TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Keith Stahley, City Manager
FROM: Kristin Retherford, Community and Urban Development Director
SUBJECT:
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First Reading of a Code Amendment (Case No. CA23-03) to Salem Revised Code Chapter 900 (Sign Code) and Chapter 300 (Procedures for Land Use Applications and Legislative Land Use Proposals).
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Safe and Healthy Community; Safe, Reliable and Efficient Infrastructure; Strong and Diverse Economy; Welcoming and Livable Community
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SUMMARY:
summary
The proposed code amendment, CA23-03, to Salem Revised Code Chapter 900 (Sign Code) and Chapter 300 (Procedures for Land Use Applications and Legislative Land Use Proposals) is needed to update, clarify, correct, and simplify development standards and definitions; remove sign variances, adjustments, and conditional uses; and delete old references to zones that have been previously eliminated.
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council advance Ordinance 16-23 to second reading for the purpose of amending Salem Revised Code Chapter 900 (Sign Code) and Chapter 300 (Procedures for Land Use Applications and Legislative Land Use Proposals)?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Advance Ordinance Bill No. 16-23 for the purpose of amending Salem Revised Code Chapter 900 (Sign Code) and Chapter 300 (Procedures for Land Use Applications and Legislative Land Use Proposals) to second reading.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Procedural Findings
1) The proposed code amendment are amendments to the Unified Development Code (UDC), which are legislative land use decisions under SRC 110.085. Pursuant to SRC 300.1110(a)(2), the Planning Commission may initiate a legislative land use proceeding by the adoption of a resolution referring the matter to public hearing for review and recommendation to the City Council. On February 28, 2023, the proposed code amendment was initiated by the Planning Commission with the adoption of Resolution No. 23-01.
2) ORS 197.610 and OAR 660-018-0020 require that notice be provided to the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) on any proposed amendment to a local land use regulation at least 35 days prior to the first public hearing. Notice to DLCD was initially submitted on March 23, 2023, 54 days prior to the first public hearing before the Planning Commission.
3) A public hearing on the proposed code amendment was conducted by the Planning Commission on May 16, 2023.
4) Because the proposed code amendment restricts the development of new Outdoor Advertising signs (billboards) on property zoned MU-III, ORS 227.186 requires written individual notice to the owner of each affected property. This notice is commonly referred to as a “Ballot Measure 56 notice.” All required notices have been provided in accordance with the above requirements.
5) SRC 300.1110(e)(1)(B) requires that the City mail notice of a subsequent evidentiary public hearing in a legislative land use proceeding a minimum of 10 days prior to the first hearing. Public notice was provided for the hearing before the City Council on October 4, 2023, as required under SRC 300.1110(e)(1)(B), and public notice was published in the newspaper, as required under SRC 300.1110(e)(2), on October 12, 2023, and October 19, 2023.
6) A public hearing on the proposed code amendment was conducted by the City Council on October 23, 2023. The hearing was continued until November 13, 2023. On November 13, 2023, the City Council conducted deliberations, and voted to advance CA23-03 to first reading with an amendment to the proposed window sign regulation.
Proposed Amendment
The proposed text of the amendments is found in Exhibit A to Ordinance Bill No. 16-23, which is included as Attachment 1.
The City Council voted to advance CA23-03 to first reading with one amendment to a proposed regulation for signs painted or attached to the inside of windows. The amendment increases the maximum allowance for signs attached to or painted on the interior of a window on building facades within 30 feet of a public street from 20 percent to 50 percent and clarifies that the limitation shall apply to the total window area of a building façade, rather than per window. The City Council also directed staff to return at a later date with information exploring the implementation of a cap on the maximum number of outdoor advertising signs permitted in the city limits and how to make additional changes to address light pollution.
Public Comments
Public comments are summarized in Exhibit B to Ordinance Bill No. 16-23, which is included as Attachment 1.
Substantive Findings
SRC 110.085 establishes the following approval criteria for an amendment to the UDC to be approved:
a. The amendment is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare of the City; and
b. The amendment conforms with the Salem Area Comprehensive Plan, applicable statewide planning goals, and applicable administrative rules adopted by the Department of Land Conservation and Development.
Findings demonstrating the proposal’s conformance with the applicable approval criteria are included in Exhibit B to Ordinance Bill No. 16-23.
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of the sign code is to protect the health, safety, property, and welfare of the public; to improve the neat, clean, orderly, and attractive appearance of the community; to improve the effectiveness of signs in identifying and advertising businesses; to provide for safe construction, location, erection, and maintenance of signs; to prevent proliferation of sign clutter; to minimize adverse visual safety factors to travelers on public highways; to minimize adverse impacts on adjacent properties; and to achieve these purposes consistent with state and federal constitutional limits on the regulation of speech.
The Planning Division administers Salem Revised Code (SRC) Chapter 900, titled Sign Code. SRC Chapter 900 received its last major revision in 2012. The proposed amendments are needed to update and clarify definitions and development standards for temporary and permanent signs, update standards applicable to vehicle viewing signs (menu boards for drive-through uses), remove current processes for sign adjustments, sign variances, and sign conditional uses, establishing a measurable brightness standard for illuminated and electronic display signs, and overall update and reorganization of the applicable standards for each zone and overlay zone.
Aaron Panko
Planner III
Attachments:
1. Ordinance Bill No. 16-23