HomeMy WebLinkAbout94-09 Political Signs and Removal of Illegal Signs in Public Rights-of-WayORDINANCE NO. 94 -
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTIONS,
5-118, 5-121, 5-128, 5-129 12-44 AND 15-7 OF
THE COSTA MESA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
POLITICAL SIGNS AND REMOVAL OF ILLEGAL SIGNS
IN PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY.,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Costa Mesa
finds and declares as follows:
(a) Uncontrolled proliferation of political campaign signs
preceding and following an election is inconsistent with the intent
and purpose of the Sign Ordinance to promote commerce, traffic
safety and community identity while improving the quality of the
visual environment; and
(b) The California Political Reform Act of 1974, and as
amended, prohibits municipalities from expending public funds on
political campaigns, and the cost of removal of political signs
following an election would place a financial burden on the City of
Costa Mesa for. which the candidate who owns or directs the
placement of political signs should bear, and a study will be
commenced estimating the actual cost of removal of the signs; and
(c) An ordinance to correct existing regulatory deficiencies
regarding political campaign signs is immediately needed in light
of the upcoming general election and is necessary to protect the
public health, safety and welfare as set forth in the Sign
Ordinance of the City of Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Municipal Code
Title 5, Chapter VI, Section 5-117 through 5-156, inclusive..
(d) The placement of illegal signs in the public rights-of-
way are a public nuisance and adversely impacts on traffic and
pedestrian safety, cause excessive litter on the public rights-of-
way, and the cost of removal of illegal signs places an undue
financial burden on the City of Costa Mesa
ACCORDINGLY, the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa hereby
amends the Costa Mesa Municipal Code as follows:
Section 2. The provisions of Section 5-129 of the Costa Mesa
Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows:
"Section 5-129. Political Campaign Signs.
(1) Any person, party, entity, or group posting
political signs within the boundaries of the City of
Costa Mesa shall first file a statement with the City
Clerk designating the person or entity responsible for'
political signs to be posted in the City and liable for
the estimated actual cost of removal of the political
signs to guarantee compliance with the provisions of this
ordinance, and such statement shall certify to the City
Clerk that consent by the owners, lessees or occupants of
the private real property has been obtained as required
in subsection (4) of this Section. Only one political
sign statement shall be requir,,ed of any party or group,
regardless of the number of individuals posting signs on
its behalf. Any person, party, entity,, or group posting
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political signs within the public rights-of-way shall be
liable for the cost incurred in the removal, storage and
disposal thereof as provided in Section 5-128.
(2) All political signs shall be removed not later than
ten (10) days following the date of the election.
(3 ) No political campaign sign shall be placed or posted
on any public property or utility pole or within a public
right-of-way. The City shall have the right, but not the
duty, to remove and dispose of any sign posted or placed
in violation of this section. The City shall assess a
charge against any person, candidate, entity, party, or
group posting or placing signs in violation of this
section pursuant to Section 5-128.
(4) Each political campaign sign placed in residential
zones shall not exceed twenty-two (22) inches by thirty
(30) inches in size. The aggregate area of all political
campaign signs on a single lot shall not exceed five
hundred (500) square feet. Prior to placing political
campaign signs on private real property, the person,
candidate, entity, party or group posting or placing the
signs shall obtain consent from the owner, lessee or
occupant of the private real property.
(5) No political campaign sign shall be lighted, either
internally or externally.
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(6) No political campaign sign shall be placed in a
manner that would obstruct visibility to pedestrian or
vehicular traffic.
(7) It shall be unlawful to violate any provision of
this section. violation may be punished either as an
infraction or as a misdemeanor."
Section 3. Subsection (5) is hereby added to Section 5-118
of Title 15 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code to read as follows:
(5) Any sign, notice, handbill or similar device found
painted, marked, posted, attached or otherwise affixed
upon or to any public property or on public right-of-way
contrary to the provisions of this Code may be removed by
the Police Department, Development Services Department,
Public Services Department, or the Community Services
Department. The person, association, partnership, firm,
corporation or trust responsible for such illegal sign,
notice, handbill or similar device shall be liable for
the cost incurred in the removal, storage and disposal
thereof as provided in Section 5-128.
