Staff Report
PREPARED BY: MONICA RENN
Economic Vitality Manager
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Community Development
Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
TOWN COUNCIL REPORT
MEETING DATE: 01/16/18
ITEM NO: 18
DATE: JANUARY 3, 2018
TO: TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE COUNCIL POLICY COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO RECIND
RESOLUTION 1994-79 AND ADOPT A POLICY FOR THE PLACEMENT OF STREET
POLE BANNERS AND SEASONAL DECORATIONS AFFIXED TO TOWN
INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOCATED IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff is recommending that the Town Council approve the Policy Committee’s
recommendations to rescind Resolution 1994-79 and adopt a Policy for the Placement of Street
Pole Banners and Seasonal Decorations Affixed to Town Infrastructure and Located in the Public
Right-of-Way.
BACKGROUND:
In 1994, the Town Council adopted Resolution 1994-79 which established a Town-wide Policy
regarding the Placement of Banners on Light Standards in the Public Right-of-Way (Attachment
1). Under the Policy, the Town was able to hang artwork banners and to approve banners for
Town sponsored or co-sponsored events. Past examples of banners included the Los Gatos
artwork and Plein Air banners.
The Town has moved away from sponsoring or co-sponsoring events, and instead, more clearly
hosts Town events, such as Spring into Green. In addition, the Youth Commission is working on
an artistic banner to promote a healthy community, and the Chamber of Commerce requested
the ability to provide holiday decorations during the month of December. Thus, the Council
Policy Committee worked on an updated Policy and process for both Street Pole Banners and
Seasonal Decorations that may be implemented for today’s circumstances. As part of this
PAGE 2 OF 3
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE POLICY COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATION TO RESCIND
RESOLUTION 1994-79 AND ADOPT A POLICY FOR THE PLACEMENT OF
STREET POLE BANNERS AND SEASONAL DECORATIONS AFFIXED TO TOWN
INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOCATED IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.
JANUARY 3, 2018
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2018\01-16-18\18 - Street Pole Banners & Decoration Policy\Staff Report FINAL.docx
BACKGROUND (Cont’d):
agenda item, the Council Policy Committee is recommending that the 1994 Resolution be
rescinded.
DISCUSSION:
The Policy Committee met in November and discussed the Street Pole Banner Policy. During
that discussion, seasonal decorations and the ability to include community groups in providing
banners and decorations was discussed. Staff also presented research on the policies and
procedures used by other jurisdictions to provide benchmarking for the Committee. The Policy
Committee provided staff with direction to draft a single Policy that incorporated both street
pole banners and seasonal decorations. The Committee met again on December 14 to review
the draft and provided additional feedback to the staff. Several members of the community
also attended the meeting and provided input though public comment . Staff has updated the
draft (Attachment 2) to reflect the recommendations of the Committee.
The draft Policy, pursuant to the Policy Committee’s discussion, addresses Town-wide
considerations, identifies specific seasonal decoration opportunities, includes criteria for
banners and decorations, and outlines a process for evaluating proposed banners and
decorations. As proposed, the discretion for approval would rest with the Town Manager.
This Policy would provide the opportunity for community organizations to promote events and
enhance the streetscape during the designated seasonal periods. Staff is working to organize
zones of street poles in downtown and along Los Gatos Boulevard to offer the opportunity for
multiple banners to be showcased at once. Additionally, staff is in the process of identifying the
hardware replacements and updates needed on street poles to offer consistent banner size
requirements for all poles.
If approved, the work of installing the banners would be contracted to a t hird-party vendor and
the fee would be passed along to the event or commun ity group providing the banners as
current staffing levels could not absorb this workload. This fee had not yet been researched or
estimated. Through discussion at the Policy Committee, it was recommended that one banner
always be replaced by another banner, so that the poles do not remain vacant and to reduce
the costs of installation.
The current inventory of Town street pole banners is in disrepair. The Town could create and
purchase an inventory of its own banners to be hung on the poles when not occupied by an
event or community banner. If this is the will of the Council, the staff could research the cost of
Town banners and return to the Council with estimates as part of the 2018/19 budget process.
PAGE 3 OF 3
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE POLICY COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATION TO RESCIND
RESOLUTION 1994-79 AND ADOPT A POLICY FOR THE PLACEMENT OF
STREET POLE BANNERS AND SEASONAL DECORATIONS AFFIXED TO TOWN
INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOCATED IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.
JANUARY 3, 2018
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2018\01-16-18\18 - Street Pole Banners & Decoration Policy\Staff Report FINAL.docx
DISCUSSION (Cont’d):
Staff is also working on a cost estimate to replace and/or repair existing banner hardware on
street light poles that could come forward as a budget adjustment on February 20, 2018 or as a
new capital improvement project for next fiscal year, depending on the magnitude of the costs.
This Policy would provide the framework for staff to work with the street pole banner and
seasonal decoration applicants to accommodate as many requests as reasonable and provide
the opportunity for a variety of events and community groups to take part in providing banners
and/or decorations.
CONCLUSION:
Staff is recommending that the Town Council discuss and consider the Policy Committee’s
recommendations to rescind Resolution 1994-79 (Attachment 1) and adopt a policy for the
Placement of Street Pole Banners and Seasonal Decorations Affixed to Town Infrastructure and
Located in the Public Right-of-Way (Attachment 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
It has been determined that there is no possibility that this project will have a significant impact
on the environment; therefore, the project is not subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act (Section 15061 (b)(3)).
COORDINATION:
The preparation of this report was completed by the Town Manager, Town Attorney, Director
of Parks and Public Works, and Economic Vitality Manager .
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adoption of the Policy itself has no fiscal impacts. An analysis of all Town fees is underway
and it is expected that a proposed fee to install and change banners would be part of the
proposed fee schedule. As part of the 2018/19 budget process, staff can prepare a cost
estimate for the production, installation, and de-installation of any Town banners.
Attachments:
1. Resolution 1994-79
2. Draft Policy for the Placement of Street Pole Banners and Seasonal Decorations Affixed to
Town Infrastructure and Located in the Public Right-of-Way.