Ordinance No. 952ORDINANCE NO. 952
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING APPENDIX I,
ZONING, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF CYPRESS
REGARDING THE REGULATION OF NONCOMMERCIAL
SIGNS, INCLUDING POLITICAL SIGNS
The City Council of the City of Cypress, California, does hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. The City Council of the City of Cypress finds and
determines that reasonable time place and manner regulations are required for
noncommercial signs, including political signs, in order to prevent blight, a decline in
property values, and preserve Cypress as an aesthetically pleasing community. This
Ordinance aims to protect free expression as guaranteed to individuals by the First
Amendment, while imposing reasonable regulations to protect the welfare of the community
as a whole.
Section 2. Resolution No. 2683, adopted by the City Council of the City of
Cypress pertaining to Guidelines With Respect to the Posting of Political Signs is hereby
repealed.
Section 3. Section 15.2E. "Exempt Signs; Political Signs." of the Code of the City
of Cypress is hereby repealed.
Section 4. Section 15.9 of the Code of the City of Cypress is hereby added to
read as follows:
"Sec. 15.9. Noncommercial Signs; Political Signs.
15.9 -1 Noncommercial signs shall be permitted on private property
subject to the following provisions:
(a) No person shall install or maintain or cause to be installed or
maintained any sign which simulates or imitates in size, color,
lettering or design any traffic sign or signal, or which makes
use of the words "Stop ", "Look ", "Danger ", or any other words,
phrases, symbols, or characters in such a manner as to
interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to exhibit, post or display, or
cause to be exhibited, posted, or displayed upon any sign,
anything of an obscene nature.
(c) Signs consisting of any moving, illuminated, swinging, rotating,
flashing, blinking, fluctuating or otherwise animated light are
prohibited.
(d) A noncommercial political sign, which is a sign having to do
with any issue, candidate or group of candidates in any district,
municipal, county, state or federal election, shall not be erected
more than forty -five (45) days prior to the election to which the
sign pertains and shall be removed on or before ten (10) days
after the election to which the sign pertains.
15.9 -2 No person shall post or otherwise affix any noncommercial sign,
including political signs, upon any public property or right -of -way
including, but not limited to any street, median, island, sidewalk, traffic
signal, utility pole, wires, traffic control device, tree, building, wall,
bridge, railroad trestle, hydrant, tree, shrub, tree stake or guard, or
street sign."
Section 5. Section 15 -10 of the Code of the City of Cypress is hereby added to
read as follows:
"15.10 Abatement of Illegal Signs in Public Right -of -Way.
Any sign installed or placed illegally on public property, public right -of-
way, or public easements, except in conformance with Section 15.2
of this section, shall be forfeited to the public and subject to
confiscation. In addition to other remedies, the City shall have the
right to recover from the owner or organization the full costs of
removal and disposal of the sign. Said costs shall be established by
resolution of the City Council. The Director of Public Works, or his
designee shall notify the owner or organization of any sign(s) collected
as a result of being illegally posted on public property. An owner or
organization may collect any such sign from the Public Works
Department within twenty (20) days of notification with the requisite
fee. Any such sign not collected within the twenty (20) day period
may be summarily disposed of by the City without further notice."
Section 6. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or
portion of this Ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the
decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of
the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause,
phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection,
sentence, clause, phrase, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 7. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause
the same to be posted at the duly designated posting places within the City and published
once within fifteen days after passage and adoption as may be required by law; or, in the
alternative, the City Clerk may cause to be published a summary of this Ordinance and a
certified copy of the text of this Ordinance shall be posted in the Office of the City Clerk five
days prior to the date of adoption of this Ordinance; and, within fifteen days after adoption,
the City Clerk shall cause to be published, the aforementioned summary and shall post a
certified copy of this Ordinance, together with the vote for and against the same, in the
Office of the City Clerk.
FIRST READ at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on the
8th day of April , 1996; and finally adopted and ordered posted at a
regular meeting held on the 22nd day of April , 1996.
ATTEST:
CI CLERK
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mAyo,e/4/(1
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF CYPRESS
I, LILLIAN HAINA, City Clerk of the City of Cypress, California, DO HEREBY
CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City
Council of the City of Cypress, held on the 2nd day of April 1996; by the
following roll call vote:
AYES: 3
NOES: 1
ABSENT: 0
ABSTAINED: 1
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COUNCIL MEMBERS:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Age, Kerry and
Bowman
Carroll
None
Jones
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CLERK OF THE CITY OF CYPRESS