Item C: Amendments to Eugene Sign Code

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Amendments to Eugene Sign Code Meeting Date: July 11, 2012 Agenda Item Number: C Departments: City Attorney’s Office Staff Contact: Jerry Lidz www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-8447 ISSUE STATEMENT The City Council will discuss proposed amendments to the sign code, EC 9.6600 to 9.6680, to consolidate certain exemptions from the permit requirements and to specify a time limit for the City to act on a sign permit application. The council will hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments on July 23, but wanted an opportunity to discuss at least the size of the exempt signs prior to the public hearing. BACKGROUND Impetus for amendments. Eugene’s Sign Code generally requires a property owner to obtain a permit to install a sign on the person’s property. The code contains 24 exemptions from that requirement – for example: addresses, murals, parking lot signs, public signs. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) notified the City that, in the ACLU’s opinion, some of the exemptions were based on the signs’ content and therefore unconstitutional. (Under Oregon Supreme Court decisions concerning the Oregon Constitution’s protections for free expression, the general rule is that if one has to read the sign to know whether it is prohibited or allowed, the regulation is “content-based” and constitutionally invalid.) In addition, the ACLU expressed concern that the lack of a deadline for City staff to process a sign permit application could, theoretically, allow the City to discriminate against signs with a disfavored message by delaying action on the application. Although the City Attorney’s Office disagreed with those contentions, neither the City Attorney nor planning staff were committed to the current code’s approach to the exemptions. Discussions with the ACLU have resulted in a proposal that addresses the ACLU’s concerns without impairing the City’s ability to protect public safety or prevent the harms associated with unregulated proliferation of signs. The ACLU has agreed that, with the proposed amendments, the Sign Code would not violate the state or federal constitution. Draft ordinance. The proposed amendments to the Sign Code would: 1. Eliminate the specific exemptions for conference and convention banners, contractor signs, flags, real estate signs and temporary activity signs. Instead, there would be two general exemptions: (a) on a property used for a single-family residence or a duplex -- two freestanding signs or banners, or one of each; and (b) on all other properties -- one freestanding sign or banner. Each of those signs could not exceed 12 square feet. S:\CMO\2012 Council Agendas\M120711\S120711C.doc