At its Dec. 3 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors agreed to amendments to Ordinance 348, “Land Use Planning and Zoning Regulations.” More specifically, the amendments were to section 19, which regulates outdoor advertising displays.
To go into effect, the Board must hold another public hearing and adopt these changes in successive meetings. The public hearing and approval have been set December17. If approved again the advised ordinance goes into effect in 30 days.
The amendments would allow for digital use in on-site advertising, but only if a plot plan was approved at a public hearing. And the digital display would be subject to specific requirements regarding zoning, size, and operations.
Currently, the County does not permit digital displays, according to Sara Moore, assistant planning director. With these changes, they hope it will help local businesses.
The County planning staff stressed that “this amendment does not allow for digital displays to be part of Outdoor Advertising Displays, commonly known as billboards, which allow for off-premises advertising.”
In April, the Planning Commission held a hearing on outdoor digital advertising and recommended a policy authorizing digital on-site signs be submitted to the Board for approval.
Digital signage is different and not permitted within the unincorporated areas of the County, Richard Marshalian, the principal planner, told the Planning Commission in April.
“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 N. Circle Drive and Village Center.
On Nov. 5, the Board did hold a hearing to consider the revisions. Based on the public comments, the Board asked for additional changes. The revised Ordinance 348 was reviewed and unanimously approved at the Dec. 3 Board session.
Some of the major changes addressed the issues of location of digital signs. For example, an exception was made to allow digital displays for a child day care center, k-12 school, public park, youth center, place of public assembly, or public facility in areas that do not otherwise allow digital displays. Any digital displays at these sites will be at the County’s request and subject to the Ordinance’s requirements.
Also, the revised ordinance will not only allow property owners who have a digital display to display information on the business and goods or services sold on their property, but also for the display of the same type of information for their immediately adjacent property owner.
Digital displays will be allowed in the following planning zones: R-R (Rural Residential), C-T (Commercial Tourist), C-P-S (Scenic Highway Commercial), C-R (Rural Commercial).
They will be banned in three areas: the Mount Palomar Special Light District Zone “A”, the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument Area, when established; and Temecula Valley Wine Country Policy Area.
One public speaker opposed the changes. She began by expressing dismay about the changes being approved. She recommended that the Board also ban digital displays in the Temescal Valley area.
The size of the digital displays will vary depending on the acreage on which the display is located. For example, on sites less than 15 acres, the display is limited to 150 square feet. On a site between 15 and 20 acres, the size cannot exceed 200 square feet. The largest signs, 400 square feet, may be erected on property greater than 30 acres.
The County may request to use these signs in case of an emergency. And an owner may voluntarily display community information on behalf of the County.
The revised Ordinance also explicitly states the billboards may not have digital displays. Only free-standing signs. i.e., not attached to a building, are permitted to be digital.
