Title
[Pass for Publication] An Ordinance Deleting and Adding Section 15.148.965 of the Sacramento City Code, Relating to Agreements for Digital Billboards (M25-012)
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FileID
File ID: 2025-01070
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: 1) Review an Ordinance deleting and adding section 15.148.965 of the Sacramento City Code, relating to agreements for digital billboards; and 2) pass for publication the Ordinance title per Sacramento City Charter section 32(c), for City Council consideration on February 24, 2026.
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Contact
Contact: Matthew Sites, Senior Architect, AIA, LEED AP, (916) 808-7646, msites@cityofsacramento.org; Bruce Monighan, Urban Design Manager, (916) 808-5260, bmonighan@cityofsacramento.org; Community Development Department
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Presenter
Presenter: Matthew Sites, Senior Architect, AIA, LEED AP, (916) 808-7646, Community Development Department
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Ordinance (Redline)
3-Ordinance (Clean)
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: On June 10, 2025, the City Council approved multiple agreements, collectively referred to as the “Definitive Documents,” between Downtown Railyard Venture, LLC, Indomitable Ventures, LLC, and the City. These agreements were executed to facilitate the establishment and development of new entertainment venues within the Railyards.
The Definitive Documents include the comprehensive project agreement (City Contract #2025-4665), in which the City agreed to bring forward for City Council consideration any amendments to the Sacramento City Code necessary for Indomitable to install and operate up to seven digital billboards in the city. To satisfy this obligation, staff is recommending revisions to city code section 15.148.965, which addresses agreements for digital billboards.
Currently, section 15.148.965 addresses two kinds of agreements for digital billboards -relocation agreements and funding agreements for an indoor arena or outdoor stadium that is capable of hosting professional major-league sports and has permanent seating for at least 15,000 persons. The maximum number of digital billboards allowed under a funding agreement for an indoor arena or outdoor stadium is six. To accomplish the goal of allowing Indomitable to install and operate up to seven digital billboards in the city, staff proposes to revise section 15.148.965 to authorize up to seven digital billboards in connection with a funding agreement for an outdoor stadium that is capable of hosting professional major-league sports and has permanent seating for at least 12,000 persons. Staff is not proposing any changes to the minimum seating requirements or maximum number of digital billboards for indoor arenas. Consistent with the current requirements, all digital billboards must be located on City-owned or City-leased property.
To increase transparency and facilitate navigation through the city code, section 15.148.965 should address all agreements for digital billboards authorized by the city code. As a result, staff recommends revising section 15.148.965 to refer to agreements for digital billboards in Railyards sign district - subdistrict 3. The substantive provisions related to these agreements will be adopted as part of a separate ordinance.
The remainder of the proposed changes to section 15.148.965 are organizational and non-substantive, including the correction of a typographical/clerical error in the ordinance that was presented to the Law and Legislation Committee on November 18, 2025.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: Sign regulations are used to preserve and improve the appearance of the City as a desirable place in which to live; to safeguard and enhance property values; to protect public and private investment in buildings and open spaces; and to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare. The City and its residents will benefit from funding agreements for new digital billboards, as the digital-billboard owners will contribute significantly to the construction of a facility capable of supporting a major-league sports team. In addition, limiting the construction of digital billboards to specific City-owned and City-leased lands selected by the City Council in consultation with City staff will prevent the uncontrolled proliferation of digital billboards throughout the City while also promoting new technology to increase economic vitality for businesses.
The proposed ordinance would also further the following goals in the City’s 2040 General Plan:
Goal E-1 Business Attraction and Development A dynamic, resilient economy with a diverse array of business in established and emerging industry sectors.
Policy E-1.6 Growth in Opportunity Areas. The City should endeavor to work with property owners, particularly those in Opportunity Areas, to encourage development projects that generate local jobs and further inclusive economic development objectives.
The city entered into agreements with the Indomitable to facilitate construction of a major sports and entertainment venue that will serve as a regional economic catalyst. Amending existing city ordinance to allow seven freeway digital billboards financially supports the outdoor stadium for professional sports is consistent with General Plan Policy E-1.6. The Sacramento Railyards is designated as an Opportunity Area in the General Plan, identified for strategic reinvestment and employment-generating uses.
These agreements demonstrate the City’s commitment to working collaboratively with property owners and private partners to advance inclusive economic development objectives. The stadium will generate substantial construction and permanent jobs, support local contracting opportunities, and stimulate secondary economic activity in hospitality, retail, and tourism sectors. Development of this currently vacant site will activate surrounding parcels, attract complementary investment, and encourage additional residential and mixed-use development consistent with the Railyards Specific Plan.
Goal E-2 Sustained and Inclusive Growth Sustained, inclusive growth that generates long-term, shared value in the community and creates economic opportunities for all residents.
