To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Tara Vargish, PE, Director, Development Services
Tammy King, Zoning Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Sign Code Amendment Update and Weekend Sign Removal Discussion
Body
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Executive Summary
Town Council recently requested staff to provide an update on the ongoing Sign Code amendment, as well as update Council on sign enforcement over weekends.
The current version of the Town Sign Code in Title 19 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code was originally adopted in 1986. Since that time, numerous code amendments were approved by Council in 1987, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013. Every code amendment adopted during the last 37 years responded to a need to maintain community character and to meet legal requirements as case law, market conditions and new technology occurred.
Following adoption of the 2030 Vision and Comprehensive Master Plan, staff initiated an update to the Zoning Code, Chapter 17, which was completed in late 2019. While reviewing Chapter 17, staff recommended also reviewing the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of the current sign code. Based on the various case laws and legal interpretations in municipal sign regulations today, staff recommended engaging with outside legal counsel to facilitate a much needed large overhaul of the Town’s Sign Code. The Town has previously engaged outside legal counsel to assist with the most recent revisions to the Sign Code required due to case law such as Reed v. Gilbert. For this larger, more comprehensive update to the Sign Code, outside counsel recommended that Town zoning and legal staff review existing municipal sign codes from a handful of municipalities that have recently revamped their codes, and use these to create a code framework acceptable to the Town. Once the Town has completed an internal compilation of desired code revisions, outside counsel will be hired to provide a comprehensive review of the many evolving, complex legal considerations.
During 2020-2022, staff re-prioritized workloads due to the COVID pandemic, focusing on temporary outdoor dining permits and handling increased code complaints, sign permitting and zoning reviews on the increased building permit activity. Additionally, changes in legal staffing occurred in this time. Zoning and legal staff reengaged on the sign code amendment in late 2022 and are currently in process of drafting the updated Sign Code. Staff is working to have a clear and easier to use sign code regulation drafted and ready for Council review later this year, possibly fall of 2023.
Discussion
Sign Code Update
While reviewing Chapter 17 for updates in 2019, Town staff discussed the current sign code as it relates to administration and ease of use for the community. Town staff noted that the current sign code is difficult to procedurally administer and could be streamlined to ensure it matches the business friendly character of the Town. As staff reviewed the existing regulations, it became apparent that portions of the code could be improved to ensure ease of use and making sure it complies with the current regulatory environment for municipal sign regulations. Additionally, Town staff has identified a need to ensure that the sign code contemplates the character within neighborhoods, business districts, and the I-25 corridor.
Staff has been reviewing other jurisdictions revamped sign codes and is drafting a sign code update that includes:
• Overall easier to understand regulations
• Move all definitions to one section
• Create clear/concise definitions with applicable graphics, when possible
• Removing permit processing and inspection processing from the code text, this is better suited in the Development Procedures Manual (DPM)
• Create charts based on sign type for ease of use and understanding
• Update verbiage for Board of Adjustment sign variance
• Ensure Code complies with current case law and anticipated changes in the legal community
Weekend Enforcement Concerns
Another issue that has recently arisen is the question of weekend enforcement of signs in the ROW. Following Court action on the Town of Gilbert vs. Reed sign code issue, Council amended the Town’s sign code to prohibit signage in the Right-of-Way (ROW), regardless of content, except for those signs related to traffic control or government speech. The Town cannot regulate the content of signage, nor can they pick and choose which signs to remove and which to leave. Therefore, it requires the removal of all signs in the ROW, which commonly include realty, garage sale, lost pet, political campaign, and church service signs, just to name a few.
Currently, based upon previous discussion and direction from Council, staff conducts sign code enforcement during the regular work week, Monday through Friday, generally 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is not staff assigned to work weekends for sign code enforcement. The Zoning Inspector has been directed on two previous occasions to work weekends for sign removal in the ROW, once in June 2019, and then once again in March 2021. During these weekend sign enforcement periods, staff collected all types of signs, from garage sale, lost kitten, commercial business, temporary religious service signs, as well as realtor open house signs. In both of these trials with weekend sign removal, feedback was received from relators and religious institutions about the high cost of their signage that was disposed of, and concerns that they were not able to advertise their weekend events. Additionally, it was determined that weekend sign enforcement would require additional staff time and possibly a restructure of work week schedules.
