Fountain Valley moves to shrink large campaign signs

Some campaign signs in Fountain Valley may be getting smaller.

The City Council gave initial approval Tuesday to a city code amendment that would lower the maximum size of temporary “non-commercial speech” signs — often the campaign signs that proliferate in election years — to 3 square feet each, with up to four signs per parcel. That’s a total of up to 12 square feet of signage. Typical yard signs likely would fit the new size rules.

The planned revisions also say signs can be no more than six feet off the ground, addressing a practice by some to put signs high on light poles.

Current rules allow up to four freestanding signs per parcel, totaling up to 15 square feet, with no size rule for individual signs. That means a parcel could have a single 15-square-foot sign.

The council wanted to make the changes because larger signs have created traffic hazards and aesthetic concerns, officials said. The council may take a final vote on the matter in July.

The city Planning Commission had suggested leaving the ordinance alone, saying the rules are fine as they are.

Permits for solicitors

The city will do away with a section of the municipal code requiring charitable and religious solicitors to have permits before collecting donations. The council unanimously passed the action on first reading with little discussion.

The city cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York Inc. v. Village of Stratton. The court declared an Ohio town’s ordinance requiring a permit for door-to-door solicitors — including religious groups — to be unconstitutional.

Fountain Valley’s code currently requires solicitors to be photographed and prove nonprofit status but says they don’t need to pay a fee for the permit and will not be denied a permit based on their belief or cause. The code states the rules are intended to protect against fraud and to let potential donors know the identity of the solicitor and organization.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

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