Section 4. Paragraph (5) of Subsection (b), Section 5-121
of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
11(5) Signs projecting into or located in the public
right-of-way, except as authorized by City Council
pursuant to Section 5-121(d)(5), of Chapter II of Title
19."
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Section 5. Section 5-128 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code
is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 5-128 Signs Prohibited on Public Property or
Public Rights -of -Way; Removal; Abatement
Costs and Fines.
(a) Prohibition. No person shall erect, place, paint,
mark, or display or cause to be erected, placed, painted,
marked, or displayed any sign, sign notice, handbill,
structure or advertising device in, under, on or over any
public property or any public right-of-way with respect
to which the city has jurisdiction. As used in this
section, "person" means a natural person, association,
partnership, firm, corporation -or trust or the employee
or agent thereof. A violation of this section may be
prosecuted as a misdemeanor pursuant to Section 1-3.3(b).
Criminal prosecution pursuant to this section shall not
preclude, nor be precluded by, abatement of such signs or
parts thereof pursuant to this section.
(b) Removal. Any such sign, notice, handbill, sign
structure or advertising device erected, placed, painted,
marked, or displayed contrary to the provisions of this
section, Sections 5-121(d)(5), 12-44, 15-7 and Chapter II
of Title 19 shall be a public nuisance and the city may
immediately remove and dispose of it without notice.
(d) Exception. The provisions of this section shall
not prohibit the following signs:
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(1) The posting of any notice in the manner
required by law or by the order of any court
of this State.
(2) Bus passenger shelters and benches with
advertising displays in the public right-of-
way approved pursuant to Chapter II of Title
19 of this Code.
(3) Street banners approved pursuant to
Section 5-121(d)(5) of this Code.
(e) Abatement Costs and Fines. Any person found by
the Development Services Director to be responsible for
a sign(s) in violation of this section shall be liable
for the cost incurred in the removal, storage, and
disposal thereof as provided in this section. The City
Council by resolution shall determine and fix, on an
annual basis, an amount to be assessed as administrative
costs, including but not limited to the actual costs of
removal, storage and disposal of any sign or parts
thereof, under this section. In addition to any other
penalty or cost provided in this section, any person
found by the Director to have more than one (1) violation
of this section as provided in subsection (f) shall be
subject to and pay to the City civil penalties in the
amount of $250.00 for each illegal sign removed.
(f) Abatement Costs; Notice and Hearing. Before any
person responsible for an sign in violation of this
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section is assessed abatement costs and/or civil
penalties, the person shall have a right to a hearing
before the Development Services Director or designee.
Upon removal of an illegal sign and identification of the
person responsible for such sign by City personnel, a ten
(10) day "notice of abatement" shall be mailed by
registered mail to the person responsible for the illegal
sign. The notice shall state the grounds to assess
abatement costs and/or civil penalties for the removal,
storage and disposal of the illegal sign and inform the
person that he or she has ten (10) days from the date of
receipt of the notice to file a written request for a
hearing. The failure of the person to request a hearing
shall satisfy the hearing requirement, and the Director
may decide to assess abatement costs and/or civil
penalties without a hearing. If a person files a timely
hearing request, the Director shall hold a hearing to
afford the person responsible for an illegal sign the
opportunity to present evidence on whether reasonable
grounds exist to assess abatement costs and/or civil
penalties. Where the Director finds that person notified
of the hearing is the owner or person responsible for a
sign(s) in violation of this section and that the City
incurred costs for the removal, storage and/or disposal
of -such sign(s), the Director shall assess against such
person the abatement costs incurred in the removal,
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storage and/or disposal thereof, and shall impose civil
penalties pursuant to subsection (e) where such person is
found to have more than one (1) violation of this
section. The Director's decision on abatement costs and
civil penalties shall be final. The Director's decision
may be appealed to the Planning Commission pursuant to
Title 2 of this Code.
