In order to protect the rights of
political candidates and those wishing to support or oppose candidates
or ballot measures (and those wishing to announce community events),
while protecting the public from traffic safety hazards, structural
sign hazards, aesthetic blight, litter and loss of meaning of the
message of such signs, the regulations provided in this chapter are
adopted.
(Prior code § 2-9.60)
No permit shall be required of any political campaign sign or community event sign which does not exceed the size limitations provided in this chapter so long as such signs are placed on private property. Political campaign signs and community event signs which are within the size and placement requirements of this chapter shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter
18.96 of this title.
(Prior code § 2-9.61)
Unless it appears from the context
that a different meaning is intended, the following words shall have
the meanings given them in this chapter:
"City"
means the city of Pleasanton, a municipal corporation in
the state of California.
"Person"
means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company, committee for support or opposition of candidates or ballot
measures or organizations of any kind.
"Political campaign sign"
means any sign urging the election or defeat of any candidate
seeking any political office, or urging the passage or defeat of any
ballot measure but does not mean or include any billboard owned or
maintained by a commercial firm or advertising company.
"Public property"
means all property owned by the city or other public agency
within city boundaries, including but not limited to any building
owned, operated or leased by a public agency; any street, bicycle
or pedestrian right-of-way owned or controlled by the city; and public
park recreation area, parkway, planter strip or other public grounds
owned or operated by the city or other public agency; any traffic-control
device or sign or the support pole of the device or sign; or any street
tree or flagpole.
"Sign"
means and includes any bill, poster, placard, handbill, flyer,
painting, sign or other similar object in any form whatsoever which
contains printed or written matter in words, symbols or pictures,
or in any combination thereof.
"Utility structure"
means any utility pole, supporting structure or guy wire
owned by a public or private utility company.
"Religious holiday banner"
means any banner announcing a special religious holiday service
for a religious group belonging to any religious institution.
(Prior code § 2-9.62; Ord. 1574 § 1, 1992)
A. Maximum Size of Signs. No person shall
post or cause to be posted on private property political campaign
signs in an R district in excess of six square feet. No person shall
post or cause to be posted on private property campaign signs in any
other zoning district in excess of 16 square feet.
B. Maximum Area per Site. No person shall
post or cause to be posted political campaign signs on an individual
parcel of private property in an R district which in the aggregate
exceeds 24 square feet. No person shall post or cause to be posted
political campaign signs on an individual parcel of private property
in any other zoning district which in the aggregate exceeds 64 square
feet.
C. Maximum Size, Number and Duration of Religious
Holiday Banners. No person shall post or cause to be posted on private
property on sites exceeding 10,000 square feet in any zoning district,
religious holiday banners in excess of 36 square feet. No person shall
post or cause to be posted on private property, on sites 10,000 square
feet or less in any zoning district, religious holiday banners in
excess of six square feet. There shall be no more than one banner
posted on the site of any religious institution during a special religious
holiday. Religious holiday banners may be posted for a maximum of
eight days during any special religious occasion not exceeding four
such religious holidays each year.
D. Permission to Post. No person shall post
or cause to be posted on private property political campaign signs,
community event signs or religious holiday banners without first receiving
permission from the property owner or any other person authorized
by property owner to give permission to post such signs.
(Prior code § 2-9.63; Ord. 1574 § 2, 1992)
It is unlawful for any person to
post, place or affix a political campaign sign or cause to do the
same, on or to any public property or utility structure. It is also
unlawful for any person to post, place or affix a political campaign
sign or cause to do the same, on private property in a manner which
poses a hazard to motorists, pedestrians or cyclists using the public
rights-of-way, by blocking the view of traffic-control signs, devices
or cross traffic or by protruding into the public right-of-way.
(Prior code § 2-9.64)
It is unlawful for any person to
fail to remove a political campaign sign within five days after the
election for which the sign was posted.
(Prior code § 2-9.65; Ord. 1496 § 1, 1991)
No person shall post or cause to be posted community event signs on private property, other than the property on which the event is to take place, more than 30 days prior to the event or fail to remove such sign within five days after the event. Size limits for community event signs shall be the same as those set forth in subsections
A and
B of Section
18.100.040 of this chapter for political campaign signs. Public agencies when posting community event signs on property owned by that agency are exempt from the limitation of this section.
(Prior code § 2-9.66)
The city manager or his or her authorized agents shall remove any sign found posted within the corporate limits of the city which is in violation of Sections
18.100.040,
18.100.050,
18.100.060 and
18.100.070 of this chapter.
(Prior code § 2-9.67)
For the purposes of removing illegal
signs, the city manager or his or her authorized agents are empowered
to enter upon the property where the signs are posted, and the city
manager is further authorized to enlist the aid or assistance of any
other department of the city and to secure legal process to the end
that all such signs shall be expeditiously removed from any property
where posted.
(Prior code § 2-9.68)
When the city manager or his or her agent finds that a sign has been posted in violation of Sections
18.100.040,
18.100.050,
18.100.060 and
18.100.070 of this chapter, he or she shall document the nature of the violation and the location of the sign and shall remove said sign and store it in a safe location. If, after reasonable diligence, the city manager is unable to contact the candidate, committee or person responsible for the sign, he or she may dispense with the notice requirement and remove the sign, storing it in a safe location. Any sign posted six days after the election or event shall be deemed abandoned and the city manager may dispense with notice requirements.
(Prior code § 2-9.69; Ord. 2120 § 1, 2015)
If the city manager or his or her
agents removes any sign, he or she shall keep a record of the location
from which the sign was removed. He or she shall store the sign in
a safe location for at least 20 days and shall notify the candidate,
committee or person responsible for the posting of the sign, indicating
the fact of removal and the location where it may be retrieved. If
the city manager is unable to make telephone contact, he or she shall
provide written notice, if the address of the candidate, committee
or person is known or can reasonably be ascertained. The city manager
shall return any political campaign sign upon the payment of a fee
to cover the costs of removal, notice and storage.
(Prior code § 2-9.70)
The city shall be entitled to receive
a fee for every sign removed by the city manager, to cover the expense
of removal, notice and storage not to exceed $5.00 per sign. Where
unusual effort is needed to remove a sign, such as the cutting or
removal of supporting structures, use of aerial devices, towing of
"trailer signs", or other unusual situations, the city shall collect
from the person responsible a sum sufficient to cover the costs of
equipment and hourly wages of employees so utilized. Where no return
of the stored sign is requested, the city manager shall bill the person
responsible for the sign.
(Prior code § 2-9.71)
In a campaign for political office,
the candidate for such office shall be deemed the person responsible
for the posting of political campaign signs, unless he or she first
notifies the city clerk and the city manager of another person who
is responsible. In such case, the candidate shall provide the name,
address, telephone number and signed consents of such other responsible
person. In a campaign regarding a ballot measure, the president or
chief officer of the committee supporting or opposing such ballot
measure shall be deemed responsible, unless he or she first notifies
the city clerk and the city manager of some other person responsible,
in the manner described in this section. The candidate, or in the
case of a ballot measure, the committee president or chief officer
or other responsible person, if so designated, shall be liable to
pay any fees or costs for the removal and storage of illegal signs,
as set out in this chapter. Where a community event sign has been
posted illegally, the president or chief officer of the group sponsoring
the event shall be deemed the responsible person.
(Prior code § 2-9.72)
Billboards and other permanent signs
used for advertising messages which are otherwise permitted by this
code or exist as legal nonconforming uses are exempt from the regulations
of this chapter.
(Prior code § 2-9.73)