WHEREAS, throughout the time that the City has administered and maintained a sign ordinance, signs espousing political candidates and causes and expressing individual opinions on matters of public policy have appeared throughout the community; and
WHEREAS, sign regulation in Union is part of a comprehensive program of planning, zoning and building controls; and
WHEREAS, the City retained the law firm of Surdyk, Dowd & Turner Co., L.P.A., and Kevin A. Lantz, Esq., which have expertise in sign regulation to review its ordinance; and
WHEREAS, although the intent and purpose of the sign ordinance remain essentially unchanged, the City Council, on the advice of its Law Director, Mr. Lantz and other advisors, has concluded that it is prudent to revise some sections of the sign ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wants to maintain a strong sign ordinance as part of its comprehensive system of planning, building and land-use controls, but it wants to revise the ordinance to bring it into conformance with recent court decisions shedding further light on the appropriate nature and scope of sign regulations under the Constitution; and
WHEREAS, safety of traffic and pedestrians, the attractiveness of the City and its neighborhoods to its citizens, its businesses and potential businesses are also important considerations to the City Council of Union in amending its sign ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lantz has provided to the City his recommendations for bringing the Union sign regulations into conformance with Constitutional principles, as recently construed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal and state courts in Ohio and such recommendations were incorporated into the ordinance discussed at public meetings of the Union Planning Commission and City Council; and
WHEREAS, based on evidence that Mr. Lantz has presented to the City Council, and based on their personal observations as drivers and passengers, the City Council finds that there is evidence that billboards, hand-held signs bearing commercial messages and other signs distract drivers for at least brief periods of time from their driving tasks and that such distraction may have an effect on traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, although the evidence regarding traffic safety is mixed, City Council members are well aware that the intent of billboard and outdoor advertisers is to attract the attention of drivers, thus distracting them from their driving task and creating an increased risk of accidents; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there is a relationship between traffic and pedestrian safety and the regulation of signs and a particular relationship between traffic safety and large outdoor signs such as billboards; and
WHEREAS, Ohio State Route 48 in Union, which carries more than 12,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for motorists and pedestrians in the downtown area; and
WHEREAS, Phillipsburg-Union Pike in Union, which carries more than 2,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Frederick Pike in Union, which carries more than 4,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Old Springfield Road in Union, which carries more than 3,500 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Martindale Road in Union, which carries more than 3,700 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, commercial and industrial activity focused around Ohio State Route 48, Old Springfield Road, Dog Leg Pike, Jackson Road, Frederick Pike and in the vicinity of the Dayton International Airport, creates a significant demand for commercial advertising; a demand that the City must balance with its goal of maintaining local traffic conditions that are safe for drivers and pedestrians alike; and
WHEREAS, for all of these reasons, the City Council finds that it is both necessary and appropriate as part of its overall Comprehensive Plan and land use and building code provisions designed to preserve and protect the public health, safety and welfare in the physical development of the community to adopt the following amendments to the provisions of the Building Code affecting signs; and
WHEREAS, Planning Commission Members and the public held Study Sessions on October 2, 2012, November 7, 2012, December 4, 2012 and February 5, 2013 to review the draft modifications to the Sign Regulations;
NOW, THEREFORE,
The City of Union, Ohio does ordain the following modifications to Chapter 1341 of the Codified Ordinances of Union, Ohio.
(Ord. 1559. Passed 4-22-13.)