In order to protect the rights of political candidates and those wishing to support or oppose candidates or ballot measures (and those wishing to announce community events), while protecting the public from traffic safety hazards, structural sign hazards, aesthetic blight, litter and loss of meaning of the message of such signs, the regulations provided in this chapter are adopted.

No permit shall be required of any political campaign sign or community event sign which does not exceed the size limitations provided in this chapter so long as such signs are placed on private property. Political campaign signs and community event signs which are within the size and placement requirements of this chapter shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 18.96 of this title.

Unless it appears from the context that a different meaning is intended, the following words shall have the meanings given them in this chapter:

It is unlawful for any person to post, place or affix a political campaign sign or cause to do the same, on or to any public property or utility structure. It is also unlawful for any person to post, place or affix a political campaign sign or cause to do the same, on private property in a manner which poses a hazard to motorists, pedestrians or cyclists using the public rights-of-way, by blocking the view of traffic-control signs, devices or cross traffic or by protruding into the public right-of-way.

It is unlawful for any person to fail to remove a political campaign sign within five days after the election for which the sign was posted.

No person shall post or cause to be posted community event signs on private property, other than the property on which the event is to take place, more than 30 days prior to the event or fail to remove such sign within five days after the event. Size limits for community event signs shall be the same as those set forth in subsections A and B of Section 18.100.040 of this chapter for political campaign signs. Public agencies when posting community event signs on property owned by that agency are exempt from the limitation of this section.

The city manager or his or her authorized agents shall remove any sign found posted within the corporate limits of the city which is in violation of Sections 18.100.040, 18.100.050, 18.100.060 and 18.100.070 of this chapter.

For the purposes of removing illegal signs, the city manager or his or her authorized agents are empowered to enter upon the property where the signs are posted, and the city manager is further authorized to enlist the aid or assistance of any other department of the city and to secure legal process to the end that all such signs shall be expeditiously removed from any property where posted.

When the city manager or his or her agent finds that a sign has been posted in violation of Sections 18.100.040, 18.100.050, 18.100.060 and 18.100.070 of this chapter, he or she shall document the nature of the violation and the location of the sign and shall remove said sign and store it in a safe location. If, after reasonable diligence, the city manager is unable to contact the candidate, committee or person responsible for the sign, he or she may dispense with the notice requirement and remove the sign, storing it in a safe location. Any sign posted six days after the election or event shall be deemed abandoned and the city manager may dispense with notice requirements.

If the city manager or his or her agents removes any sign, he or she shall keep a record of the location from which the sign was removed. He or she shall store the sign in a safe location for at least 20 days and shall notify the candidate, committee or person responsible for the posting of the sign, indicating the fact of removal and the location where it may be retrieved. If the city manager is unable to make telephone contact, he or she shall provide written notice, if the address of the candidate, committee or person is known or can reasonably be ascertained. The city manager shall return any political campaign sign upon the payment of a fee to cover the costs of removal, notice and storage.

The city shall be entitled to receive a fee for every sign removed by the city manager, to cover the expense of removal, notice and storage not to exceed $5.00 per sign. Where unusual effort is needed to remove a sign, such as the cutting or removal of supporting structures, use of aerial devices, towing of "trailer signs", or other unusual situations, the city shall collect from the person responsible a sum sufficient to cover the costs of equipment and hourly wages of employees so utilized. Where no return of the stored sign is requested, the city manager shall bill the person responsible for the sign.

In a campaign for political office, the candidate for such office shall be deemed the person responsible for the posting of political campaign signs, unless he or she first notifies the city clerk and the city manager of another person who is responsible. In such case, the candidate shall provide the name, address, telephone number and signed consents of such other responsible person. In a campaign regarding a ballot measure, the president or chief officer of the committee supporting or opposing such ballot measure shall be deemed responsible, unless he or she first notifies the city clerk and the city manager of some other person responsible, in the manner described in this section. The candidate, or in the case of a ballot measure, the committee president or chief officer or other responsible person, if so designated, shall be liable to pay any fees or costs for the removal and storage of illegal signs, as set out in this chapter. Where a community event sign has been posted illegally, the president or chief officer of the group sponsoring the event shall be deemed the responsible person.

Billboards and other permanent signs used for advertising messages which are otherwise permitted by this code or exist as legal nonconforming uses are exempt from the regulations of this chapter.