HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/18/2014 07 UAZO Update - Set Hearing DateBUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.
For Meeting of: 2/18/2014
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ITEM TITLE:
SUBMITTED BY:
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Set date for a public hearing on March 18, 2014, at 6:30
p.m. to consider the Yakima Planning Commission's
recommendation on amendments to the Yakima Urban Area
Zoning Ordinance YMC Chapter 15.08 Signs, to further
regulate the impacts of billboards and digital signs.
Steve Osguthorpe, AICP, Community Development Director
(509) 575-3533
Jeff Peters, Supervising Planner (509) 575-6163
The Yakima Planning Commission will hold an open record public hearing on February 26, 2014
to consider text amendments to the Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance Chapter 15.08 Signs
to further regulate the impacts of billboards and digital signs as directed by the Yakima City
Council in the moratorium enacted on April 1, 2013 and October 15, 2013. The Council may
provide further direction to the Planning Commission on this item prior to, and in preparation for,
the Planning Commission's February 26th hearing. Options for the Council to consider are
included in the attached staff memorandum to the City Council.
Resolution:
Other (Specify):
Contract: Contract Term:
Start Date: End Date:
Amount:
Ordinance:
Item Budgeted:
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Impact:
Strategic Priority:
Insurance Required? No
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Improve the Built Environment
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL:
RECOMMENDATION:
City Manager
Staff recommends that the Yakima City Council set March 18, 2014, as the date for a public
hearing to consider the Yakima Planning Commission's recommendation on amendments to the
Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance YMC Chapter 15.08 Signs, to further regulate the
impacts of billboards and digital signs. Staff also recommends that the Council provide further
direction on this issue as described in the attached staff memorandum.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date
❑ Memo to Council - February 18, 2014 2/10/2014
Type
Cover Memo
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Steve Osguthorpe, AICP, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Billboards & Digital Signs — Discussion of Options and Set Date for Public
Hearing.
Date: February 18, 2014
Background:
The Planning Commission is completing its review of the billboard and digital sign issue and
is finalizing a draft ordinance for consideration at its February 26, 2014 public hearing.
Based upon feedback at the public hearing, the Commission will finalize its draft ordinance
and then forward a recommendation to the City Council, which will include a detailed report
of the Commission's research, analysis, findings and conclusions. The City Council's
scheduled public hearing is being set for March 18, 2014.
Based upon research and the commission's consideration of the issues to date, the
Commission's draft ordinance currently includes the following:
Draft Billboard Standards:
1. Prohibit installation of any new billboards city-wide.
2. Allow existing legally installed billboards to be retained as legal non -conforming
structures in all areas of the city.
3. The commission discussed the possibility of creating a sign overlay district along
North 1st Street. All billboards within the North 1st Street overlay except those lying
within 660 feet of the highway interchange (the area subject to the Highway
Beautification Act) would be removed after an amortization period of five years. The
Commission decided not to formally draft amortization regulations until more specific
direction from the City Council on the scope and purpose of a No. 1st Street Sign
Overlay district. The amortization could be accomplished as a "next -step" in the
billboard regulation process.
ginistration (509) 575-61,11!3
Draft Digital Sign Standards:
Limit digital signs to 40 square feet in size, and allow one digital sign per parcel
frontage, subject to the following additional standards:
A. Brightness. During daylight hours between sunrise and sunset, luminance shall
be no greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) nits. At all other times,
luminance shall be no greater than two hundred fifty (250) nits. [The
Commission hasn't yet finalized these brightness targets.]
B. Auto -dimming. All changing message center signs shall be equipped with auto -
dimming technology to ensure that signs do not exceed maximum luminance
levels day and night.
C. Manufacturer's certification for compliance. All changing message center signs
shall be certified by the manufacturer that they are designed to not exceed
maximum luminance levels defined in this section.
D. Static Image & Hold. Each image of a changing message sign shall be static
except for message change, which shall occur instantaneously and then hold
static for at least 5 seconds between image changes.
E. Signs in Protected Areas. (e.g., residential historic districts). All changing
message center signs in protected areas as defined in Section 15.29.020 of the
Yakima Municipal Code, except in commercial zones, are subject to the following
additional standards:
a. Signs are limited to monochrome text on dark background.
b. Signs shall be completely static except for message change occurring
through quick fade-in (1 second min/max).
c. Signs are limited to 33 square feet.
F. Malfunction or Vacancy. Changing message center signs shall revert to an all
black screen in the following instances:
a. The sign malfunctions
b. The premises on which the sign is located is vacated
G. Applicability. The provisions of this section do not apply to signs legally installed
on private property prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
Options for Council Consideration:
The Council is being requested to set March 18, 2014 as the date of a public hearing before
the City Council. However, the Council may wish to provide further direction to the Planning
Commission before it completes its work on these two issues. Possible options include:
Option 1: Have the Commission complete the work as already directed by Council and
as currently being developed for both billboards and digital signs.
Option 2. a. Move forward on the Commission's recommendations on billboards, and
also direct the Commission to include a sign overlay district for No. 1st Street
wherein existing billboards would be amortized out (excluding signs within
660 feet of the highway right-of-way). This would affect 10 existing billboards
lying between Yakima Avenue to the south and the highway interchange to
the north); and
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b. Direct the Commission on the digital sign issue to either:
i. Complete work on the digital sign component as currently being
drafted by the Commission. Under this option, the Council could
nonetheless determine if there are any components of the
proposed regulations that it may wish to defer until a more
comprehensive review of the sign code can be completed. (The
ordinance the Planning Commission is drafting is formatted in a
way that allows some components to be eliminated without
compromising the rest of the ordinance.) Or,
ii. Hold off on the digital sign issue until a more comprehensive sign
code update can be considered, which would include a sign code
overlay for No. 1st Street. Under this option, the Council may wish
to extend the moratorium only on digital signs until this work can be
completed.
Recommendation:
The staff recommends that the Council provide direction on one of the above options, and
then set March 18, 2014 as the date of public hearing for the ordinance on billboards and
digital signs.
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