Design Review Commission Study Session on Sign Ordinance Update – July 15, 2026
Design Review Commission Study Session on Sign Ordinance Update – July 15, 2026
Despite the agenda listing this regular meeting as cancelled, the Design Review Commission convened on July 15, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber for a study session on proposed updates to the city's sign ordinance. The purpose was to review a draft ordinance developed over several months with a working group, community outreach, and stakeholder input. The commission discussed two of eight planned discussion questions before the transcript ends prematurely. Staff and consultants will revise the draft based on feedback and present it to the Planning Commission and City Council for further consideration.
Discussion Items
Overview of Sign Ordinance Update
- Curtis Sawyer (Associate Planner) introduced the project, noting the last comprehensive sign ordinance overhaul occurred in 1992. Goals: modernize the code, increase flexibility, maintain community character, and reduce visual clutter.
- Consultants Michael Gibbons and Nikki Zanchetta (Mentir Harnish) presented the process: a working group (including one DRC member and one Planning Commission member), an online survey of business/property owners (23 responses), and multiple internal drafts.
- Key themes from outreach: need for visibility (street/sidewalk), clearer A-frame sign rules, larger/more flexible signs for branding, and streamlined permit processes.
- The draft includes: reorganized text with new graphics and tables; expanded administrative approval (more permits handled by Community Development Director rather than DRC); minor deviation authority (up to 20% of any standard); updated enforcement and removal procedures; revised Master Sign Program requirements with incentives; new standards for painted walls, A-frame signs, projected light signs, and cabinet signs; and tailored standards by zoning district.
Discussion Question 1 – Should developments with deep setbacks be allowed additional sign area to improve visibility?
- Commissioners agreed that a blanket automatic increase (e.g., the existing 25% increase for buildings set back 100 ft or more) is too rigid. They preferred creating a minor deviation process at the Community Development Director’s discretion, with specific criteria (e.g., setback, traffic speed, obstructions). The director could also refer cases to DRC if needed.
- Commissioner Case suggested codifying criteria such as impairment of visibility (trees, sound walls, etc.) and making examples available to businesses.
- Consensus: Use director-level minor deviation (up to 20%) for deep setbacks or other visibility impediments, with clear criteria in the ordinance.
Discussion Question 2 – Should the maximum size for wall signs for hotels and motels be increased?
- The draft already proposes raising the maximum from 25 sq ft to 50 sq ft. Consultants asked whether a further increase is warranted, given that many hotel signs are larger as a practical matter and larger signs often require freeway-oriented sign review (DRC).
- Commissioner Newsom supported leaving it at 50 sq ft, arguing that GPS has reduced the need for large hotel signs and larger signs could cause light pollution near residential areas. Commissioner Case agreed that a further increase is unnecessary; freeway-oriented signs already go to DRC for exceptions.
- Vice Chair Riley and Chair Basting concurred with keeping the 50 sq ft standard and relying on the freeway sign process for larger signs.
- Consensus: Support the proposed increase to 50 sq ft; no further increase. Larger freeway-oriented signs will still require DRC approval.
Key Outcomes
- Staff and consultants received clear direction on the first two discussion questions: (1) use a minor deviation process (director-level) for deep setback/visibility issues, with enumerated criteria; (2) keep hotel/motel wall sign maximum at 50 sq ft.
- The transcript concludes during the second discussion; additional questions (regarding routes of significance, cabinet sign illumination, master sign program incentives, downtown pedestrian area standards, A-frame sign rules, etc.) were not addressed in the recorded portion of the meeting.
- Next steps: Revise the draft sign ordinance based on this and future commission feedback, then present to the Planning Commission and City Council for adoption.
Meeting Transcript
The design review commission meeting for Wednesday, July first is in session. If there are any members of the public present who would like to speak, please fill out a speaker's card and give it to the commission secretary. Um please state your name and address and who you represent when you come up to the microphone, and please use the microphone. Prior to that. Okay. Thank you. Uh Commissioner Newsom appears to be running late, I believe. Uh Commissioner Pros? Commissioner Case. Vice Chair Riley. Here. Chair Basting. Yes. Thank you. We have a quorum. Okay. Nothing on the consent calendar today. All right, thank you. Do we have any public communications that are not on the agenda this evening? Seeing none. Do we have any ex parte communications that we need to disclose? Okay. Curtis Sawyer, uh associate planner. Tonight we're gonna get into something a little bit different, something exciting. Um, it's not just your typical residential or commercial designer view subject up for discussion and deliberation tonight. Tonight we get the expand our horizons and talk signage. Exciting stuff. Um staff have been working diligently to craft and revise our sign ordinance that protects community charm and character, brings balance, encourages creativity, and even introduces introduces technology. Uh you and the public may be wondering um why now, why are we here this evening uh to answer that? It's really been quite some time since we've had the opportunity to provide a comprehensive um overhaul and update to our sign ordinance. Um, jumping in, uh the product before you this evening is our most recent version of the draft sign ordinance. Our goal tonight is to present it before you, um, obtain your comments and feedback, and ultimately take your feedback and feedback from our working group, um, stakeholders and members of the community, um, and ultimately go before the planning commission for further consideration, and then ultimately adoption before the council. Um with that, I would like to introduce our consultants, Michael Gibbons and Nikki Zenschetta with Mentir Harnish. Um they're here to review the draft with you, go over our presentation. Um, with that, we also have it uh about eight questions lined up specifically. Um so with that, I'd like to introduce the consultant team and come on up, guys. Good evening, commissioners. Uh, my name is Nikki Zanchetta. I'm a associate planner with Mentir Harnish, and with me is Michael Gibbons, he's the project manager uh through this project. Um so as Curtis said, we're tonight. We want to go through the sign ordinance that we've been working on over the past uh several months, and just an overview of what we're gonna be talking about tonight. We want to just go over a background of where the project's been, where we are now, how we got to this evening, and that includes what we've done for community outreach, um, and then also going over the actual changes that we've made to the sign ordinance and um and then going through any additional uh questions and clarification that we want to get from commission before moving forward with another draft. And uh at the end of the presentation, we'll just go over the next steps and what we can expect for the rest of the process. So just a quick overview of the project. So the overall purpose of this project, as Curtis was also mentioning, um, so we are really looking to just modernize the sign ordinance, bring it into current best practices in the industry, and just really meeting Walnut Creek's uh business needs and uh creating more flexibility and creativity in the sign ordinance. And the last time that the code was the sign ordinance was fully overhauled and unupdated was back in 1992. Since then there's been a few minor updates, but this is again our chance to really get into it and make any significant changes that uh the city would like to see um and bringing it into kind of a modern contemporary uh version of the sign ordinance. So the goals are to one clarify uh the intent of the ordinance and really what the city's role is in ensuring that signs are meeting the city's expectations, are reducing clutter and making sure to ensure the public health and safety. And we also want to incorporate as part of the goals just ways to make the sign ordinance more flexible while meeting business needs and still maintaining the character of Walnut Creek. And so again, our kind of main intent of this is to really create flexibility and recognize that signs are an important part of the business community, and also recognizing that the city is the primary um has the primary responsibility of really ensuring that the signs aren't impeding on any of the neighborhood character, any of the safety, and um reducing just the overall aesthetic and visual visual clutter that signs can have the uh can have an impact on for the community.
openpublica.com