HomeMy WebLinkAbout1208 - Amending Code Regulating the Posting of Political Signs ORDINANCE NO. 1208
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH AMENDING SECTION 3224 IN
DIVISION 3, CHAPTER 7, ARTICLE 2 OF THE CITY CODE REGULATING THE POSTING OF
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SIGNS.
The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby ordains as follows:
SECTION ONE. Findings and Purpose.
1. Ukiah City Code Section 3224.0 currently provides that political signs do not require a sign
permit prior to posting on private property, provided that the sign does not exceed specified size
limitations, shall be removed within ten (10) days following the election, and shall not be erected
prior to sixty (60) days before the election.
2. The federal district court in Sacramento struck down a 60-day time limit on small temporary
political signs as violating the First Amendment. (Antioch v. Candidates' Outdoor Graphic Service,
557 F. Supp. 52 (1982). Other federal district courts have followed this decision.
3. The effect of the Antioch decision is that a 60-day durational limit on a political sign is presumed
to be a First Amendment violation, unless a city or county can prove that the durational limit is the
least restriction possible to achieve its objective, the purpose of the regulation could not be
achieved by other less restrictive means and adequate, equally effective alternative means of
communication are available.
4. The City has an interest in regulating the time, place, and manner of posting signs to prevent
clutter and visual blight. This was the initial rationale for imposing the 60-day durational limit.
5. The City Council finds that a time limit on the placement and removal of political signs provides
a means by which private property owners can express their support or opposition to a candidate
for political office or a ballot measure.
6. The City Council finds that a limit on the time period a political sign may be displayed does not
regulate the message expressed by the political sign.
7. The City Council finds that converting the durational limit from a mandate enforceable as an
infraction to a guideline with an incentive for voluntary compliance further avoids regulating speech
content.
8. The City Council finds that an eighty-eight (88) day limit on displaying political signs is rationally
related to the policy objective of avoiding clutter and visual blight by limiting political signs to a
reasonable period of time prior to an election. Eighty-eight (88) days is a reasonable period of time,
because the California Elections Code requires a candidate for local elective office to file his or her
nomination papers not less than eighty-eight (88) days before the election. The eighty-eight (88)
day limit allows the political sign to be displayed for the full period of time that a candidate is a
qualified candidate for an election.
SECTION TWO.
Section 3224 in Division 3, Chapter 7, Article 2 of the Ukiah City Code is hereby amended to read
as follows (unchanged text is omitted and is shown by
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§3224 SIGNS EXEMPTED FROM PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
The following signs do not require a sign permit:
C. One political campaign sign on private property not exceeding four (4) square feet in area or
four feet (4) in height. These signs shall be removed within ten (10) days following the elections.
Such signs should not be erected prior to eighty-eight (88) days before the election. Property
owners and residents are strongly encouraged to comply with this eighty-eight (88) day limit. The
City shall post on the portion of its website where the City posts the "voluntary spending limit
candidates/committees" list pursuant to Section 2081.D.7, a list of candidates and campaign
committees who have committed in writing to distributing and posting campaign signs on private
property no more than eighty-eight (88) days before the election.
SECTION THREE.
1. Publication: Within fifteen (15) days after its adoption, this Ordinance shall be published
once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Ukiah. In lieu of publishing the full text of
the Ordinance, the City may publish a summary of the Ordinance once 5 days prior to its adoption
and again within fifteen (15) days after its adoption.
3. Effective Date: The ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its adoption.
Introduced by title only on October 21, 2020, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Mulheren, Brown, Orozco, and Mayor Crane
NOES: Councilmember Scalmanini
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Adopted on November 4, 2020, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Mulheren, Brown, Orozco, and Mayor Crane
NOES: Councilmember Scalmanini
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
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Dougla F. Crane, Mayor
ATTEST:- . lidiv /
Kristine Lawler, City Clerk
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