31-3 Applicability | Monterey City Code

Sec. 31-3. Applicability.

A. General.This Chapter shall apply to all property and land within the City of Monterey.

B. Sign Permit.A Sign Permit is required prior to the installation or display of any sign, except those exempt signs described herein. It is unlawful for any person, firm, organization, or corporation that owns, operates, controls, rents, or leases property or land in the City of Monterey to construct, maintain, display or alter, or to cause or allow to be constructed, maintained, displayed, or altered, a sign within the City except in conformance with this Chapter.

C. Exempt Signs.The City has a compelling interest to exempt certain signs to further the purpose and objectives of this chapter and to allow for the use of signs with minimal aesthetic impact. The following signs, described in Table 31-1, may be installed without a sign permit; provided, that they meet the conditions set forth in Table 31-1, and comply with all City rules, regulations, and guidelines, including but not limited to the Citywide Sign Guidelines and other applicable land use documents. Exempt signs may require a building permit or encroachment permit.

**TABLE 31-1: Exempt Signs**
Exempt Sign	Conditions
Address Signs	Maximum letter height of 12 inches and maximum area of 4 square feet
Ancillary Information Signs	Maximum aggregate area of 3 square feet
Construction Site Signs	Maximum aggregate area of 32 square feet per street frontage
Electronic Open Signs	Maximum area of 3 square feet
Electronic Open Signs	Maximum of 1 sign per street frontage
Government and Community Signs	Traffic control signs
	Transit signs not exceeding 3 square feet
	Street identification signs
	Utility signs
	Signs on City property for City civic events and services
Ballpark Advertising Banners	Banners on the outfield fences at Jacks and Sollecito ballparks authorized by the Parks and Recreation Department’s Ballpark Advertising Program Maximum aggregate area of 32 square feet per banner
Temporary Private Party Signs During Construction Projects in the Adjacent Right-of-Way	Permitted only during periods of construction in adjacent right-of-way; the signs must be removed immediately upon restoration of traffic flow on the affected right-of-way construction zone The lot or parcel on which the business is located must be immediately adjacent to the right-of-way construction zone Temporary signs are limited to 1 per business, per street front and are limited to 16 square feet in area and can be no more than 5 feet in height Any signs on public sidewalks must give clearance of 5 feet for pedestrians to pass by No illumination
Temporary Private Party Ground-Mounted Signs on Private Property	Temporary signs displaying a noncommercial (e.g., ideological, religious, political) message
	Maximum aggregate area of 16 square feet per individual sign and 80 square feet cumulative total area for all signs on a property
Interior Signs	Any sign not visible from another lot of record or from a public right-of-way
No Trespassing/No Parking Signs	Must be posted in compliance with Federal, State and local laws
Parking Lot Signs	Maximum area of 3 square feet per sign and maximum of 1 sign per 3 parking spaces
Personally Attended Signs in Traditional Public Forum Areas	Temporary signs may be displayed daily from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., except on occasions when the City Council or other public body with offices in the City is holding a public hearing or meeting. On such occasions, the display period is extended to 30 minutes after such meeting is officially adjourned
	The maximum size of any 1 sign is not to exceed 32 square feet, and the height is not to exceed 10 feet as measured from the ground
	The maximum distance between a person and a personally attended sign is 5 feet
	In order to serve the City’s interests in traffic flow and safety, persons displaying signs under this section may not stand in any vehicular traffic lane when a roadway is open for use by vehicles, and persons displaying signs on public sidewalks must give clearance of 5 feet for pedestrians to pass by
Real Estate Signs	Maximum of 1 sign per street frontage
Real Estate Signs	Maximum area of 16 square feet per sign
Signs Required by Federal or State Law	Signs required for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California Coastal Act, etc.
Handheld Signs in Traditional Public Forum Areas	Temporary signs may be displayed daily, in traditional public forum areas, from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., except on occasions when the City Council or other public body with offices in the City is holding a public hearing or meeting. On such occasions, the display period is extended to 30 minutes after such meeting is officially adjourned
	Maximum aggregate area of 6 square feet
	In order to serve the City’s interests in traffic flow and safety, persons displaying signs under this section may not stand in any vehicular traffic lane when a roadway is open for use by vehicles, and persons displaying signs on public sidewalks must give clearance of 5 feet for pedestrians to pass by
Window Displays	A window display is an arrangement of merchandise, including graphics and text, that is at least 18 inches in depth and is displayed in a building window
Window Displays	Must be 4 square feet or less to be exempt
Window Signs	Maximum area of 10% of window area or 4 square feet per window, whichever is greater

