Item A: 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: October 24, 2012 Agenda Item Number: A 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 hold its second work session on proposed amendments to the City’s Sign Code, EC 9.6600 to 9.6680. The amendments would consolidate several exemptions from the permit requirements, set size limits for exempt signs and specify a time limit for the City to act on a sign permit application. 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. 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 was 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 and prevent unregulated proliferation of signs. The ACLU has agreed that, with the proposed amendments, the sign code would not violate the state or federal constitution. The draft amendments address the specific concerns raised by the ACLU and are not a general revision of the Sign Code. 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. (A “banner” is a sign made of non-rigid material that is not enclosed by a frame; a flag is one kind of banner.) Each of those signs could not exceed 12 square feet. The “exemption” means those signs are exempt from permit and fee requirements. S:\CMO\2012 Council Agendas\M121024\S121024A.doc