City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 06/09/14 Item Number: A-5
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: (1) Discussion of the Concept of the Creation of a
Sign District Along the 405 Freeway Corridor and (2) (If Desired) Direction to the
City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
Contact Person/Dept.: Sol Blumenfeld
Community Development
Phone Number: 310-253-5700
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (06/04/14);
Courtesy Notice to the Following E-Mail Notification Groups - City Council (1548),
Downtown Neighborhood Association (467), Gateway Neighborhood Association (372),
Fox Hills Neighborhood Association (463), Chamber of Commerce (609) (06/03/14);
Published in the Culver City News (06/05/14).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (06/04/14)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (06/04/14)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (06/04/14)
City Manager Approval:
John Nachbar (06/04/14)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the concept of the creation of a Sign
District along the 405 Freeway Corridor (405 Sign District) and, if desired, direct the
City Manager as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND:
Over the past several years, the City has been approached by persons interested in
installing signage (including “billboards” and digital signage) along the 405 Freeway
corridor. Most recently, on May 16, 2014, the City Manager received a proposal
from The Carlyle Group for an “Outdoor Sign Project,” proposing 10 sign faces (five
electronic and five static) – the Carlyle Proposal. (See Attachment 1)
At the May 27, 2014 City Council meeting, the City Manager informed the City
Council of the Carlyle Proposal, and the City Council provided consensus to place
the item on a future City Council agenda determine whether the City Council was
interested in pursuing such a concept.
DISCUSSION:
If the City Council is interested in the concept of creating a 405 Sign District or other
similar regulatory process, staff will fully evaluate the mechanism(s) that may be City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
used to establish such a district, including the potential for creating an overlay zone
to be applied through a specific plan process. The intent of the specific plan would
be to address concerns for proper location and design of signs and the promotion of
related economic development goals for the area. The underlying zoning in the
specific plan area (CG – Commercial General, CRB Zone – Commercial Regional
Business Park – CRB, CRR – Commercial Regional Retail and IG – Industrial
General) would remain the same. In concept, an overlay zone would allow signs to
be installed in a specified area (in this case, in proximity to the 405 Freeway
corridor). The specific plan process would allow for the thoughtful planning and
design of the area, including the creation of appropriate development standards (i.e.
specific plan area boundaries, minimum lot size, location, design and height of signs,
etc.). In addition, if the City Council wants to move forward with consideration of this
issue, staff would further evaluate the potential costs, revenues, and timing related to
the creation of a freeway-oriented sign program.
If so directed, staff will return to the City Council at a future meeting with further
detailed information regarding the process for establishing a sign district (including
an outline of the specific plan contents) and the related costs and revenues
associated therewith, at such time as those costs and revenues are ascertained.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no fiscal impact related to the City Council’s discussion of this item at this
time. If desired by the City Council, staff would return at a later date with additional
fiscal information as part of a more detailed report.
ATTACHMENT:
1. May 16, 2014 proposal from Carlyle Group
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Discuss the concept of the creation of a sign district along the 405 Freeway
corridor and (if desired) provide direction to the City Manager as deemed
appropriate.
MEETING DATE: 06/09/14
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of the Concept of the Creation of a Sign
District Along the 405 Freeway Corridor and Direction to
the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1. May 16, 2014 proposal from Carlyle Group 1-5 May 16, 2014
Outdoor sign project proposal – Carlyle Group
Background
Affiliates of The Carlyle Group (“Owner”) own the various real estate parcels in Culver City located
northwest of the corner of Sepulveda Blvd. and West Centinela Avenue (“Property”). The parcels are
improved with the Pacifica Plaza office building and the Doubletree hotel. These parcels are parallel to
the 405 freeway. Owner also owns parcels across the street on Centinela which border the City of Los
Angeles. A site plan of the parcels is attached as Exhibit A.
Owner wishes to erect static and electronic billboard signs visible on Centinela Avenue and the 405
freeway and install signage on the windowless side of the hotel building visible from the freeway (“the
Project”). Refer to Exhibit B attached. Static signs currently exist across the freeway at the Westfield
Mall site, and static and electronic billboards exist on Centinela and Sepulveda within the City of Los
Angeles.
If all of the proposed signs are approved and erected, the Project upon stabilization is expected to generate
in excess of $420,000 for the City in annual revenue. The Owner is partnering with CBS Outdoor for
advertising sales, marketing and maintenance of the Project. There are other land parcels in Culver City
with similar freeway frontages that would also be conducive to generating revenue for the City while
maintaining Culver City’s character. See Exhibit C. Once an overlay zone is approved, landowners of
those parcels would have the ability to propose signage, which would be approved on a case by case basis
by the City Council. These potential signs would provide additional revenue sources for the City.
Project details
? Project includes ten sign faces; 5 are electronic and 5 are static
? All faces (with the exception of the static face (size to be determined) on the hotel building) are
14 ft height and 48 ft length
? Latest technology is used for all faces and is energy efficient; the electronic signs automatically
adjust to natural light and direct the light toward the intended recipients greatly reducing ambient
light.
? Revenue for Culver City calculated at 10% or gross advertising revenue.
If the City Council indicates support for exploring this proposal, Owner will front the cost of a
planning consultant (to be reimbursed from project fees or revenues over time) to speed up the
process with the goal of achieving final City approvals by December 2014, so that revenues can be
achieved in 2015. A timeline is attached in Exhibit D. Exhibit A
Site plan
EXHIBIT B
Sign locations
Project Legend
Electronic signs
E1 Sepulveda freeway - double face
E2 Sepulveda x Centinela corner single face
E3 Centinela - double face
Static signs
S1 Centinela by Mesmer Avenue - double face
S2 Centinela by Arizonal Place - double face
S3 Wall sign on hotel building - single face
Exhibit C
Freeway frontage parcels
Exhibit D
Project Timeline
To be established as soon as City has identified Planning Consultant.
It is imperative that the timeline accommodates project approvals by the end of 2014.