(a) Use of Seal. The City Seal and City logos shall only be used for the official business of the City of Palo Alto, its City Council, boards and commissions, officers or departments, except upon approval of the City Council by ordinance or resolution. Except as provided for in this Section, no person, other than the City of Palo Alto, shall reproduce, use, give away, sell, or distribute any seal or logo, or facsimile thereof, purporting to be or represented to be the City Seal or City Logo of the City of Palo Alto.
(b) Additional City Seals. The City of Palo Alto City Council retains the right to create variations of the City Seal and City Logo and to adopt and establish other official seals and logos. Such variations may include, but are not limited to, centennial seals, or other seals which mark anniversaries, events, and/or any other city occasion the City Council wishes to commemorate.
(c) Amendment of City Seal. The City Seal may be altered pursuant to resolution of the City Council.
(d) Custodian of City Seal and other Council-adopted Seals. The City Clerk shall be the official custodian of the City Seal, and any other city seals adopted by the City Council.
(e) Custodian of City Logos. The City Manager shall be the official custodian of City Logos.
(f) Use of City Seal or Logo by Employee Organization. A recognized employee organization may use the City Seal or Logo, or facsimile thereof, on stationery and printed materials used in the scope of its representation of city employees and on articles of clothing intended for use by city employees.
(g) Promotional Use of City Seal or Logo. The City Manager or his/her designee is empowered to authorize the use of the City Seal or Logo on items that are offered for sale by the City of Palo Alto for the purpose of promoting the City of Palo Alto. Prior to authorizing such use, the City Manager or his/her designee shall procure from the Director of Administrative Services a plan describing the items that would bear the City Seal or Logo. Such plan shall include the criteria used in determining the proposed items and an analysis of the marketability of each item. Only those items bearing the City seal or logo that have been authorized by the City Manager or his/her designee pursuant to this provision may be offered for sale by the City of Palo Alto.
(h) Penalty. Any person violating this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction. A violation of this chapter may be prosecuted by city authorities in the name of the people of the State of California, or redressed by civil action. Every violation of this chapter is punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year; (3) a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year. The city reserves the right to take any other legal action it finds appropriate to enforce this chapter.
(Ord. 5204 § 1 (part), 2013)