HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1987/02/17 Item 8 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT
Item 8
Meeting Date 2/17/87
ITEM TITLE: Public Hearing: PCA-86-10 - Consideration of an amendment to
Title 19 of the Municipal Code to allow off-premise temporary
real estate open house signs in residential zones
0
Ordinance ,/,../ 1 To permit off-premise temporary real estate
open house signs in residential zones
SUBMITTED BY: Director of Planning 61c SECOND READING AND ADOPTION
REVIEWED BY: City Manager (4/5ths Vote: Yes No X )
At the City Council meeting of March 3, 1986, the South Bay Board of Realtors
requested that Council consider an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to allow
off-premise temporary real estate open house signs in residential zones. The
Board of Directors has stated that most resale homes are sold through the open
house process, and existing street patterns often make it difficult to locate
an open house without the use of an open house directional sign. Council
directed staff to prepare such an amendment.
There are currently no provisions for permitting off-premise open house
directional signs in residential zones in the Zoning Ordinances for both Chula
Vista and the Montgomery area.
RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a recommendation to approve the proposed ordinance
amendment as outlined in Exhibit C and D, attached and made a part hereto, the
ordinance to expire one year after the date of adoption unless legislation to
renew the ordinances are approved by the City Council prior to that date.
BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: The Montgomery Planning Committee at
their meeting of January 7, 1987, voted to recommend approval of the proposed
ordinances, subject to extensive revisions:
The following chart represents each of the positions of staff, the Montgomery
Planning Committee and the Planning Commission with respect to the location,
number of permitted open house signs, and other issues:
Page 2, Item 8
Meeting Date 2/17/87
South Bay
Montgomery Cities
Planning Planning Board of
Staff Committee Commission Realtors
Item 1
Number of Signs 3 Unlimited 5 per 1 mile Unlimited
per open house radius
Item 2
Two signs on 2 permitted 2 permitted 2 permitted 2 permitted
corner lot
Item 3
Days that signs Fridays, Saturdays, No limit Fridays, No limit
are permitted Sundays Saturdays
Sundays
Item 4
Size and 4 sq. ft. 3 ft. from No limit No limit 4 so. ft.
location from sidewalk or 10 ft. located on
ROW of signs from curb - no side- property line
walk
Item 5
Sign Copy "Open House" "Open House" "Open House" "Open House"
the address, logo of the address, the address, the address,
of company and logo of logo of logo of
directional arrow company and company and company and
directional directional directional
arrow arrow arrow
Item 6
Obtaining Not necessary Not necessary Not necessary Not necessary
written
permission
The Planning Commission, at its meeting of January 14, 1987, voted to
recommend approval of the proposed ordinance incorporating most of the
revisions suggested by the Montgomery Planning Committee. The recommendation
did differ from the Montgomery Committee's suggestions in that the Commission
voted to limit the number of open house signs to 5 signs within a 1 mile
Page 3, Item 8
Meeting Date 2/ 1;187
radius of the open house. A vote to allow the open house signs seven days a
week failed, thus the recommendation remained to allow the signs Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday during daylight hour, as staff had originally recommended.
Staff has revised the proposed ordinances to reflect the recommendations
dealing with sign copy and placement with written permission from the property
owner. However, in view of potential problems with visual clutter,
enforcement of the ordinance, and insuring placement of the signs outside of
the right-of-way, staff is recommending adoption of the balance of the
ordinances as originally drafted.
DISCUSSION:
The South Bay Board of Realtors request for an ordinance amendment was made to
allow residents selling a single family home to place open house signs off
premise to direct potential buyers to the location of the home. The Board has
stated that in their experience most resale homes are sold using the open
house process. Buyers are attracted who have pre-determined the area in which
they wish to reside, and often select the home they ultimately purchase by
driving the streets of the area. Existing street patterns may make it
difficult to locate an open house without the use of an open house directional
sign.
