Planning Commission favors digital roadside signage
At its April 3 meeting, the Riverside County Planning Commission
unanimously (4-0) recommended a policy authorizing digital on-site
signs. Before it is effective, the board of supervisors will have to
approve it.
The change would amend Ordinance 348, “Land Use Planning and Zoning
Regulations,” to allow digital signage only on a business’s site. In
Idyllwild, the sign’s height would be limited to 20 feet and its size
limited to 50 square feet.
While Ordinance 348 does permit outdoor displays and electronic
advertising, commonly known as billboards, it does not specify that
these signs may be digital. Currently, this type of signage is only
permitted adjacent to freeways.
“On-site advertising signs are not Outdoor Advertising Displays or
‘Billboards,’ the standards for which are left unchanged,” according to
the Planning Staff Report to the commission.
Digital signage is different and not permitted within the unincorporated
areas of the county, according to Richard Marshalian, the principal
planner presenting the proposal to the commission.
“Only signage providing information about the on-site business and only
in commercial and industrial zones,” he stated to the commission.
Commercial zones are in Idyllwild, along Highway 243 and a portion of
North Circle and Village Center drives.
The change will provide a definition for digital displays, “an
electronic message display that advertises the business name, business
conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold upon the
property on which the display placed and exhibits static images through
the use of grid lights, cathode ray projections, light emitting diode
displays, plasma screens, liquid crystal displays, fiber optics, or
other electronic media or technology that may be changed remotely
through electronic means.”
In order to use digital signs, the property owner must still apply for a
plot plan change. The major benefit of this requirement, Marshalian
stressed, is that the proposal would not exempt digital signage from
other county codes.
During the hearing on the plot plan change request, neighboring property
owners could comment on how the new advertising would affect them.
Marshalian gave an example of the possibility of buffers protecting
residential areas from sensitive signs. Digital signs would have a
maximum luminance depending on the time of day, would be capable of
being dimmed and be controlled remotely, and this would be part of the
plot plan discussions.
The Planning Department solicited public comment during June and July
- The submitted comments addressed issues such as the rural
community environment, does not fit the Wine Country aesthetics, ability
to observe stars and the sky at night, and a potential distraction to
drivers, according to Marshalian.
As a consequence, the proposed amendment would prohibit digital signage
in the Wine Country Policy area and the Palomar Observatory Zone A.
Both the draft ordinance and the environmental document were revised and
available for public comment from March 13 until April 3, the day of the
commission hearing.
Planning Director John Hildebrand told the commission that many other
jurisdictions permit this signage and his staff reviewed their
ordinances. The planning staff also relied on CalTrans’ policies applied
to digital signage along state highways.
Three people spoke in opposition or requesting changes. They were Wine
Country and Desert Center residents.
After the discussion, Guillermo “Bill” Sanchez, commission chair from
the 4^(th) Supervisory District, said, “I think we should allow more
communities to utilize visual signs.”
He also stressed that their use would require a public hearing to
identify potential conflicts or problems. He also noted that Idyllwild
was an area that would have comments.
The newest commission member, Olivia Balderrama, from the 3^(rd)
Supervisory District, expressed mixed feelings about the proposal. “I’ve
read it and am concerned. I’m not sure the benefits will outweigh
impacts.”
However, she did vote in favor of sending the amendment to the board of
supervisors.
