Item 67 - Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2022-01 (Billboards Ordinance)

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Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 8 of 15 (a) The proposed digital billboard shall not constitute a hazard to the safe and efficient operation of vehicles upon a freeway. (b) Adequate space exists between the proposed digital billboard and any existing billboards in the vicinity, thus avoiding or minimizing any negative aesthetic impacts to surrounding land uses. (c) The size and design of the digital billboard will not be out of context with its visual environment. (d) The digital billboard will not cause light and glare to intrude upon residential uses, including those in mixed-use districts or developments. (e) The digital billboard will not significantly block or impair views of landmarks identified in the City’s General Plan. (f) The installation of the new digital billboard will result in significant economic and community benefits. Sec. 41-1113. - Operating Agreement Required; Execution Fee Required. Prior to issuance of any building permits to reconstruct an existing static billboard, or prior to the public hearing notice to consider construction of a new digital billboard or conversion/reconstruction of an existing freeway oriented on-premise sign to a digital billboard, the applicant shall submit to the City Manager an executed Billboard Operating Agreement that has been reviewed and approved by the City Attorney and the Executive Director of the Planning and Building Agency. The applicant shall be responsible for paying any fees that have been established by the City Council to process and execute the Billboard Operating Agreement. In approving such agreement, the City Manager must find that the agreement will confer a substantial public benefit to the City and to the general public. Such public benefits may include, without limitation: the removal of legal nonconforming billboards; minimum display percentages or times for the advertising of City events and public service announcements; public art programming; physical site improvements; automatic brightness reductions or automatic display shutoffs due to proximity to sensitive land uses; minimum advertising of goods, products, or services provided onsite; monetary contribution intended for streetscape amenities or publicly accessible open space that enhances the quality and comfort of the pedestrian experience; minimum 20-percent local hiring from Santa Ana residents to be considered for billboard removal alternatives through the Economic and Community Benefits Plan; and/or financial contributions to the City with the intent to achieve the same results. DIVISION 3. – DEVELOPMENT, LIGHTING AND OPERATIONAL STANDARDS Sec. 41-1130. - Permitted Locations. New and reconstructed billboards, and the conversion of existing freeway oriented on-premise advertisement signs to a digital billboard: