Maintain and enhance the City's visual environment by regulating the location, size, design, character, number, type, quality of materials, illumination, and maintenance of signs;

Protect and improve pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic safety by balancing the need for signs which facilitate the safe and smooth flow of traffic without an excess of signage that may distract motorists, overload their capacity to quickly receive information, visually obstruct traffic signs, or otherwise create congestion and safety hazards;

Generally limit commercial signage to on-site locations to protect the visual environment from visual disorder associated with the unregulated proliferation of signs while providing channels of commercial communication to the public;

Allow the expression of political, religious, and other noncommercial speech at all times;

Respect and protect the right of free speech through sign display, while reasonably regulating the structural, locational, and other noncommunicative aspects of signs generally to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and specifically to serve the public interest through pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic safety and the maintenance and enhancement of the visual environment;

Minimize the potential adverse effects of signs on nearby public and private property;

Promote the City's interest in maintaining and enhancing its visual appeal to residents and visitors by preventing the degradation of visual quality which can result from excess signage;

Defend the peace and tranquility of residential zones and neighborhoods by prohibiting commercial signs on private residences while allowing residents the opportunity, within reasonable limits, to express political, religious, and other noncommercial messages;

Enable the fair, consistent, and efficient enforcement of sign regulations in the City.

Signs shall only be erected or maintained in zones as allowed by this chapter. The sign regulations outlined in this chapter are intended to be the minimum standards needed to achieve the City's purposes in regard to signs.

Where the provisions established by this chapter conflict with other provisions of this article, the provisions of this chapter shall apply.

Signing in residential areas shall be harmonious with the materials, colors, and textures of the neighborhood.

Signing used by commercial/industrial businesses either abutting or across the street from residential areas shall be designed so as to consider their proximity and not adversely affect the integrity of residential neighborhoods.

Signing throughout the City shall be reasonable in scale, character, and design. The design of signs shall be consistent with the highest visual standards.

All signing for an establishment within a multi-tenant commercial or industrial complex shall be in harmony and consistent with the signing of the entire complex. The theme of such signing shall be approved as part of the planned signing program for the commercial or industrial complex.

Signs shall serve to identify the business(es) on the premises.

The consent of the property owner is required before any sign may be displayed on any real or personal property within the City. In the case of public property, owner's consent shall be pursuant to the adoption of policy by the Council.

Subject to the owner's consent, a noncommercial message of any type may be substituted for all or part of the commercial message on any sign allowed pursuant to this chapter.

All rights, duties, and responsibilities related to permanent signs run with the land on which the sign is mounted, affixed, or displayed. The City may demand compliance with this chapter and with the terms of any sign permit from the permit holder, the owner of the sign, the property owner, or the person mounting the sign.

Replacing sign copy on a commercial sign due to age, wear, or other aesthetic or safety purposes without any modification to the location, height, size of the sign area, any structural support or attachment, or electrical component shall require a sign permit.

Rights and duties relating to permanent signs may not be transferred between different parcels of real property except as part of an approved Planned Signing Program. All duly issued and valid sign permits for permanent signs affixed to land shall automatically transfer with the right to possession of the real property on which the sign is located.

Every sign shall be properly maintained respecting appearance, structure, and electrical provisions as follows:

Noncommercial or nonindustrial uses located in a commercial or manufacturing zone shall be governed by the requirements of the zone in which the particular use was originally permitted.

Windows painted in a manner that prohibits the passage of light rays and that are the same color as the adjoining walls shall be considered a part of the wall.

Every sign requiring a permit shall display the name of the maker, date of the installation, and the permit number. Such information shall be clearly legible and in a conspicuous place on each sign.

A commercial or industrial building with a side or rear property line that abuts a residentially zoned property shall not erect a sign along said side or rear property line, with the exception of a directional sign or non-illuminated sign.

Unless otherwise exempt by this chapter, no sign shall be installed, constructed, erected, structurally altered, relocated, or reconstructed without approval of a sign permit (or other applicable permit as required or allowed by this chapter) by the City Planner in accordance with the following:

A Planned Sign Program shall be required for any site having three or more nonresidential tenants and shall be submitted and approved by the Commission prior to the issuance of any sign permit. Once a Planned Sign Program is approved, no sign permit shall be issued unless said sign complies with the Planned Sign Program.

A Planned Sign Program may include deviations from the standards of this chapter, provided that the total sign area shall not exceed the area otherwise permitted by this chapter. In approving a Planned Sign Program, the Commission shall determine that such Planned Sign Program:

The Commission may require any reasonable conditions necessary to carry out the intent of the Planned Sign Program requirement.

An alternate means of compliance with this section may be approved by the Commission.

Planned Sign Programs may be part of a Site Plan Review, a Conditional Use Permit, or a Planned Unit Development.

The Planning Commission shall conduct a public hearing on the planned sign program pursuant to Section 9804. Decisions of the Commission may be appealed to the Council according to the appeals process established by Section 9806 of Chapter 8.

The proposed sign is permitted within the zone and complies with all applicable provisions of this chapter, the General Plan, and any other applicable standards;

The sign is in proper proportion to the structure or site on which it is located;

The sign materials, color, texture, size, shape, height, and placement are compatible with the design of the structure(s), property, and neighborhood of which it is a part;

The sign's illumination is at the lowest reasonable level as determined by the City Planner, which ensures adequate identification and readability, and is directed solely at the sign or is internal to it;

The sign is not detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, or welfare; and

The sign is in compliance with Section 9624, Lighting and Design Standards.

Canvas signs (excluding awning signs), paper or cardboard signs, banners, pennants, flags, streamers, balloons, or other wind signs, except where temporarily permitted as described in Section 9618.02;

A-frame, portable, or sandwich board signs;

Signs or sign structures which by color, wording, or symbols, resemble or conflict with any traffic control sign or signal;

Signs with an intensity of illumination that creates a safety hazard for pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular traffic;

Signs which produce odor, sound, smoke, fire, or other such emissions;

Signs advertising commercial uses, day care homes, residential care facilities, and similar uses on sites where the principal use is a residential dwelling unit unless otherwise allowed in accordance with State law;

Signs that rotate, move, or cause uncontrolled direction of lights, flash, reflect, blink, or appear to do any of the foregoing with the exception of public service signs stating time and temperature;

On-premises signs that identify or advertise a product, business, or service that is not located on the property on which the sign is located;

Off-premises signs, including billboards, and/or advertising signs as defined in this chapter, which do not advertise a product, an interest, a service, or entertainment available on the premises, except as permitted by Section 9622.

Any other sign, sign structure, or advertising device which is not specifically permitted by the zone regulations in which the sign is located or which may have been erected in violation of the laws in effect at the time of erection;

String lights, except in connection with permissible holiday decorations. Outlining of a building or structure with lights shall be construed as being string lighting;

Statuary sign, excepting those statuary signs legally established before January 12, 1978;

Lamps or incandescent lights are prohibited from use in any sign. This includes but is not necessarily limited to:

Signs extending above a building roof (Figure 9.6.1). However, a wall sign may be architecturally integrated with a sloping roof fascia or mansard roof with approval of a sign permit or a planned sign program.

Exposed neon, unless the neon is approved by the Commission as a contributing architectural or historical feature of the building.

Any painted wall sign.

Any sign or portion thereof that physically rotates about an axis (a revolving sign).

Changeable copy except as permitted elsewhere in this chapter.

Animals or human beings, live or simulated, utilized as signs.

Signs or sign structures which by their location conflict with a traffic control sign or signal or create a safety hazard for pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular traffic;

Signs on public property, except when authorized by the appropriate governmental agency;

Signs overhanging in the public right-of-way, unless specifically permitted by this chapter. All signs permitted to project over the public right-of-way must do so in compliance with Sections 7165 through 7172 of Chapter 1 of Article VII, Streets and Public Works.

No sign shall be affixed to any vehicle or trailer on a public right-of-way or public or private property unless the vehicle or trailer is currently and regularly being used in its normal business capacity and is not for the sole purpose of attracting business.

Sign structures shall not be placed within the intersection visibility triangle as described in Section 9520.04 and shown in Figure 9.6.2 unless the sign complies with the provisions of Section 9614.04(f).

Within the area composed by said triangle ("the corner cutback area"), no sign shall create a visual obstruction within a vertical space between 30 inches above the adjacent curb grade and a minimum nine feet above the adjacent curb grade as shown in Figure 9.6.3.

The City Planner may require an additional offset or setback other than required by this section to create site visibility upon finding that the need for such additional offset or setback is required to maintain public safety.

Nonexempt signs within the R-1 and R-2 Zones.

Sign area shall be computed as follows:

Sign height shall be measured as the greatest vertical distance from the finished grade adjacent to the sign footing or wall or below a suspended sign to the top of the sign, including any support structure and any design element as shown in Figure 9.6.10.

Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, copy area shall be measured as defined as shown in Figure 9.6.11.

The allowable signs and maximum sign area allowed by zone for on-site signs shall be as identified in Table 9.6.2 and subject to the following:

In addition to the maximum sign area requirements established by Section 9618.02 above, on-site signs are also subject to the following requirements. Where the provisions of this subsection conflict with the maximum sign area requirements by zone, this subsection shall prevail.

Temporary signs, banners, flags, pennants, decorations, and other advertising devices that do not advertise a specific product or service are permitted if subject to approval of a Special Event Permit from the City Planner as described in Section 9420. The application shall include the type and size of sign, display dates, and their location in addition to the other requirements of the Special Event Permit. The sign area of temporary signs shall be a maximum of 150% of the permitted sign area within the applicable zone provided that the temporary signage does not create any safety hazards or impede the view of a sign of any other establishment.