Policy E-2.5 Opportunity Zones. The City should consider use of development agreements and other mechanisms to help ensure that inclusive economic objectives are achieved as development occurs in Opportunity Zones (as defined in Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017) and throughout the city.
The City Council approved multiple agreements to serve as the principal mechanism to align private investment with public policy objectives, ensuring that the project contributes to workforce participation, infrastructure funding, and local economic inclusion. The preliminary term sheet required the City to implement several terms associated with the stadium effort. One of those actions is the amendment of the City Sign Code relative to highway digital billboards associated with major event venues. Granting seven new freeway digital billboards throughout the city provides revenue to support stadium construction just as was completed for the Golden 1 Center project.
Through these agreements, the City secured commitments that transform the Railyards Opportunity Zone incentive into a community benefit tool-linking new capital investment to local hiring, contracting, and business development opportunities. The stadium project exemplifies how Opportunity Zone investment can be structured to achieve shared value, catalyze adjacent development, and create equitable economic opportunity for residents citywide.
Goal LUP-9 Arts, Culture and Entertainment. Arts, culture, and entertainment that enriches neighborhood quality of life, strengthens community identity, and contributes to economic prosperity.
Policy LUP-9.1 Cultural and Entertainment Centers. The City shall support the equitable development of cultural, art, entertainment, and recreational facilities and events in the city to attract visitors, support a quality of life for residents, celebrate and strengthen Sacramento’s unique identity.
Policy LUP-9.3 Assembly Facilities and Event Centers. The City shall encourage and support the development of assembly facilities for social, cultural, entertainment, sports, educational, and religious activities. The design and programming of these facilities should reflect the diversity of the community.
The City’s goals and policies promoting the development and activation of vacant parcels within the Railyards are exemplified through several high-impact projects, including the new Kaiser Hospital, the historic Paintshop music venue, and the proposed Republic FC Soccer Stadium, which represents a major component of this strategy. Construction of the stadium requires substantial private capital, with revenues from supporting elements, such as digital billboards, providing an important, though modest, portion of funding.
The stadium directly advances Goal LUP-9 by complementing other cultural and entertainment venues in the city, supporting a diversity of activity types and attracting visitors to the area. Once operational, the stadium will serve as a catalyst for additional development, encouraging complementary cultural, residential, and commercial projects, consistent with Policy LUP-9.1, which emphasizes equitable development of cultural and entertainment facilities, and Policy LUP-9.3, which encourages assembly facilities that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the community.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: The proposed amendment will allow for additional digital billboards on both City-owned and City-leased lands, resulting in significant financial contributions to the construction of new outdoor stadiums for hosting professional sports, such as the USL. Furthermore, the digital billboards are expected to display advertising geared to increase business within the Sacramento region and to increase the region’s economic vitality.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: Section 15.148.965 currently does not itself authorize the construction of any digital billboards. It only sets forth the conditions and requirements, including California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, under which the City Council may approve digital billboards that might be proposed for specific sites yet to be identified. The proposed amendment does not change this. Accordingly, the proposed action is not a “project” for purposes of CEQA, as meaningful environmental review is not yet possible. (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15004, subd. (b); Friends of the Sierra Railroad v. Tuolumne Park & Recreation Dist. (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 643, 653-659 [holding that a district’s proposed sale of land to an Indian tribe interested in developing it was not a project because no concrete development plans had been proposed, and “CEQA review in the absence of a plan involving an identifiable impact would not be meaningful”].) The City retains discretion whether to enter into an agreement for digital billboards after conducting appropriate CEQA review. Even if the proposed action were a “project,” it would be exempt from CEQA because there is no possibility that it might have a significant effect on the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15061(b)(3)) and because it is an administrative action that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 15060(c)(3) and 15378(b)(5)).
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Sustainability
Sustainability: No sustainability considerations apply to the proposed ordinance.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: On November 18, 2025, the Law and Legislation Committee reviewed the draft ordinance and forwarded it to the City Council for consideration.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The Council-approved Definitive Documents acknowledge the strategic and economic role of digital signage in the success of privately funded professional outdoor sports stadiums. The comprehensive project agreement requires the City to bring forward for City Council consideration any amendments to the city code required to allow seven digital billboards in the city. Consistent with the Definitive Documents and the comprehensive project agreement, the proposed ordinance amends city code section 15.148.965 to authorize agreements for up to seven digital billboards located on City-owned or City-leased properties associated with the private funding of a professional outdoor sports stadium.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The proposed amendment will authorize agreements for up to seven new digital billboards on City-owned or City-leased lands associated with private funding of an outdoor stadium for professional sports. The proposed amendment will cause no negative impact to the General Fund; in particular, there will be no cost to the City for any new billboard.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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