitals, the City Council declares this ordinance to be necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, 17 health, and safety, with the result that this ordinance shall be introduced and adopted at the same meeting, shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney