Planning commission recommends City Council update sign code to clarify temporary signs and enforcement

The El Paso de Robles City Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance to amend Chapter 21.52 of the municipal code to clarify rules for temporary, prohibited and nonconforming signs and to improve administration and enforcement.

Staff presentation: Darcy Dogado told the commission the changes were drafted after legal review to ensure the city’s sign code conforms to law and best practices. The proposed amendment separates temporary signs into commercial and non‑commercial categories, expands the list of prohibited signs, and includes textual clarifications and grammatical fixes. Staff said the ordinance is a regulatory text amendment and therefore not subject to environmental review because it does not constitute a physical project.

Key discussion: Commissioners focused on enforceability. Commissioner Kar Rubius asked whether the enhanced enforcement language is feasible in practice given many existing non‑compliant signs around town. Darcy replied that some signs are more feasible to remove — for example temporary signs past their time limits — while signs affixed to private property typically require complaint‑based follow up and more staff time. Darcy said, "there are some signs I think that are a little bit more feasible to enforce, such as the temporary signs, especially if they're past, you know, whatever their expiration is," and noted code enforcement officers and community services handle removals.

Permit details: Staff explained that certain temporary signs (for example banners) have time limits (the staff example discussed was 30 days on/30 days off, up to six times a year), while other temporary sign types such as feather flags and A‑frame signs go through a review process and may require a small fee. Commissioners asked how the city would track time limits for unpermitted temporary signs; staff said enforcement is often complaint‑driven and tracking the start date can require extra field work.

Vote and motion: Chairperson Rhoden moved that the commission recommend the City Council adopt the ordinance to amend Chapter 21.52 (draft resolution PC26‑xx). A commissioner seconded (speaker not specified on the record). Roll call votes were recorded as yes from Commissioners Kar Rubius, Neil, Kogler and Rhoden; the recommendation passed 4‑0.

What’s next: The planning commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration and any further modifications.