Planning commission approves digital billboard at 1700 Duane and recommends council approve billboard‑relocation agreement
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Summary
The commission approved a conditional use permit and minor modification to allow a single‑sided digital LED billboard at 1700 Duane Avenue as part of a billboard‑relocation agreement that requires removal of existing billboards at other locations; staff and the applicant presented research and agency conditions.
The Planning Commission on Aug. 13 approved a conditional use permit (CUP) for a single‑sided LED billboard at 1700 Duane Avenue, approved a minor modification to reduce the 1,500‑foot spacing requirement, and voted to recommend City Council adoption of a billboard relocation agreement that would allow one new display in exchange for the removal of three existing billboard faces elsewhere in the city.
Staff summarized the request as a single west‑facing LED billboard visible to southbound traffic on U.S. 101; the proposed face is about 6,672 square feet mounted on a 46‑foot column (60‑foot overall height). The sign would cycle static images every eight seconds (no video/motion), implement a dimmer control to limit brightness to city code limits (5,000 nits daytime / 300 nits nighttime), and include provisions for community messaging and emergency alerts. Staff noted consistency with city sign standards subject to the conditional use permit and that the proposal complies with operational standards in the municipal code. A minor modification was requested to reduce separation to another digital display to roughly 1,187 feet in this corridor.
The applicant supplied a traffic and safety review: the applicant’s consultant presented analyses of accident records at existing digital sign locations and cited federal and state studies, noting that peer‑reviewed research and local accident data do not establish a causal link between digital billboards and increased crash rates. The commission asked for, and staff attached, agency comments including initial Caltrans coordination and San Jose Airport planning comments; staff included conditions responding to airport concerns.
Under the city’s billboard‑relocation policy, the applicant must remove three billboard faces (proposed removals noted at 2983 El Camino Real and 3362 El Camino Real) in order to site the new display; staff said the relocation agreement preserves the city’s overall billboard count. The commission adopted the CEQA class 3 exemption finding and approved the CUP and minor modification; it then recommended council approval of the billboard relocation agreement. Votes were recorded on the record as passing, with one commissioner abstaining on the modification vote (per the transcript). The staff report and conditions will be forwarded to the City Council for final action.
Applicant representatives said the new display will meet brightness and cycling limits and will be conditioned for emergency messaging; staff and the applicant also discussed the Business and Professions Code guidance on separation of message signs in highway corridors.
The commission directed that agency conditions (airport, Caltrans) be included in council materials and that the relocation agreement list the specific billboard faces to be removed prior to final permit issuance.
