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.CITY OF SAN BERN.DINO - R~UEST F. COUNCIL ACTION
From: Councilwoman Valerie Pope-Ludlam
Subject: Review of Off-site Sign Policy
Dept: Council Office
Date: May 23. 1995
Synopsis of Previous Council action:
None.
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Recommended motion:
That the Mayor and Common Council direct staff and the Legislative Review
Committee to review the City's off-site sign policy.
~
Signature
Contact person: Councilwoman Pope-Ludlam
Phone:
5378
Supporting data attached:
Yes
Ward:
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount:
Source: (Acct. No.)
(Acct. Description)
Finance:
Council Notes:
75-0262
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Agenda Item NO.~
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Kunz
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
September 12, 1994
1831 COMMERCENTER EAST
SAN BERNARDINO. CALIFORNIA 92408
Ms. Valerie Pope-Ludlam
Councilwoman, Sixth District
City of San Bernardino
300 North "0" Street
San Bernardino, California 92418
(909) 888-00 18
(800) 729-9119
FAX: (909) 888-6588
Subject:
Sign Ordinance
Dear Ms. Pope-Ludlam:
We wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the generosity of your time when we
met last week to discuss this issue which is so vital to our industry the commercial
community of San Bernardino.
As we discussed, Kunz Outdoor Advertising urges the City of San Bernardino to review
and revise its current ordinance concerning advertising within the city.
Responsible members of the outdoor advertising industry favor reasonable regulation
and control of billboards. Working to find methods of controlling our industry has led
some jurisdictions to phase our outdoor advertising within their boundaries. The City of
San Bernardino has such an ordinance. As currently written, the city allows
replacement only upon the parcel of the real property from which one or more
billboards are removed. Furthermore, the city does not allow billboards adjacent to
highways through the city. As structures are removed from lots to development or the
expiration of leases, billboards will disappear and the opportunity for the commercial
community to advertise to the traveling public will vanish.
In reflecting upon appropriate regulation of the outdoor advertising industry, we urge
the city the consider the following:
1. Section 5226 of the California Business and Professions Code states that
outdoor advertising is a legitimate use of property adjacent to highways and that
outdoor advertising is an integral part of the business community that should be
allowed in business areas.
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.
September 12, 1994
Ms. Valerie Pope-Ludlam
Councilwoman, Sixth District
City of San Bernardino
Page Two
2. Billboards are good for business. Seventy-five percent of billboard advertising is
bought by small businesses, many of which rely solely upon billboards to attract
customers.
For instance, nearly seventy-one percent of the customers of hotels are
influenced in their choice of lodging by billboards. Kunz, as a painted bulletin
company, provides advertising almost exclusively to local businesses.
3. Outdoor advertising is the lease expensive form of advertising. As such, mom
and pop businesses can afford to advertise in our medium where they may
otherwise not be able to afford advertising at all.
4. Outdoor Advertising provides millions of dollars in free advertising to charitable
organizations and public service campaigns annually. These organizations
depend on billboards to deliver their message.
5. Many individuals receive important income by leasing a small portion of their
real property to a billboard company for the placement of a sign structure.
6. Commercial speech, one form of which is billboard advertising, has been
recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States on numerous occasions
to be protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
7. Our industry has been, and continues to be regulated at all levels of
government. Kunz support controls which enhance the scenic beauty of the
communities in which we do business. Since the federal Highway Beautification
Act was signed in 1965, nearly 700,000 billboards have been removed at
nominal public expense. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the
number of billboards along Interstate and Federal-aid primary highways has
been reduced from 6.6 signs to only 1 sign per 2 miles. The efforts to remove
inappropriate billboards have been a model of industry and government
cooperation, being one of the least expensive pieces of environmental
legislation passed in the history of this country.
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September 12, 1994
Ms. Valerie Pope-Ludlam
Councilwoman, Sixth District
City of San Bernardino
Page Three
8. State and federal law limit outdoor advertising to commercial and industrial
zones; areas where such signage is appropriate.
9. Numerous polls taken over the years evidence that billboards are useful to
drivers, promote business, and are not opposed by the public.
In summary, ours is a useful, responsible, and controlled medium, recognized as such
by federal and state law. Kunz Outdoor Advertising submits that the City of San
Bernardino should acknowledge that the regulated growth of our medium will contribute
positively to the future of the commercial community of San Bernardino. We urge the
city to revise its sign ordinance accordingly. To this end, we will make ourselves
available, at your convenience, to meet with you or city staff to discuss revisions to the
sign ordinance.
Thank you for you kind consideration and cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
~AJ
.~ ~'/'
Tom Flanagan
KUNZ OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
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