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a. Regulatory Scope. This article regulates signs on City property, regulates signs, as defined herein, which are located on or displayed from private property located within the City, as well as signs located on public property owned by public agencies other than the City over which the City has land use regulatory authority.

b. Owner’s Consent. No sign may be displayed on private property without the consent of the property owner or person holding the present right of possession and control of the property, except that a landlord’s consent is not required for a tenant to display signs as specified in Civil Code Section 1940.4.

c. Noncommercial Messages. There is no location criterion for noncommercial messages that are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and/or the corollary provisions of the California Constitution.

d. Message Substitution. Any constitutionally protected noncommercial message may be substituted for any duly permitted or allowed commercial message or any duly permitted or allowed noncommercial message; provided, that the sign structure or mounting device is legal without consideration of message content. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval or permitting.

e. Permit Generally Required. Unless exempted from the sign permit requirement, all signs shall be installed or displayed only pursuant to a sign permit issued by the City. It is unlawful for any person, association, corporation or other entity to erect in any manner within the City a sign, except in conformance with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations, and policies.

f. Discretionary Approvals. Whenever a sign or a proposed sign is subject to any discretionary review, permit or approval, such discretion may be exercised only as to the compatibility of the sign within its location and other structural, architectural and locational factors and consistency with the City’s Design Review Manual in accordance with Article 18-33.

g. Administrator Interpretations. All interpretations of this article shall be exercised in light of message neutrality and message substitution policies. Where a particular type of sign is proposed and the type is neither expressly allowed nor prohibited by this article or whenever a sign does not qualify as a “structure” as defined in the Building Code, as adopted by the City, then the Planning Commission or Director or his/her authorized representative, as applicable, shall approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the application based on the most similar sign type, using physical and structural similarity, that is expressly regulated by this article.

h. Compatibility Factors. In determining compatibility of a sign with its surrounding environment, the following criteria may be considered: (1) style or character of existing improvements upon the site and properties adjacent to the site; (2) visual elements such as construction materials, physical design details and the number and spacing of signs in the area; (3) the sign’s height, size and location, in relation to its proposed location and use; (4) potential effect of the proposed sign on driver and pedestrian safety; (5) potential blocking of view (whole or partial) of a structure or façade or public view of natural, historical or architectural significance; (6) potential obstruction of views of users of adjacent buildings to side yards, front yards, open space or parks; (7) potential negative impact on visual quality of public spaces, including but not limited to recreation facilities, public squares, plazas, courtyards and the like; (8) whether the sign structure will impose an aesthetically foreign or inharmonious element into the existing skyline or local viewscape. In addition, in accordance with Article 18-33, sign review must include evaluation for consistency with certain standards and guidelines contained in the City’s Design Review Manual.

i. Federally Registered Marks. The provisions of this article shall not require alteration of the display of any registered mark or any trademark, service mark, trade name or corporate name that may be associated with or incorporated into a registered mark, where such alteration would require the registered mark to be displayed in a manner differing from the mark as exhibited in the certificate of registration issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. However, the City does have discretion of the size of the display in relation to compatibility factors. It is the responsibility of the applicant to establish that a proposed sign includes a registered mark. (Ord. #248-2020, S2 (Exh. A))