(g) The City Attorney is authorized and may institute an
action in any court of competent jurisdiction to
restrain, enjoin, or abate any sign(s)-found to be in
violation of this section, and collect abatement costs
and/or civil penalties assessed pursuant to this section
and as provided by law.
Section 6. Section 12-44 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code
is hereby amended to read as follows:
No person, association, partnership, firm, corporation or
trust shall paint, mark or write on, post, attach or
otherwise affix any handbill, notice, sign or similar
device to or upon any park, sidewalk, parkway, crosswalk,
street, alley, median, curbstone, street lamppost, bus
bench or shelter, or hydrant, tree, shrub, tree stake or
guard, electric light, power or telephone pole or wire or
appurtenance thereof, or upon any lighting system,
bridge, drinking fountain, street sign or barrier,
traffic sign, fence, building or structure of any kind
located on City property or any City right-of-way or
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easement unless a permit is obtained from the City
Council as provided in Section 5-121(d)(5) or Chapter II
of Title 19. The person, association, partnership,
firm, corporation or trust responsible for such sign,
notice, handbill or similar device in violation of this
section shall be liable for the cost incurred for the
removal and disposal thereof as provided in Section 5-
128.
Section 7. Section 15-7 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code
is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 15-7. Signs Prohibited.
No person, association, partnership, firm, corporation or
trust shall paint, mark or write on, post, attach or
otherwise affix any handbill, notice, sign or similar
device to or upon any park, sidewalk., parkway, crosswalk,
street, alley, median, curbstone, street lamppost, bus
bench or shelter, hydrant, tree, shrub, tree stake or
guard, electric light, power or telephone pole or wire or
appurtenance thereof, or upon any lighting system,
bridge, drinking fountain, street sign or banner, traffic
sign, fence, building or structure of any kind located on
City property or any City right-of-way or easement unless
a permit is issued therefore pursuant to Section 5-
121 (d) (5)
-121(d)(5) or Chapter II of Title 19. The person,
association, partnership, firm, corporation or trust
responsible for such handbill, notice, sign or similar
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device in violation of this section shall be liable for
the cost incurred for the removal and disposal thereof as
provided in Section 5-128."
Section 8. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or
portion of this article is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this article. The City Council of the City
of Costa Mesa declares that it would have adopted this article and
each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion
thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be
declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 9. Publication.
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and
effect thirty (30) days from and after its passage and, before the
expiration of fifteen (15) days after its passage, shall be
published once in the NEWPORT BEACH -COSTA MESA PILOT, a newspaper
of general circulation printed and published in the City of Costa
Mesa, or, in the alternative, the City Clerk may cause to be
published a summary of this Ordinance and a certified copy of the
text of this Ordinance shall be posted in the office of the City
Clerk five (5) days prior to the date of adoption of this
Ordinance, and within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the City
Clerk shall cause to be published the aforementioned summary and
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shall post in the office of the City Clerk a certified copy of this
Ordinance together with the names of the members of the City
Council voting for and against the same.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6 tILI day of , 1994.
ATTEST:
Mayot of the City of Costa Mesa
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Clerkobf the City of Costa Mesa City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, MARY T. ELLIOTT, Deputy City Clerk and ex -officio clerk of
the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, hereby certify that the
above and foregoing Ordinance No. 94-? was introduced and
considered section by Section at a regular meeting of said City
Council held on the /(o day of X1 , 1994, and thereafter passed
and adopted asoma whole at a regulate meeting of said City Council
held on the ( day of �, 1994, by the following roll call
vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: G L=til S ? 14um PHR�y� k10 AAA lf-�u,-kLE tt'C/=A
L' QICkSGA)
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: IJOAJ E
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: jON �.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my han and affixed the
Seal of the City of Costa Mesa this _7i1,day of , 1994.
POLISIGN.ORD (5-18-94)
Deputy ity Clerk and ex -officio
Clerk o the City Council of the
City of Costa Mesa
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