BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1373
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1373 (Santiago)
As Amended May 14, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Governmental |19-1 |Gray, Linder, |Bigelow |
|Organization | |Achadjian, Alejo, | |
| | |Cooley, Cooper, Daly, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gipson, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Low, | |
| | |Mayes, Perea, Salas, | |
| | |Steinorth, Waldron, | |
| | |Wilk | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |16-1 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow |
| | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
AB 1373
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| | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, Weber, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Provides an exemption from regulations of the Outdoor
Advertising Act (OAA) for signs allowed by a City of Los Angeles
ordinance in relation to the number and location of billboards in
an area bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South
Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest,
and State Route 110 on the northwest, subject to certain
conditions. Specifically, this bill:
1)Exempts from specific provisions of the OAA, any advertising
display located in the geographic area in the City of Los
Angeles bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South
Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the
southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, if all of the
following conditions are met:
a) The advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance
with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific
plan or sign district, adopted by the City of Los Angeles
that regulates advertising displays by identifying the
specific displays or establishing regulations that include,
at a minimum, all of the following:
i) Number of signs and total signage area allowed.
ii) Maximum individual signage area.
iii) Minimum sign separation.
iv) Illumination restrictions and regulations, including
signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.
v) Illuminated sign hours of operation.
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2)Specifies that the owner of the advertising display has
submitted to the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) a copy of the ordinance adopted by the City of Los
Angeles authorizing the advertising display and identification
of the provisions of the ordinance required, as defined and the
department has certified that the ordinance meets designed
minimum requirements.
3)Provides the advertising display will not advertise products,
goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually
explicit material.
4)Provides this bill would not limit the City of Los Angeles from
adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size,
number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this
legislation.
5)Provides that if the advertising display is a message center,
the owner of the display shall do one of the following:
a) Makes the message center display available on a
space-available basis for use by Caltrans or the Department
of the California Highway Patrol for public service messages,
including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages, as
defined, and messages containing, among other things, reports
of commute times, drunk driving awareness messages, reports
of accidents of a serious nature, and emergency disaster
communications.
b) Makes a message center display not subject to the
provision that is under the control of the owner of the
advertising display available on a space-available basis for
public service messages in a location acceptable to Caltrans
and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
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c) Provides funding to Caltrans for the installation of a
message center display to accommodate those public service
messages, which may include funding as part of mitigation in
connection with the approval of development of the property
on which the message center display is located by the City of
Los Angeles.
6)Provides that if an advertising display is subject to a notice
from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to
the state that the operation of that display will result in the
reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the
display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display
owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require
the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that
time or be subject to specified civil fines.
7)Makes the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring
that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the
bill's requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and
hold Caltrans harmless if the city fails to do so.
8)Makes findings and declarations as to the need for a special
statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes OAA, which regulates the placement of advertising
displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways
that are part of the national system of interstate and defense
highways and federal-aid highways.
2)Prohibits any advertising display from being placed or
maintained on property adjacent to a section of a freeway that
has been landscaped if the advertising display is designed to be
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viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled way
of the landscaped freeway. The OAA, however, only applies to
signs that are located within 660 feet of the right-of-way of
federal-aid interstate and primary highways.
3)Provides for limited exemptions and specified exceptions to the
prohibition on advertising along system and landscaped freeways,
including exemptions for signs advertising the property's sale
or lease, signs designating the premises or its owner, and signs
advertising goods or services manufactured or produced on the
property itself.
4)The OAA generally does not apply to "on premise" advertising
displays, which include those advertising the sale of the
property upon which it is placed or that advertise the business
conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold on the
property. Local government regulates on-premise displays,
except for certain safety requirements.
5)Allows a single advertising structure exemption for each of
several cities, including an exemption for advertising on
"street furniture" in San Francisco, several billboards situated
on the grounds of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex,
and structures within the Mid-City Recovery Redevelopment
Project Area within Los Angeles.
6)Requires Caltrans to assess penalties for a violation of the
OAA, as specified. If an advertising display is placed or
maintained in a location that does not conform to the provisions
of this chapter or local ordinances, and is not removed within
30 days of written notice from the department or the city or the
county with land use jurisdiction over the property upon which
the advertising display is located, a penalty of $10,000 plus
$100 for each day the advertising display is placed or
maintained after the department sends written notice shall be
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assessed.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, likely initial Special Fund costs to the Caltrans of
less than $50,000 to review and revise existing regulations,
conduct any coordination activities, review ordinances, and
inspect new advertising displays and applications; likely ongoing
Special Fund costs of less than $25,000 to Caltrans to annually
inspect advertising displays and applications.
