TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Peter Fernandez, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
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Second reading of Ordinance Bill No. 22-16 regarding revisions to Salem Revised Code Chapter 85, Directional Signs, to allow directional signs for businesses with alley-only access.
Ward(s): All
Councilor(s): All
Neighborhood(s): All
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council conduct second reading of Ordinance Bill No. 22-16, which amends Salem Revised Code Chapter 85, Directional Signs, to allow a third type of directional sign: Type Three directional signs for businesses with alley-only access?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Conduct second reading of Ordinance Bill No. 22-16, which amends Salem Revised Code Chapter 85, Directional Signs, to allow a third type of directional sign: Type Three directional signs for businesses with alley-only access.
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SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
Salem Revised Code (SRC) Chapter 85 regulates placing directional signs in a parking strip or other street area indicating a business district, industrial area, community center, church, institution, or manufacturing plant. Except as provided in Chapter 85, businesses are not allowed to provide signs located in the public right-of-way. However, in most cases, businesses have frontages along roadways that provide customers the opportunity to visually identify the business. This is not the case for a business with access only through an alley. These businesses have limited means of identifying their location to potential customers who are on adjacent roadways or sidewalks. Ordinance Bill No. 22-16 (Attachment 1) amends SRC Chapter 85 and provides regulations for placing directional signs in the public right-of-way for individual businesses with alley-only access. Council conducted first reading of this ordinance on November 28, 2016.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Businesses need signage to help guide customers to their businesses.
Recently, five businesses have located on alleys within downtown Salem. The five businesses are located on alleys between Commercial Street NE and Liberty Street NE in downtown Salem. Fixel, Le Motive Salon, Liv Foods, and Frontier Cider Co, are located on the alley between Chemeketa Street NE and Center Street NE. The Victory Club is located on the alley between Center Street NE and State Street.
Currently, Chapter 85 only allows specific types of signs in the public right-of-way. These include the names of industrial areas, business districts, community centers, churches, hospitals, or similar designations. The proposed revision to Chapter 85 will allow individual businesses to have business name signs located on a public street in the immediate vicinity of the alley in which they are located.
A directional sign is considered an Official Traffic Control device and is exempt from the City’s Sign Code based on the SRC 900.015(a). SRC 900.005(27) defines Official Traffic Control devices to mean traffic signs, signals, directional signs, and notices erected by the public body pursuant to lawful authority.
The proposed alley directional signs would be approved by the Public Works Director, and would be required to be the same size and have the same design as the existing pedestrian wayfinding signs.
Because alley businesses typically do not have parking, the alley directional signs will be positioned primarily for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Proposed directional signs within the city’s historic districts will require minor historic design review (Attachment 2).
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Prepared by: Kevin Hottmann, PE
City Traffic Engineer
Attachments:
1. Ordinance Bill No. 22-16
2. Historic Review Case 16-28
11/30/16