TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending and restating Chapter 21.54, 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 2010, the City Council extended the moratorium for another year to allow staff more time to research and develop new, comprehensive regulations for billboards throughout the City. On October 20, 2011, the Planning Commission heard and recommended that the Council approve staff’s proposed Ordinance, which would allow for the construction of electronic billboards in Long Beach in exchange for the removal of nonconforming billboards at specified ratios (referred to as a “cap-and-replace” program). The Council approved this Ordinance on December 6, 2011, but on the second reading on December 13, 2011, directed staff to remove all provisions relating to the permitting of electronic billboards and the cap-and-replace program. On March 6, 2012, the Council approved the revised Ordinance with a ban on electronic billboards and without the cap-and-replace program. This Ordinance was finalized on the second reading on March 13, 2012.
On October 8, 2013, City Council directed staff to return with a revised Billboard Ordinance, to include the electronic billboard provisions and the cap-and-replace program that were not adopted in December 2011. The Council also specified three provisions to be included in the revised Ordinance:
· A billboard company would have the ability to negotiate a development agreement if they can demonstrate that they cannot meet the cap-and-replace criteria set forth in the Ordinance.
· A billboard company would be required to provide an accurate inventory of their billboard locations as a condition of any develo...
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