The Town is not the only jurisdiction that prohibits signage in the ROW. Town staff researched how surrounding jurisdictions regulate their sign code over the weekend:
Douglas County: (3 Code Enforcement Officers/Population 373,275) Public Works employees (not the code enforcement group) removes signs in the ROW as they see them during their normal course of business, but they do not work weekends.
Lone Tree: (2 Code Enforcement Officers/Population 14,182) Zoning works in conjunction with Public Works to remove signs in the ROW during normal work hours and the code enforcement officer works one Saturday a month for sign removal only.
Parker: (2 Code enforcement Officers/Population 60,313) The Town of Parker code enforcement officers work four 10-hour days in two different shifts. The A-side shift works Sunday-Wednesday, and B-side shift works Wednesday-Saturday schedule. Part of the responsibilities is the enforcement of the sign code, includes the removal of illegal signage in the ROW. In addition to Code Enforcement, Parker’s team has many other responsibilities, including animal control and parking enforcement.
Castle Pines: (1 Code Enforcement Officer/Population 11,049) Zoning removes signs in the ROW during normal work hours and does not do any weekend sign removal.
Of the four surrounding jurisdictions, only Parker consistently does sign enforcement on the weekends, however these positions are also covering animal control and parking issues, which is currently handled by Castle Rock PD. Lone Tree has a one-Saturday a month approach, and Castle Pines and Douglas County do not conduct weekend sign removal.
Staff is seeking Town Council direction on whether weekend sign enforcement activity should be implemented. If Council directs staff to remove ROW signage over the weekend, staff predicts a majority of signs in the ROW will be residential oriented such as yard sales, lost pet, church service, open house, etc. Castle Rock has several large residential developments with a high level of residential building activity so homebuilders place signage late Friday afternoons and early Saturday recognizing that staff does not currently enforce the sign code over the weekend. Most builders remove these signs by Sunday evening. Signs that are not removed by Monday morning are picked up by Town staff and disposed of immediately in accordance with Town Code. Many business owners and realtors familiar with the Town practices know to remove their signs from the ROW before Monday morning, so they do not lose the investment in their signs.
Key Issues for Consideration
• Currently staff enforces the sign code during the business week.
• Town Council approved a Sign Plaza program to allow builders to place homebuilder signs on Town approved sign plazas around Town.
• The Zoning Manager and Zoning Inspector work diligently with the homebuilders to eliminate placement of temporary homebuilder signs in the ROW over the weekend.
• The Town code prohibits regulation of sign content, therefore we cannot govern which sign messages to allow and which sign messages to remove.
• Weekend signage typically includes business marketing, homebuilders, open houses, yard/garage sales, missing pets, political campaign ads, and temporary church locations throughout Town.
Weekend signage also includes events in downtown such as the Auto show, Art fest, Movie Nights, County Fair and community parades and a variety of Town sponsored events. If Council decides to implement removal of ROW signs over the weekend it would include removal of ROW signage in the downtown area, other than permitted sandwich board signs located in the ROW in front of businesses.
As noted previously, the Town cannot regulate the content of any sign. If Council directs staff to remove signs from the ROW on weekends, then all signs in the ROW will be removed and disposed of immediately. The Town does not have the staffing resources to retain all of the signs and return them to the business owner or residents. All collected signs are disposed of and not able to be returned to the business owner.
Staff Recommendation
Staff is open to any direction that Town Council provides on weekend sign enforcement. If Council desires to implement weekend enforcement, staff will work on a trial period to adjust work hours or offer overtime to existing employees to see how sustainable the program is. If it is determined it will be a permanent schedule change, Council may need to consider this impact in review of the 2024 budget and discussions on budgeting priorities for the community.