Campaign Sign Regulations | City of Walnut Creek

In an effort to treat all political candidates and ballot measures with fairness and consistency, the City of Walnut Creek has developed regulations related to political campaign signs. The regulations govern placement of signs and the length of time they may be displayed.

Click on the tab below to view a full summary of the sign regulations as they relate to political signs within the City of Walnut Creek:

Summary of Sign Regulations: Political Signs

The sign ordinance considers a political sign as a temporary non-commercial sign and as such, is regulated by Section 10-8.108 of the Walnut Creek Municipal Code. A summary of the regulations is stated below.

In general, the City does not require design review approval or a building permit for political signs. The size, shape, color, and design are not regulated. The location and length of time of display are regulated.

PLACEMENT:

Political signs may be displayed on any privately owned or maintained lot or parcel of land.
Permission of the property owner IS required.
Signs shall NOT be placed in such a manner as to obstruct or interfere with traffic or endanger the health or safety of people or endanger property.
Signs shall NOT be attached to any utility pole, fence, building, structure, object, tree or other vegetation located upon or within any public right-of-way or publicly owned or maintained land.

LENGTH OF DISPLAY:

Signs shall not be erected earlier than ninety (90) days before the election to which they relate.
Signs shall be removed within seven (7) days after the election to which they relate.

REMOVAL BY THE CITY:

Code Enforcement is authorized to remove political signs from public property.
Signs removed by City employees shall be taken to the City’s Corporation Yard. The City shall immediately attempt to notify the owner of the sign, if such information can be ascertained, to inform the owner of the procedures for retrieving the sign.

RETRIEVAL OF SIGNS:

Any person desiring to retrieve a sign removed by the City may do so upon the payment of an administrative fine of ninety ($92.50) dollars for each sign as per the City’s Fees and Charges schedule.
If a person wishes to contest the fact that a sign was placed in violation of this Section prior to paying the fine, he or she shall have the right to an administrative hearing before the Zoning Administrator. If the Zoning Administrator finds that the sign was lawfully posted, he or she shall return the sign without an administrative penalty or the issuance of a citation.

DESTRUCTION OF SIGNS:

Any temporary sign removed by the City may be considered abandoned if it is not retrieved within fifteen (15) days after the date of such removal, and may be disposed of by the City without liability.

Other Clarifications of Signage Process

The sign ordinance considers a political sign as a temporary non-commercial sign and as such, is regulated by Section 10-8.108 of the Walnut Creek Municipal Code.

ROLES:

The City Clerk is the Elections Official for the City of Walnut Creek and as such, oversees the election process. The City Clerk will make available to all candidates or campaign committees the Walnut Creek Municipal Code section on temporary signage and will provide information to candidates and committees on process, regulations and deadlines.
Code Enforcement officers are responsible for signage violation enforcement with regard to placement and timing.

SIGN COMPLAINT PROCESS:

All political sign complaints are processed through the City Clerk’s office. When the City Clerk’s office receives a complaint regarding a possible political sign violation, the City Clerk’s office will contact Code Enforcement and advise them of the complaint. Code Enforcement will then review the issue and take the appropriate action.

In addition, if a Code Enforcement Officer views a political sign in violation of the Walnut Creek Municipal Code, the Code Enforcement Officer may take immediate action regarding the violation without having to first inform the City Clerk’s office.

Each time a candidate’s sign is removed for a violation, Code Enforcement will notify the City Clerk’s office of the location where the sign was found. The City Clerk will then notify the candidate of the sign removal and the method for its retrieval.

EXAMPLES OF LEGAL AND ILLEGAL SIGNAGE PLACEMENT:

	LEGAL	ILLEGAL
Home Window*	X
Storefront Windows*	X
Roundabout at Walnut and Oak Grove Drive		X
City Open Space or Parks		X
School Property		X
City Facilities – Library, Lesher Center, etc.		X
Broadway Extension (between Newell & Rudgear)		X

In the matter of political sign regulations in the unincorporated areas of Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County, click here.

Things to Remember:

Signs may be placed on private property only with the property owners permission.
Walnut Creek’s sign regulations prohibit any signs from being located upon or within any public right-of-way or publicly owned or maintained land.
On Election Day, candidates may not distribute literature or post signs inside polling places or within 100 feet of any building in which a polling place is located or anywhere on the public property on which the polling place is located (California Election Code Section 18370)

Questions concerning campaign sign regulations should be directed to the Code Enforcement Officer, at (925) 943-5899, ext. 5863 or the City Clerk’s office at (925) 943-5818.