Nothing in this section contained shall prevent the Council from granting a temporary special permit or otherwise permitting, on such terms as it may deem proper, signs (or the like) advertising or pertaining to any civic, patriotic, or special event of general public interest taking place within the boundaries of the City when it can be found that the same will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare, interests, or safety or injurious to any abutting property.

Additional standards apply to the following specific temporary signs:

A wall sign with a maximum sign area of 20 square feet; and

A monument sign which shall not exceed a maximum sign area of 15 square feet, a maximum height of six feet, and a minimum setback of seven feet from a street property line. Changeable copy is permitted subject to the following:

One, non-illuminated wall sign per street frontage, not to exceed a maximum sign area of 32 square feet per sign.

One monument sign, located along the school's primary street frontage, which shall not exceed a maximum sign area of 70 square feet, and a maximum height of eight feet.

Freestanding signs are prohibited.

One freestanding sign may be located on the premises in conformance with the requirements of this chapter.

Additionally, one wall sign may be permitted which shall not exceed one square foot of area for each lineal front frontage of the building.

Both signs allowed subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be included in the computation of the total allowable sign area.

Signs which advertise the sale or lease of the lot upon which such sign is placed;

Signs which only designate the name of the owner or occupant of the lot or identifying such premises;

Signs limited to an advertisement of the business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced upon the lot on which the sign is located;

Signs located such that the content displayed is not designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling upon such freeway;

Prior to placing any permanent sign for commercial or industrial purposes within five hundred feet (500′) of either side of the right-of-way line of any freeway, a plan shall be filed with, and approved by the City Planner showing the location and orientation of the sign or advertising structure and the location of the business or industrial use being served; and

Any advertising structure or sign which is now, or hereafter may be, in violation of the provisions of this section shall be removed in accordance with the amortization schedule of this chapter.

One freestanding sign which shall not exceed a maximum height of six feet or a maximum sign area of 12 square feet; or

One monument sign which shall not exceed 12 square feet of sign copy area or a maximum height of more than five feet above the finished grade.

One freestanding sign may be located at the street intersection, which sign shall not exceed 60 square feet in area, and a height of 24 feet; or

One sign not exceeding 30 square feet or a height of 20 feet may be erected on each street frontage not closer than 60 feet to the street intersection of the property lines; or

One monument sign not exceeding 50 square feet and a height of seven feet.

In addition to the freestanding or monument sign, service stations may be permitted a maximum of 52 square feet in total sign area logo, gasoline price, trading stamp, and credit card information. An identification wall sign may be permitted on pump island canopy façade fascia or mounted beneath the canopy on the support column, provided the vertical height of the sign does not exceed two feet.

For Gasoline Price Signs, State law (Article 12, California Business and Professional Codes, Sections 13530—13545) requires that the prices for the three major grades of gasoline must be clearly posted in numbers a minimum of six inches in height and letters a minimum of four inches in height or two-thirds the height of the letters. Sign area used to comply with this requirement shall not be computed towards the total allowable sign area for a service station.

A Planned Sign Program identifying the type, size, and location of all signs in the project shall be approved by the Commission in accordance with the applicable zone.

In addition, a large commercial center located in the C-2 or C-3 Zones shall be permitted one freestanding sign for each public right-of-way within or abutting the center.

The maximum sign area for a large commercial center shall not exceed one square foot of sign area per lineal foot of property frontage along the public right-of-way for the first 100 lineal feet plus one additional square foot of sign area for each additional two lineal feet of property frontage along the public right-of-way. However, the maximum sign area for a large commercial center shall never exceed 200 square feet.

All lighting directed onto the exterior surface of a sign shall be provided with opaque deflection or shielding devices to prevent such lighting from glaring or shining onto abutting properties or the public right-of-way.

Interior illuminated signs shall not exceed 430 milliamperes, 12 inches on center. Sections of signs using colored panels having low light transmission may have those panels illuminated with increased lighting equal to 800 milliampere intensity when certified by the installing sign manufacturer.

Sign design shall consist of a series of compatible elements including but not limited to the materials, letter style, color(s), illumination, and sign shape.

Signs shall be an integral part of the overall design of the building structure and compatible with the design and scale of the buildings that they identify.

Supporting sign structures shall be architecturally compatible with the signs they support and the structure(s) on the premises on which they are displayed in terms of style, color, texture, and exterior finish. Supporting members of signs shall appear to be free of any extra bracing, angle iron, guy wires, and the like. The support shall appear to be an architectural and integral part of the building and/or sign. Supporting columns of round, square, or shaped steel members may be erected if required bracing, visible to the public, is minimized or covered to the satisfaction of the City Planner.

The City Planner's approval of sign supporting structures shall be governed by the extent to which the sign supporting structures reasonably comply with this section.

Compliance. To protect the public health, safety, and welfare, all signs within the City shall be constructed or erected subject to the provisions of this chapter.

The City Planner or his or her authorized representative shall not permit and shall abate any sign within the City which fails to meet the requirements of this article or other applicable laws, including, but not limited to, failure to obtain a sign permit, creating a public hazard, and/or abandonment.