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, this bill proposes
to allow for the use of revenue-generating advertising displays
within a small area of Downtown Los Angeles with the City of Los
Angeles consent.
The author's office states, according to a recent report, the City
of Los Angeles has lost $5 billion in economic development over
the last four years alone due to a lack of hotel rooms and an
outdated Los Angeles Convention Center. Studies have shown that
an additional 2,000 to 3,000 hotel rooms together with hotel
facilities such as meeting and banquet rooms are needed to fully
support the Convention Center.
According to the information provided by the author, the Los
Angeles' Metropolis Project (Project) is a 6.3-acre, $1 billion
development adjacent to LA Live that has taken nearly three
decades to come to fruition. The development, which broke ground
in the summer of 2014, will be composed of four towers: 1) an
18-story boutique hotel - Hotel Indigo - set to open in October
2016; 2) a 38-story residential tower; 3) a 40-story residential
tower; and 4) a 52-story residential tower.
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The Project is expected to bring $156.7 million in tax revenue
into the City of Los Angeles over the next 25 years, 20,000
construction jobs over the next four or five years, and 500
permanent jobs upon completion. The project will also add 350
hotel rooms (with meeting and event facilities), substantial
restaurant and retail space, as well as 1,560 residential units to
the Convention Center area. In addition, Anschutz Entertainment
Group recently announced a 755-room expansion of its Marriott
Hotel located at LA Live between the Convention Center and the
Metropolis Project.
The author states, this bill will spur the construction of needed
hotels in support of the Los Angeles City's Convention Center, the
Sports & Entertainment District, and the Project's link to the Los
Angeles City's financial district. It also empowers the City of
Los Angeles to control its urban streetscape and interface with
the state highways bisecting its urban core. With the completion
of the Project, the expansion and revitalization of the Convention
Center, and the addition of hotel rooms in the Sports and
Entertainment District, over the next several years, the area
covered by this bill will become a central tourist, convention,
sports, and entertainment destination for people from all over the
world.
The author points out, this bill only affects signage within the
few blocks east of Interstate 110, north of Interstate 10, south
of 8th Street, and west of Figueroa Street in the City of Los
Angeles. These blocks are very different from other
freeway-facing areas in California in that they are highly
urbanized and contain a dense proliferation of convention,
entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. This measure retains local
control by allowing the City of Los Angeles to determine the
amounts and types of safe signage to be placed at its gateway. It
also allows the City of Los Angeles to require public benefits
that enhance traffic safety and aesthetics in the streets within
and surrounding the area.
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The author points out that this bill additionally requires any
corresponding ordinance within the City of Los Angeles to include
protections to prevent signage from becoming overly distracting,
misleading, or disruptive. This corresponds with similar
limitations set forth in the OAA. For large developments -
especially those that fall within the sports and entertainment
industries - the ability to generate revenue via the use of
near-freeway signage for off-site sponsors dramatically decreases
the overhead costs of construction projects to taxpayers.
The author concludes that this bill is an important step towards
ensuring that current and future developments within the
revitalized Downtown Los Angeles area will be able to tap into
this increasingly critical financing source to backfill the
decrease in public funding available for such purposes.
Background:
OAA: The OAA regulates the placement of advertising displays
(i.e., billboards) and signs along interstate or primary highways,
landscaped freeways and similar specified highways. The OAA must
also generally conform to various federal laws, including the
Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 United States Code Section
131 et seq.).
The OAA sets standards for the structures, including their size,
identification and location, and requires compliance with
application procedures and conditions administered by Caltrans.
The OAA prohibits any advertising display from being placed or
maintained on property adjacent to a section of a freeway that has
been landscaped if the advertising display is designed to be
viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled way of
the landscaped freeway.
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The OAA generally does not apply to "on premise" advertising
displays, which include those advertising the sale of the property
upon which it is placed or that advertise the business conducted,
services rendered, or goods produced or sold on the property.
Local government regulates on premise displays, except for certain
safety requirements.
While state and federal law generally regulates billboards and
similar advertising displays, local governments may also impose
restrictions equal to or greater than any restriction imposed by
state law, but local governments may not allow a display that is
in violation of state law. Local governments are also entitled to
a portion of fees and fines under the state law, and they may also
require advertisers to obtain licenses and permits, in addition to
any licenses required by state law.
The OAA provides for general exemptions and specified exceptions
to the prohibition on advertising along landscaped freeways,
including exemptions for signs advertising the property's sale or
lease, signs designating the premises or its owner, and signs
advertising goods or services manufactured or produced on the
property itself. In addition, since 1995, a number of bills have
created exemptions for specific cities, including an exemption for
advertising on "street furniture" in San Francisco, five signs
situated on the property of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
complex, one sign each in the Cities of Costa Mesa and Richmond,
and four signs within the Mid-City Recovery Redevelopment Project
Area within Los Angeles.
Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965: The Highway
Beautification Act (HBA) was created to protect the public
investment, promote the safety and recreational value of public
travel, and to preserve the natural beauty of highways in the
nation.
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HBA specifies that states have the responsibility to enforce
provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor
advertising signs, displays and devices along the Interstate and
National Highway System. The State of California enforces the
provisions of federal law through a compact that was developed
between the state and the federal government in 1967. Federal law
also includes a penalty for states that violate HBA by reducing
all federal highway transportation funds by a designated
percentage.
Policy issue: This bill might authorize the placement of an
advertising sign that is non-conforming to both the specifics and
intent of the OAA. It might extend further the precedent for
legislative approval of exemptions to OAA. Exemptions for
nonconforming and prohibited billboards and lighted signs along
interstate or primary highways and landscaped freeways might
undermine and render meaningless the provisions and intent of the
OAA.
Prior legislation: SB 31 (Padilla), Chapter 542, Statutes of 2013,
recasts an arena advertising exception to exempt from the OAA
specified advertising displays authorized before January 1, 2019,
by local ordinance, at a venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats or
more that is capable of providing a permanent venue for
professional sports. In essence, SB 31 allows for local control
while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising displays
at professional sports facilities and arenas.
SB 684 (Hill), Chapter 544, Statutes of 2013, amended the
redevelopment agency (RDA) exemption to OAA to reflect the
elimination of redevelopment agencies. (Held in the Senate
Transportation Committee)
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SB 694 (Correa), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2013, exempted, from the
OAA, advertising displays at a publicly owned multi-model transit
facility (MTF) that is to serve as a station for the high-speed
train system, as specified, and requires revenues from the
advertising display to be used to support the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the MTF.
AB 2566 (Hill), of the 2011-12 Regular Session, would have
provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an
advertising display located on State Route 1, in the County of San
Mateo, if certain conditions are satisfied.
SB 402 (Vargas), of the 2011-12 Regular Session, would have
provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an
advertising display located within 1,800 feet of the intersection
of State Highway Routes 8 and 111 in the County of Imperial if
certain conditions are satisfied. (Senate Rules Committee)
AB 2756 (Blumenfield), Chapter 615, Statutes of 2010, defines
"mobile billboard advertising display" and allows a local
authority to regulate these displays.
AB 2339 (Solorio), Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008, expanded the
definition of an "on premise" display to include those displays
advertising products, goods, or services sold on the premises of
an arena of at least 5,000 seats and is located on public land,
provided certain conditions were met.
AB 1117 (Benoit) of the 2007-08 Regular Session, would have deemed
an advertising display erected by a city or county to advertise
businesses operating within a redevelopment agency project area,
or within a business improvement district whose boundaries partly
or wholly overlap those of the redevelopment agency project area,
to be on the premises at any location within 1,000 feet of the
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legal boundaries of the redevelopment agency's project area if the
display meets certain conditions. (Held in Senate Local Government
Committee)
SB 563 (Ridley-Thomas) of the 2007-08 Regular Session, would have
deleted the "rebuttable presumption" in current law that deems
those advertising displays that were unlawfully erected as lawful
if the sign owner had not received notice that the display was
unlawful within five years of the display being erected. SB 563
also would have deleted the requirement that entities requiring
the removal of unlawfully erected signs pay sign owners just
compensation to do so. (Held in Senate Rules Committee)
AB 1499 (Benoit) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have
created an exemption to the OAA, to permit the City of Riverside
to erect an outdoor advertising display along Highway 91 to
promote economic activity for the Riverside Plaza. (Vetoed by
Governor)
AB 801 (Jones) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have created
an exemption from the OAA for one sign in the County of
Sacramento. (Vetoed by Governor)
AB 2441 (Klehs) of 2006, would have authorized an advertising
display in the redevelopment zone of the City of San Leandro
subject to specified conditions. (Vetoed by Governor)
AB 1518 (Jerome Horton) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have
exempted, from the prohibition against placing advertising
displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, any billboard located on
property owned by the Lennox School District, subject to certain
conditions. (Moved to the inactive file in the Assembly)
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AB 762 (Nuñez), Chapter 725, Statutes of 2003, created an
exemption to the OAA by allowing the National Latino Arts Council
to place an advertisement on the roof of a not-for-profit
educational academy.
SB 190 (Perata), Chapter 54, Statutes of 2001, exempted from the
OAA the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent
to landscaped freeways, up to five advertising structures or signs
(billboards) used to support the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Complex.
Analysis Prepared by:
Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0000452