City staff seeks rewrite of sign ordinance; committee favors keeping sidewalks clear

Summary

City staff presented proposed changes to the sign ordinance intended to make the law constitutionally defensible and easier to enforce. Committee members largely favored prohibiting signs in the walkable public right-of-way, suggested limited allowance of staked signs in parkway areas, and raised enforcement and equity concerns.

City staff presented a rewrite of the municipal sign ordinance intended to remove content-based exceptions and update enforcement practices, sparking a lengthy discussion among the Santa Barbara Access Advisory Committee about pedestrian access and enforcement.

The proposed ordinance would remove existing content-based exceptions — including the current allowance for real-estate signs in the public right-of-way — and instead regulate signs by time, place and manner, city staff attorney John Doymus said. “If you have to read the sign to see if an exception applies, that’s when you’re in trouble,” Doymus told the committee, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision that rescinded content-based sign exceptions.

Committee members said pedestrian access should take priority. Several members urged the city to prohibit portable “A-frame” or sandwich-board…

City staff seeks rewrite of sign ordinance; committee favors keeping sidewalks clear

Summary

Subscribe to keep reading