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Monterey council narrows temporary-sign rules, votes to require 10-foot spacing
Summary
After public comment and debate over free-speech concerns, the council amended a proposed sign ordinance to require temporary ground-mounted signs to be spaced at least 10 feet apart (removing a subjective clause about creating the appearance of a single large sign) and approved the change by council vote.
The Monterey City Council on Jan. 20 amended and approved a change to the city sign code requiring a spacing between temporary ground signs to help prevent large ‘billboard’ effects in residential neighborhoods.
City staff presented a focused ordinance to add a spacing rule for temporary ground-mounted signs; the draft originally required signs to be a minimum of five feet apart and included a second, subjective sentence prohibiting placement of signs next to each other “to create the appearance of a single large sign.” Community Development staff said the proposal otherwise leaves existing size limits intact (16 square feet per sign; 80 square feet cumulative per parcel).
Several residents urged the council to be cautious. Monique Kaldi, who identified herself as a Monterey resident, said: “Those are my signs, and I wanna clarify that they were not cut into 6 pieces. It was 2, and it was not unsightly.” Another commenter argued the item was a reaction to an election and raised First Amendment concerns.
Council members debated removing the subjective sentence and increasing the spacing. One council member proposed deleting the second sentence to avoid subjective enforcement; another proposed doubling the spacing to 10 feet to better preserve the ordinance’s intent. After discussion the council amended the proposal to require a minimum 10-foot spacing between individual temporary ground-mounted signs and removed the second sentence that barred placements that create the appearance of a single large sign.
The council then voted to approve the amended language.
What council members said: during deliberation, some councilors emphasized clarity for staff and code enforcement (favoring an objective measurement), while others warned about the potential for regulatory actions to be perceived as content-based restrictions on political speech.
Next steps: the ordinance amendment passed its first-reading action at the meeting; staff will prepare final ordinance language and return as needed for subsequent readings and formal adoption. The council instructed staff to ensure enforcement guidance is clear to avoid subjective interpretation.
Vote and action: council adopted the amendment updating the spacing requirement to 10 feet; staff will implement the clarified enforcement guidance and return ordinance language for final action.
