Perris planners back draft code allowing one off-site freeway sign per large shopping center

The Perris Planning Commission on March 19 recommended that the City Council adopt a zoning-code amendment to allow off-site freeway signage for qualifying commercial shopping centers. The proposed amendment would permit a single off-site static sign structure (non-digital) associated with a shopping center larger than five acres, subject to height, area and design standards and a conditional use permit.

Under the draft text, a qualifying shopping center could request one off-site sign near a freeway right-of-way — typically on an adjacent parcel — to improve visibility for tenants that lack direct freeway frontage. Staff said the proposal is intended as an economic-development tool for larger centers whose tenants are otherwise difficult for motorists to see from the freeway. The proposed standard would require that the sign be architecturally compatible with the associated shopping center, include a city logo on the structure, be static (no digital panels), and be limited to 100 square feet per face and a maximum height of 50 feet. The project also proposes that off-site signs be limited to shopping centers within 150 feet of the off-site parcel and to centers of at least five acres.

Commission discussion: Commissioners raised maintenance, spacing and Caltrans permitting as key issues. Several commissioners asked staff to add spacing limits between permitted signs and to require upkeep language in conditions so that panel faces do not fade or degrade. Staff said state law (the Outdoor Advertising Act, administered by Caltrans) imposes baseline restrictions on off-site freeway advertising and that the city’s ordinance would supplement those rules and could be written more strictly. The commission also discussed whether off-site signs should be limited explicitly to entities that are part of the qualifying shopping center; staff said the shopping center must be the primary beneficiary and that a property-owner lease/authorization would be required for any off-site structure.

Permitting and next steps: The draft amendment requires a conditional use permit for each sign; deviations from the development standards (for example, additional height or area) would require a variance or minor adjustment. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend adoption of the zoning text amendment, with direction to staff to add clearer spacing and maintenance language and to ensure compatibility with Caltrans and the state Outdoor Advertising Act. The item will now go to City Council for final action.