TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 21.15.370, 21.15.2980, Table 32-1 of Chapter 21.32, Table 33-2 of Chapter 21.33, and Chapter 21.54; and by adding Sections 21.15.372, 21.15.374, and 21.15.1835, all related to billboards, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
In December 2009, the City Council adopted an Ordinance initiating a one-year moratorium on the issuance of permits for the development of billboards (off-site advertising), "supergraphic" signs, and conversion of existing billboards to electronic billboards within the City. In December 201 0, the City Council extended the moratorium for another year to allow staff more time to research and develop comprehensive regulations for billboards throughout the City. Across a series of study sessions spanning nearly two years, the Planning Commission and City Council have provided direction and guidance to staff on the development and framework of this Ordinance. Staff also received community comments at a number of community meetings, finding a wide range of opinions on the subject of billboards. With the completion of the October 20, 2011 Planning Commission hearing on the subject, staff is now prepared with a final proposed Ordinance ready for City Council consideration. An overview of this proposed Ordinance is presented herein.
The proposed Ordinance improves and updates the City's existing billboard rules, which are badly outdated. The current rules fail to anticipate and regulate 21 st-century trends, such as electronic billboards, supergraphics (building wraps), and mobile billboards. The existing billboard Ordinance, adopted in the 1970s, also fails to encourage or incentivize the removal of hundreds of billboards installed in the 1940s through 1960s that are located in areas of the City where they would not be legally permitted under current code. Many of these nonconforming billboards are found in residential neighborhoods, ...
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