Staff has reviewed the request and is of the opinion that off-premise open
house signs could be accommodated within Chula Vista subject to the
limitations outlined in the proposed ordinance language in Exhibits C and D of
this report. The restriction on the use and location of these signs serve to
address issues involving potential problems with creation of visual clutter
and enforcement of the ordinance. These issues are discussed below.
Visual Clutter
In permitting off-premise open house signs in residential areas, there is some
potential for producing visual clutter created by utilizing numerous signs for
one open house, posting the signs on a continuous basis, or posting signs for
each of a number of lots, such as in the sale of new homes in a newly created
subdivision. Signs could also accumulate in certain locations with high
visual exposure, creating an unsightly appearance.
The ordinance language as proposed would serve to minimize a cluttered
appearance within residential neighborhoods by limiting the number of off
premise open house signs permitted to three signs for each residential open
house, and by limiting placement of the off premise signs to one on each
parcel. There are other restrictions which limit the times that the signs can
be displayed to Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as limitations on the
size and locations that the sign may be posted on a lot.
Since the purpose of permitting an off-site premise open house sign is to
facilitate location of an open house for one single family residence,
off-premise signs for more than one lot or more than two dwellings are
Page 4, Item 8.
Meeting Date-2-777787
excluded from this ordinance. Provision of off-premise signs for multiple
lots and dwellings are regulated in ordinances dealing with subdivision
directional signs in the Chula Vista Zoning Ordinance, and temporary real
estate directional signs in the Montgomery Zoning Ordinance.
Placement of Signs in the Right-of-Way
Signs of any type are generally prohibited from being placed within the public
right-of-way. In order to insure that off-premise open house signs are not
placed within the public right-of-way, staff is recommending that the signs be
placed 3 feet from the sidewalk or 10 feet from the curb or edge of pavement,
where no sidewalk exists. This corresponds to current street design standards
for residential and residential collector streets; those standards require 10
feet of right-of-way from the curb to the property line.
In some cases, the right-of-way extends further than the current 10 foot
standard to 15 feet from the curb. In those instances, placement of signs 3
feet from the sidewalk insures that the sign is not in the right-of-way,
because where parkways exist, the property line is typically located 2 feet
from the sidewalk.
Enforcement
A review of the zoning ordinances dealing with off-premise real estate signs
in nine other jurisdictions revealed that all but one of the jurisdictions
questioned prohibited any type of off-premise real estate open house sign in
residential zones. Those jurisdictions include Coronado, El Cajon, Imperial
Beach, National City, San Diego, Poway, San Diego County, Oceanside, and
Escondido.
The City of Poway permits off-premise temporary open house signs without any
limitation on the display of signs to certain days of the week. As a result,
off-premise signs in Poway are sometimes posted on a continuous basis for
several weeks by individuals claiming to be holding a constant "open house"
until that particular residence is sold. The ordinance has been abused so
that, in reality, off-premise open house signs are used in the same manner as
on-premise real estate signs. There is no permit required for the sign, so it
becomes difficult to track the length of time the sign has been displayed and
the date the open house was to have been held.
The proposed ordinance language, by limiting the display of signs to certain
days of the week would aid in curtailing the use of open house signs in the
same manner as on-premise real estate signs; those signs still posted during
the week would clearly be in violation of the ordinance and could be removed
by enforcement personnel .
Requiring a temporary permit for off-premise real estate open house signs
would, in staff' s opinion, not be practical or easy to implement due to the
-- potential impact on staff time and resources in processing the permit, and an
inordinate inconvenience to the applicant. Rather than require a sign permit,
Page 5, Item 8
Meeting Date 2/ 1/87
staff recommends adoption of the ordinance with the inclusion of a sunset
clause causing the ordinance to expire after one year unless Council takes
specific action to renew the legislation. The sunset clause would facilitate
a review of the ordinance to determine if compliance with the ordinance or
visual appearance of residential areas become recurring problems.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
WPC 3573P
by the City Council of
by the City Council of
Chula Vista, California Chula Vista, California
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