AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/02/2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Public Hearing for City Council consideration of Ordinance No. 3319, first reading of an Ordinance of the City of Corona, California for Zone Text Amendment (ZTA2020-0002) amending Title 17 of the Corona Municipal Code, Section 17.74.070(H) to refine the conditions for the relocation of outdoor advertising signs (Billboards). (Applicant: City of Corona)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Approve ZTA2020-0002, as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
2. Introduce by title only and waive full reading for consideration of Ordinance No. 3319, first reading of an ordinance amending Section 17.74.070(H) to refine the conditions for the relocation of outdoor advertising signs (Billboards).
Body
ANALYSIS:
Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) 2020-0002 is an application by the City to amend the billboard regulations in Section 17.74.070 (H) of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC). The construction of new billboards is prohibited in the City; however, CMC Section 17.74.070 (H) makes provisions for new billboards to be constructed as part of a billboard relocation agreement. Billboard relocation agreements are entered into between the City and billboard operator or property owner. The City Council has the sole and absolute discretion of the terms in the billboard relocation agreement and absolute discretion on the approval.
Billboards can include static boards, electronic message centers, electronic message boards, and changeable message boards. The municipal code further states the replacement of a static billboard face with any of the electronic messaging described above is considered a relocated billboard and therefore subject to a billboard relocation agreement.
The Sign Ordinance, Chapter 17.74 of the CMC, does not describe minimum conditions that should be applied to a billboard relocation agreement. The amendment proposes to add conditions to CMC Section 17.74.070(H) that would at a minimum be applied when the City considers a billboard relocation agreement. The amendment allows for the relocation of a billboard on a parcel with street frontage to a parcel with freeway frontage and the relocation of a street facing billboard to another parcel on the same street. However, the square footage of the relocated billboard would also be required to be less than the total combined square footage of the removed billboard(s).
The billboards within the City are mostly located along the freeway facing State Route 91 and Interstate 15. Staff completed an inventory of the street billboards erected within the City on February 21, 2020. Four street billboards remain in the City. The street locations are described in the following table. The amendment would establish conditions that would result in the reduction of street facing billboards should there be a request to relocate street facing billboards to a parcel that has frontage on a freeway.
Table 1 - Street Billboard Inventory
|
No. |
General Location |
Panels |
Panel SF |
Billboard ID# |
|
1 |
SEC Magnolia Avenue & Downs Way (near Corona Animal Shelter) |
Double-Sided |
Unknown |
2844 |
|
2 |
1410 E. 6th Street (SEC 6th Street & El Camino) |
Single-sided |
Unknown |
2811 |
|
3 |
912 E. 6th Street |
Single-sided |
Unknown |
005265 |
|
4 |
1320 W. 6th Street |
Double-sided |
Unknown |
2804 & 2847 |
Proposed Amendment
The changes proposed to Section 17.74.070(H) of the CMC are shown below. Text to be deleted is shown in strikeout and text to be added is shown underlined.
“(H) Except as provided in § 17.74.220 (regarding flags, banners, and pennants on city-owned light poles) and in § 17.74.120 (regarding kiosk signs), flags, banners, pennants, festoons, off-premises and outdoor advertising signs (Billboardsbillboards). However, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and consistent with the California Business & Professions Code Outdoor Advertising provisions, new offpremisesoutdoor advertising displays,signs (billboards), including electronic message centers, electronic message boards, and changeable message boards, may be considered and constructed as part of a relocation agreement requested by the city or redevelopment agency and entered into between the city or redevelopment agency and a billboard and/or property owner. The replacement of a static billboard face with an electronic message center, electronic message board, or changeable message board pursuant to a billboard relocation agreement shall be considered a relocation for purposes of this section. Such agreements may be approved by the City Council upon terms that are agreeable to the city and/or redevelopment agency in their sole and absolute discretion. The execution of a relocation agreement shall not operate to change the status of any billboard as a nonconforming use for purposes of this code. Such billboard relocation agreements may be approved by the City Council within its sole and absolute discretion and upon terms that are acceptable in its sole and absolute discretion; provided, however, that at a minimum the following conditions shall apply:
(1) A billboard may be relocated from a parcel with surface street frontage to a parcel with freeway frontage only if the following occur as part of such relocation: (A) at least three (3) billboards are removed in exchange for the one (1) relocated billboard; and (B) the total combined square footage of the relocated billboard is less than the total combined square footage of the three (3) removed billboards, with each panel or billboard face being counted towards the total square footage.
(2) A billboard may be relocated from a parcel with surface street frontage to another parcel with surface street frontage only if the following occur as part of such relocation: (A) the surface street on which the relocated billboard is located must be the same surface street on which the removed billboard had been located; and (B) the total combined square footage of the relocated billboard is less than the total combined square footage of the removed billboard, with each panel or billboard face being counted towards the total square footage.
(3) A billboard may be relocated from a parcel with freeway frontage to another parcel with freeway frontage only if the total combined square footage of the relocated billboard is less than the total combined square footage of the removed billboard, with each panel or billboard face being counted towards the total square footage.
(4) A billboard located on a parcel with freeway frontage may not be relocated to a parcel with surface street frontage.
(5) For all billboard relocations, the total square footage of the relocated billboard must be less than the total combined square footage of the removed billboard, with each panel or billboard face being counted towards the total square footage.
The purpose of the amendment is to reduce the overall number and size of billboards within the City, which is consistent with the City’s billboard prohibition.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
The Infrastructure Committee at its meeting on June 3, 2020, was presented the conditions outlined in the amendment. The Committee had no objection to the conditions being proposed.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The amendment was initiated by the City. Therefore, no application fees are associated with this amendment.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only 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. ZTA2020-0002 is solely a Zoning Code text revision to refine the criteria for relocating outdoor advertising signs (billboards) and narrow the types of outdoor advertising signs (billboards) that can be relocated pursuant to a relocation agreement, which will potentially result in a reduction in the overall number of outdoor advertising signs (billboards) in the City, and there is no possibility that adopting this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 10, 2020, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Jones/Hooks) and carried unanimously, with Commissioner Meza absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend approval of ZTA2020-0002 to the City Council, based on the findings contained in the staff report. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: ROGER BRADLEY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JACOB ELLIS, CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - City Ordinance No. 3319 - (Clean Version)
2. Exhibit 2 - City Ordinance No. 3319 - (Redline Version)
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report
4. Exhibit 4 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 10, 2020
APPLICANT INFORMATION
City of Corona, 400 S. Vicentia Avenue, Corona, CA 92882