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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/20/2017 14 Sign Code Revisions Update; Planning Commission RecommendationBUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDASTATEMENT Item No. 14. For Meeting of: June 20, 2017 ITEM TITLE: Planning Commission recommendation regarding Sign Code revisions update SUBMITTED BY: Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney SUMMARY EXPLANATION: On April 18, 2017, the City Council heard the Planning Commission's recommendation to amend Chapter 15.08: Signs to conform to a recent U.S. Supreme Court holding that sign regulations must be content -neutral. A public hearing followed. After the public hearing and during deliberation, council members discussed the prohibition of trailered signs. After that discussion, the sign code amendments were remanded to the Planning Commission and a motion was made for a joint study session to be scheduled in the future. The Planning Commission took up the remand, addressing the concerns expressed by council members during the meeting (namely, the prohibition on trailered signs). The Planning Commission, after further discussion, made a preliminary determination that rather than prohibit trailered signs, they would recommend that trailered signs be allowed and regulated as portable signs. Attached is a memo outlining the proposed amendment. Due to the Planning Commission's work, this is being brought back to the Council to determine if a joint study session is still necessary. ITEM BUDGETED: NA STRATEGIC PRIORITY: NA APPROVED FOR ,■. SUBMITTAL: City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Planning Commission recommended adoption of the original revisions, and now is recommending an additional revision to regulate trailered signs as portable signs, rather than prohibiting trailered signs as originally recommended to City Council. A final recommendation from the Planning Commission will be determined at its June 14, 2017 regular meeting. ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type D Trailered Signs Remand Memo -5.8.2017 61712017 Cceer Memo D Status Update on Sign e-6.7.2017 6(712017 Ca r Memo CITY OF YAKIMA LEGAL DEPARTMENT 200 South Third Street Yakmi Washuigton %Rn (509) 575 -UM Fac (509) 575-6160 MEMORANDUM May 8, 2017 TO: Chairman Clark and Planning Commission Members FROM: Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney SUBJECT: Optional language for sign code amendments: Trailered Signs Pursuant to the remand from City Council and its discussion regarding trailered signs, below please find the options that were originally discussed when the Planning Commission first addressed trailered signs. The initial recommendation to the Council was to prohibit trailered signs. 1. Signs that are on trailers or wheeled signs There are two approaches for regulating signs on trailers or wheeled signs. The first is to draft a section specific to those signs, while an alternative would be to add these types of signs to the section on portable signs. Below please find the two options in ordinance form for your review. A. Adding a section specifically addressing signs on trailers or wheeled signs. 15.08.125 Signs on trailers and wheeled signs Signs that are affixed to trailers or wheels shall comply with the following standards: A. Zone. Signs that are affixed to trailers or wheels shall only be allowed in non- residential zones. B. Licensing. Trailers pulled by vehicles shall be licensed and registered and follow all regulations of the Washington State Department of Licensing. C. Design and Materials. Trailer signs or signs on wheels must be designed with durable materials, and shall not be designed with paper, fabric or canvas. Such signs shall be designed to withstand wind and shall not be illuminated. Memorandum to Planning Commission Chair and Members May 8, 2017 Page 2 D. Size and height. In no event may a trailer sign or sign on wheels exceed its wheel base or trailer. No trailer sign or sign on wheels may stand more than four feet tall inclusive of the trailer and measured from the ground, nor may any trailer sign or sign on wheels exceed three feet in width. E. Number. For purposes of the number of signs on a property, one trailer sign or sign on wheels is allowed, in lieu of one portable sign under YMC 15.08.155. F. Location. Trailer signs and wheeled signs must be located on the business property, no farther than ten (10) feet from the site's driveway entrance. No trailer sign or wheeled sign may be located on the City right-of-way, which includes the sidewalk, without a right-of-way use permit. No trailer sign or wheeled sign may be located within the clear view triangle. G. Display hours. Trailer signs and wheeled signs may only be displayed during business or operating hours. During non -business or non-operating hours the trailer signs and wheeled signs must be placed inside, or flush with the building. B. Addition of trailer and wheeled signs to the section on Portable Signs. 15.08.155 Portable Signs Portable sign, including sandwich board, portable pole mounted signs, and signs on trailers or wheels, shall comply with the following standards: A. Zone. Portable signs are allowed only in non-residential zones, except that temporary portable signs are allowed in residential zones subject to the provisions in Section 15.08.110. B. Design and Materials. Portable signs must be designed with durable materials, otherwise they will be regulated as temporary signs under Section 15.08.110. Portable signs must be designed to withstand wind and include a heavy weighted base for pole mounted signs, and a heavy weight suspended between the opposing faces of a sandwich board sign. Signs on trailers or wheels shall comply with all applicable motor vehicle and Department of Licensing standards. Portable signs may not be illuminated. C. Size and Height. Portable signs shall be a maximum of four feet in height and maximum of three feet in width, inclusive of any trailer or wheels. D. Number. Not more than one (1) portable sign may be displayed per business, per tenant space. E. Location. Portable signs must be located no further than ten (10) feet from the primary building of the business, or, if there is only one business or tenant space on the site, it may be located not farther than ten (10) feet from the driveway entrance. No portable sign may be located on City property. No portable sign may be located on the City right-of-way, which includes the sidewalk, without a right-of-way use permit. Memorandum to Planning Commission Chair and Members May 8, 2017 Page 3 F. Display hours. Portable signs, including temporary portable signs, may be displayed during business or operating hours only. In both of these cases, the terms "trailered sign" or "wheeled sign" must also be defined in the definitions section. "Trailered sign", "sign on trailer" or "wheeled sign" means any sign affixed to a trailer or having wheels capable of being used to move the sign from location to location. Trailered sign or sign on trailer does not only include signs that are pulled behind vehicles, but all signs on wheels and wheeled signs. C. Prohibiting trailer signs. The other option would be to prohibit trailer signs with a definition as follows: "Trailer sign" means a sign used for advertising purposes mounted on a vehicle normally licensed by the state as a trailer. Signs larger than two square feet in area attached to or placed on a vehicle or trailer parked on public or private property are prohibited. 