BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 223 Hearing Date: 6/23/2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Dahle |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |6/15/2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant|Alison Dinmore |
|: | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: Business Logo Signing Program: Town of Truckee
exception
DIGEST: This bill requires Caltrans to permit the placement of
Business Logo Signing Program signs on Interstate 80 (I-80)
within, or at exits leading to, the City of Truckee, until
January 1, 2021.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires Caltrans to adopt rules and regulations for its
Business Logo Signing Program, which allows signs near freeway
exits in rural areas to contain information about roadside
businesses offering fuel, food, lodging, camping services,
approved 24-hour pharmacy services, or approved attractions.
These signs display up to six business logos for applicable
businesses. Caltrans must provide equal access to all
business applicants and may not approve signs in urban areas
designated by the United States Bureau of the Census as having
a population of 5,000 or more. Caltrans may not remove an
information sign that was placed before January 1, 2003, if
the population in an urban area grew to more than 5,000 but
not less than 10,000 people.
2)Creates a limited exception to the Business Logo Signing
Program and states that Caltrans shall, through January 1,
2021, allow the placement of information signs along State
AB 223 (Dahle) Page 2 of ?
Highway Route 65 within, or at exits leading up to, the City
of Lincoln. Caltrans must also report to the Senate and
Assembly Transportation Committees before January 1, 2020, on
the implementation of the exception, and offer any
recommendations for extending the exception period and whether
or not the authorization for the Business Logo Signing Program
should be expanded to urban areas with populations of 5,000 or
more.
This bill creates another exemption by requiring Caltrans to
permit information signs to be placed on I-80 within, or at
exits leading to, the City of Truckee. The authorization in
this bill shall apply only to incorporated areas with a
population density of less than one person per acre surrounded
entirely by land of the Tahoe National Forest.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of the bill. Around 2008, Caltrans removed at least
eight business logo signs in the Truckee area following
construction of the Highway 267 bypass and, according to the
town, businesses have seen a decrease in business. AB 223
seeks to replace those logo signs to inform travelers of
businesses that are available.
2)City of Lincoln exception. Last session, the Legislature
passed and the Governor signed AB 178 (Gaines, Chapter 131,
Statutes of 2013) to help the City of Lincoln. The city's
business community had been negatively impacted by the opening
of the Lincoln Bypass the year before, because it diverted
traffic from the historic downtown and its fuel and food
service providers. Lincoln is not otherwise eligible to
participate in the business logo program because its
population exceeds the definition of rural.
AB 178 established a limited exception to the Business Logo
Signing Program by allowing business logo signs along State
Route 65 until January 1, 2021 and required Caltrans to
provide a report on or before January 1, 2020. That report
shall include recommendations as to whether or not the
business logo program should be expanded, and if so, in what
ways.
3) Why Truckee? According to the sponsor, the Town of Truckee,
Truckee is a town deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
AB 223 (Dahle) Page 3 of ?
surrounded by dense forest and national park land. This
national forest land precludes private business signage for
miles leading into the town. Truckee is a large incorporated
area with fewer than .69 people per acre (spread over 33
square miles) and the last full-service opportunity before
leaving the state (25 miles from the next town in Nevada).
The sponsor believes that informing drivers will assist public
safety at night or during winter driving conditions with chain
requirements and snow removal equipment.
Truckee had logo signs on I-80 until 2008 when Caltrans
removed the signs and replaced them with generic fuel,
lodging, and food signs, because the population did not meet
the definition of rural. In fact, Truckee's population never
met the rural threshold, and it is not clear why the business
logo signs were authorized to begin with. Since then, the
sponsor states that businesses in Truckee, particularly those
not located in historic downtown, saw a significant drop in
business. Some hotels saw a 20% drop-off in bed nights, which
greatly impacts the business and town revenues.
The Lincoln exception was intended to ease the transition for
the city's businesses following the construction of the newly
opened bypass for a limited time period. The signs near
Truckee were taken down in 2008, during the great recession,
more than seven years ago. Caltrans did not merely take down
existing signs; Caltrans replaced those signs with generic
blue signs with fuel, lodging, and food symbols that provide
travelers with information about the location of services.
Additionally, the sponsor states that Truckee lost two major
businesses, as those businesses moved to Nevada. As a result,
this bill seems less designed to assist travelers than to help
businesses in an economically struggling town advertise in the
public right-of-way.
4)Precedent and proliferation of signs. The Business Logo
Signing Program is intended to help travelers find services in
rural areas, where not all exits provide services. In larger
towns and cities, it is assumed that travelers know that
almost all exits have services. This bill is likely to set a
precedent for other cities to seek similar treatment, because
their businesses would equally benefit from highway
advertising. Ultimately, expanding the Business Logo Signing
Program will result in more highway signage. The
proliferation of signs has often been of concern to this
AB 223 (Dahle) Page 4 of ?
committee because it adds to driver distraction and dilutes
attention to highway safety signs.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 77-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 15-0
Related Legislation:
AB 179 (Gaines, Chapter 131, Statutes of 2013) - authorized a
limited exception to the Business Logo Signing Program for signs
along the State Route 65 within the City of Lincoln until
January 1, 2021.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 17, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
Town of Truckee (sponsor)
Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce
2 Truckee business owners
OPPOSITION:
None received
-- END --