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Planning commission recommends ordinance to clarify billboard rules along I-605 corridor
Summary
The Santa Fe Springs Planning Commission voted 5-0 to adopt findings and recommend a zoning text amendment that would allow billboards in both M1 and M2 manufacturing zones along Interstate 605 and finds the amendment exempt from CEQA.
The Santa Fe Springs Planning Commission on Monday unanimously adopted findings and recommended that the City Council approve a zoning text amendment to clarify where electronic billboards are allowed along Interstate 605.
The amendment strikes a specific M2-only restriction from the Interstate 605 corridor electronic billboard program in the zoning code and instead permits billboards within manufacturing zones (M1 and M2) that abut the 605, city planning consultant Laurel Reimer told commissioners. The commission also found the text amendment exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under the common-sense exemption.
Why it matters: The change resolves a map-and-text conflict created when the city updated its zoning map in 2023 and reclassified some parcels east of the freeway from M2 (heavy manufacturing) to M1 (light manufacturing). Reimer said the 2021 ordinance that initially allowed 605 billboards had been written when the affected areas were M2; the 2023 map change left the code inconsistent with current zoning.
Reimer said the 2021 ordinance (Ordinance No. 1118) and earlier billboard rules (Ordinance Nos. 1036 and 1092) set standards for location, operation and design and that to date seven billboards have been built along I-5 while none have been constructed along the 605. The proposed amendment applies only to the 605 corridor and does not change the city’s I-5 freeway standards, she said.
The staff report notes that billboard developers must enter into an operating agreement with the city that includes monetary fees to the general fund and nonmonetary benefits such as use of the sign for city messages, emergency alerts and community announcements. Reimer said the zoning text amendment is consistent with the General Plan policies referenced in the staff report (land use and economic development policies).
After a brief public hearing with no speakers, the commission moved to adopt Resolution No. 279-2025, incorporating the commission’s findings and recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance to effectuate the change. The roll-call vote was recorded as 5-0 in favor.
The commission secretary announced a 14-day appeal period for anyone wishing to appeal the action. Reimer noted there is an existing billboard at the I-605/I-5 Florence interchange near the Honda World site.
