City Council
MEETING DATE: 12/9/2015
TITLE:
Title
Roadside Memorials
End
FROM:
Pat Milos, Community Development Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council receive a report related to Roadside Memorials, discuss the issue and provide direction to staff.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Roadside memorials are constructed to commemorate a site where a person passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. They are intermittent and most often created by family members or friends of the deceased. There are several types of memorials consisting of flowers, balloons, wreathes, candles hand written messages, personal mementos, religious symbols and on occasion a ghost bike. These items are often placed in the City right of ways without permission. CM Carnevale requested a Council discussion on City policies related to roadside memorials.
DISCUSSION:
Chapter 14 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code governs the lawful use of public right of ways. The current code does not address roadside memorials directly, but does restrict accessing, placing structures and "any alterations of any nature" without first acquiring an Encroachment Permit from the Engineering Department.
The practice of allowing roadside memorials to be erected in public right of ways is a controversial and sensitive issue. Currently the City of Cathedral City has no written policy related to roadside memorials.
The Public Works Department's current stance is to be sensitive to the individual situations by allowing the memorials to remain in the public right of ways providing that they do not create any line of sight restrictions for vehicles, do not create a distraction to vehicle operators and/or create a traffic hazard. With no notice given, Public Works then removes the roadside memorials after about 60 days.
Staff contacted other Coachella Valley cities regarding their policies or ordinances, but did not receive any responses. This could reflect the lack of formal policies or ordinances in the other cities as well.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no related fiscal impact with this report.
ATTACHMENTS:
No Attachments