D. Prohibited Signs.The City has a compelling interest to prohibit certain signs on City property to prevent damage to public property, avoid the administrative burdens associated with the need to monitor the placement of signs on public property and their eventual removal, preserve the prominence of public signs and lines of sight in the interests of traffic safety, to prevent interference with the normal maintenance and upkeep (e.g., watering, mowing, planting) of City property, and to prevent visual blight. The City has a compelling interest to prohibit certain signs to uniformly further the purpose and objectives of this chapter and to enforce local, State and Federal law. The following signs are prohibited and subject to abatement by the City of Monterey:

**TABLE 31-2: Prohibited Signs**
Prohibited Signs
Signs intentionally oriented so as to be visible from a State or Federal highway, public park, or public beach. Signs that are incidentally visible from a State or Federal highway and/or are primarily directed towards another public street are not prohibited. If necessary, any such determination shall be made by the Architectural Review Committee
Attention-getting devices
Backlit translucent awning signs
Electronic message signs (excludes traffic control signs)
No private party permanent signs on City property excluding ballpark advertising banners as authorized in Table 31-1 and except as permitted under Section 31-7(B). A permanent sign is any sign which remains in use for more than 47 days
No private party signs may be mounted, erected, maintained, or displayed on City property or in the right-of-way except as authorized in Table 31-1. This prohibition shall not apply to the use of City property pursuant to a special event permit, license agreement, concession, or lease.
Highly reflective and fluorescent (day-glow) signs
Off-site signs (except as permitted under Section 31-7(B) or commercial directory programs)
Signs posted on trees, utility poles, traffic sign posts, light posts, traffic signals or any other official traffic control device (excludes approved decorative streetlight banners)
Signs placed or maintained so as to interfere with free ingress to or egress from any door, window or fire escape, or parking lot
Signs which simulate or imitate in size, color, lettering or design any traffic sign or signal, or which make use of words, symbols or characters in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead, or confuse pedestrian or vehicular traffic
Signs which are prohibited in a specific plan, master plan, area plan, or similar land use document adopted by the City Council

E. Substitution of Messages.Subject to the consent of the property owner or person in control or possession of the property, a noncommercial message of any type may be substituted for all or part of the commercial or noncommercial message on any sign allowed pursuant to this chapter. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval or permitting. Design criteria that may apply to commercial signs, such as color, lettering style or compatibility with other signs on the same parcel, do not apply to noncommercial signs. No special or additional approval is required to substitute a noncommercial message for any other message on an allowable sign, provided the sign structure is already approved or exempt from the approval requirement. When a noncommercial message is substituted for any other message, the sign is still subject to the same locational and structural regulations, such as size, height, illumination, maintenance, building and electrical code requirements, as would apply if the sign were used to display a commercial message or some other noncommercial message. In the event of any perceived or actual conflict between the general provisions of this subsection and other specific provisions in this chapter, the provisions of this subsection shall prevail.

F. Street Banners.Nothing in this chapter limits in any way the City’s ability to use City property for the expression of its own messages. No banner shall extend over or into a street, alley, sidewalk, or other public place except those banners placed by the City for the purpose of promoting its own messages and civic events. The City declares its intent that banners placed by the City on Alvarado Street and Calle Principal bear the City’s own messages, and that the placement of such banners by the City shall not function as the designation of a traditional public forum. (Ord. 3607 § 3, 2019; Ord. 3603 §§ 3, 4, 2019; Ord. 3592 §§ 2, 3, 2019; Ord. 3547 §§ 3, 4, 2016; Ord. 3506 §§ 3 – 6, 2014; Ord. 3475 § 2, 2012)