O-2014-1214 - 3/27/20141 ORDINANCE NO. 0-2014-1214
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3 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 30, SECTION 30-23, CODE OF
4 ORDINANCES, CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, (2010 EDITION),
5 REGARDING POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SIGNS; PROVIDING FOR A
6 SAVINGS CLAUSE AND REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES
7 OR RESOLUTIONS.
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9 WHEREAS, on June 14, 2013, the Texas Legislature passed H.B. 259,
10 amending the Texas Election Code and requiring a public entity that controls or owns a
11 building used as a polling place to allow electioneering on the premises subject to
12 reasonable regulations concerning the time, place, and manner of electioneering; and
13 WHEREAS, pursuant to H.B. 259, "electioneering" includes posting, use or
14 distribution of political signs or literature; and
15 WHEREAS, the polling places in the City include facilities that are simultaneously
16 used for various other purposes and for which adequate and safe parking and access
17 thereto must be maintained in order for those facilities to operate in a safe and effective
18 manner; and
19 WHEREAS, in order to further the general health, safety and welfare of the
20 community, electioneering signs and literature shall not be present outside the time of
21 voting except for a limited period, and shall not be attached to improvements or
22 landscaping; and
23 WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the size of electioneering signs
24 shall be limited and they should be set back from the public roadway in order to further
25 traffic safety and remove visual clutter; and
26 WHEREAS, currently Chapter 30, Section 23(b), Code of Ordinances, City of
27 Round Rock, Texas, (2010 Edition), prohibits any person from posting a political
0112.1404;00293487
1 campaign sign on or over any public property in the City, therefore, the Code of
2 Ordinances must be amended to comply with H.B. 259; and
3 WHEREAS, the City Council deems it in the best interest of the citizens of the
4 City of Round Rock that the current sign regulations be amended to comply with H.B.
5 259 and additional regulations be adopted to address concerns that may result from
6 electioneering on public property, including damage to property, traffic safety concerns,
7 and blight; and
8 WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the following regulations concerning the
9 time, place, and matter of electioneering are reasonable and are required to further the
10 public health, safety and welfare of the community.
11 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
12 OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS:
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14 I.
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16 That Chapter 30, Section 30-23, Political Campaign Signs, Code of Ordinances
17 (2010 Edition), City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows:
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1 Sec. 30-23. Political campaign signs and literature.
(a) Political campaign signs located on private property are exempt from the regulations of
this Chapter 30.
(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) below, it shall be unlawful for any person to
post a political campaign sign on or over any public property in the City.
(c) A temporary political campaign sign or literature may be placed on public property that
serves as an early voting location or an election day voting location. Only signs and
literature that refer to a candidate or issue that is on the ballot at a particular voting
location may be placed at that voting location. A maximum of ten (10) signs per
candidate or issue may be placed at each polling location. Each temporary political sign
or literature placed on public property being used as a polling location may not:
(1) have an effective area greater than three (3) square feet;
(2) be more than four (4) feet high;
(3) be illuminated or have any moving elements;
(4) be within one hundred (100) feet of an outside door through which a voter may
enter the public building;
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1 (5) be on driveways, parking areas, or medians within parking areas on the
2 premises, with the exception of political campaign signs attached to vehicles
3 lawfully parked at the premises;
4 (6) be attached, placed or otherwise affixed in any area designated as a planting or
5 landscaped area or to any tree, shrub, building, pole or other improvement;
6 (7) be placed within ten (10) feet of the public road way adjacent to the premises;
7 (8) be placed on the premises earlier than twenty-four (24) hours before the
8 commencement of early voting if being placedat an early voting location or the
9 commencement of election day voting if being placed an election day voting
10 location; and
11 (9) remain on the premises more than twenty-four (24) hours after early voting has
12 ended if placed at an early voting location or after election day voting has ended
13 if being placed at an election day voting location.
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15 (Gd) A political campaign sign is permitted in the public street right-of-way only if all of the
16 following requirements are met:
17 (1) The sign does not exceed four square feet in total sign display area;
18 (2) The sign is located in a portion of the public street right-of-way immediately
19 adjacent to the property or residence owned or occupied by the person posting or
20 consenting to the posting of the sign;
21 (3) The sign does not interfere with the public's use of the roadway or sidewalk;
22 (4) The sign must not be higher than three feet if it is located within the sight visibility
23 triangle; and
24 (5) The sign is not located in the right -of way of a highway or commercial road.
25 This exception does not include state highways per V.T.C.A., Transportation Code §
26 392.032.
27 I(de) In a campaign for political office, the candidate for such office shall be deemed the
28 person responsible for the posting of political campaign signs, unless he first notifies the
29 city clerk of another person who is responsible. In such cases, the candidate shall
30 provide the name, address, telephone number, and signed consent of such other
31 responsible person. In a campaign regarding a ballot measure, the president of the
32 committee supporting or opposing such ballot measure shall be deemed responsible,
33 unless he first notifies the city clerk of another person responsible, in the manner
34 described above. Such candidate, committee president, or other designated person shall
35 be subject to prosecution for any violation of this section.
36 I (el) Members of the city staff are hereby authorized and directed to remove any political
37 campaign sign found posted within the corporate limits of the city when such sign is in
38 violation of the provisions of this section.
39 1 (fg) All political campaign signs posted on public property in violation of this section are
40 hereby declared to be public nuisances, and may be abated as such by the city. All
41 political campaign signs posted on public property shall be deemed to be abandoned and
42 shall become the property of the city and may be disposed of at the discretion of the city.
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47 A. All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in conflict herewith are
48 expressly repealed.
49 B. The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not
50 invalidate other sections or provisions thereof.
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1 C. The City Council hereby finds and declares that written notice of the date,
2 hour, place and subject of the meeting at which this Ordinance was adopted was posted
3 and that such meeting was open to the public as required by law at all times during
4 which this Ordinance and the subject matter hereof were discussed, considered and
5 formally acted upon, all as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas
6 Government Code, as amended, and the Act.
7 READ and APPROVED on first reading this the 134 day of
8 , 2014.
9 READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the 2� day of
10 , 2014.
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17 ATTEST:
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21 SARA L. WHITE, City Clerk
ALAN MCGRAW, Mayor
City of Round Rock, Texas
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