2. Defining trailered signs differently. Another option would be to change the definition of trailered signs to be more specific as to what types of trailered signs are being prohibited—for example any signs on trailers that are left at a property for the purpose of advertisement, whether attached or detached from the trailering vehicle. This would allow trailered signs if they were in motion—in other words if a business sought to drive around town with a trailered sign, that could occur. It just couldn't be left on site as a sign. 3. Limiting the total number of signs per property. The Planning commission also could address one concern about trailered signs—that it afforded a business another type of sign to display along with portable, temporary and others --by limiting the total number of signs per property. For example, the total number of signs per property could be limited to 4—whatever 4 types of signs the business chose to have (wall, hanging, portable, temporary, trailered, digital, etc.). CITY OF YAKIMA LEGAL DEPARTMENT 200 South Third Street, 2nd Fl. I Yakima, WA 98901 P: 509.575.6030 1 F: 509.575.6160 MEMORANDUM June 7, 2017 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Cliff Moore, City Manager Jeff Cutter, City Attorney FROM: Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney SUBJECT: Status Update on Sign Code On April 18, 2017, at your regular council meeting, you heard the staff report and testimony on the proposed updates to the sign code. After deliberation concentrating on the proposed prohibition of trailered signs, Councilmember Avina Guti6rrez moved to remand the matter back to the Planning Commission and set up a joint study session on the subject. This motion was seconded and passed by a majority of the members. The Planning Commission discussed the matter at its meeting on May 10, 2017, and further reviewed a previous memo from staff regarding options in regulating trailered signs (see attached). After discussion, the Planning Commission determined that it needed additional information as to where such signs are located in the City, which companies are making these signs, demand for these signs, and general dimensions of the signs. Before the next meeting, staff took photographs of trailered signs within the City and contacted five companies that create signs for customers. After reviewing information and continued discussion on regulating trailered signs, the Planning Commission came to consensus that an amendment to the Portable Sign provisions should be drafted and submitted to Council for review. The language that will be proposed and discussed at the June 14, 2017 Planning Commission meeting (it has not yet been formally adopted as the recommendation to City Council) is as follows: 1. Change to the definition of "trailered signs" "Trailered sign" means any sign located on or affixed to a trailer or vehicle normally licensed by the state as a trailer, or any sign that has its own wheels, or is located on or affixed to its own wheels, capable of being used to move the sign from location to location. Trailered sign does not mean signs that are permanently or temporarily affixed to motor vehicles other than trailers, Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Cliff Moore, City Manager Jeff Cutter, City Attorney June 7, 2017 Page 2 such as passenger cars, trucks, or recreational vehicles which would fall under YMC 15.08.045(9). 2. Change in Portable Sign section to include trailered signs 15.08.155 Portable Signs. Portable signs, including sandwich board, trailered and portable pole mounted signs, shall comply with the following standards: A. Zone. Portable signs are allowed only in non-residential zones. B. Design and Materials. Portable signs must be designed with durable materials, otherwise they will be regulated as temporary signs under Section 15.08.110. Portable signs must be designed to withstand wind and include a heavy weighted base for pole mounted signs, and a heavy weight suspended between the opposing faces of a sandwich board sign. Portable signs cannot be illuminated. C. Size and Height. Portable signs shall be a maximum of four feet in height and maximum of three feet in width. When measuring the height, measurement shall be from the ground to the top of the sign, and shall include any support structure, such as a trailer. When measuring the width, measurement shall include the full width of the sign and any support structures. D. Number. Not more than two (2) portable signs may be displayed per business, per tenant space. The total square feet of the portable signs per business or tenant space shall not exceed twenty-four (24) feet in the event two signs are displayed. E. Location. Portable signs must be located no further than ten (10) feet from the primary building of the business, or located not farther than ten (10) feet from the site's driveway entrance. No portable sign may be located on the City right-of-way, which includes the sidewalk, without a right-of-way use permit or other permit allowing such use issued by the City. No portable sign may be located in a clearview triangle or obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic. F. Display Hours. Portable signs may be displayed during business or operating hours only. No other concerns were specifically outlined by the Council at the April 18, 2017 meeting. Therefore, if the only concern was the proposal to prohibit trailered signs, it may not be necessary to have a joint study session, as the Planning Commission has addressed that issue and will be supplementing its recommendation to you in June. However, if you prefer to have a joint study session with the Planning Commission on this issue, we will schedule it in the near future.