Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35 - Sign Regulations Housekeeping/Amendments Review

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT

TO: Committee of the Whole FROM: James Davison MCIP RPP, Planner DATE: March 1, 2016 MEETING DATE: March 8, 2016

LAND USE BYLAW 1990 No. 35 - SIGN REGULATIONS HOUSEKEEPING/AMENDMENTS REVIEW

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive this report for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To present Committee with a report outlining and summarizing proposed amendments to the sign regulations within Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35. These amendments are to address straightforward and much-desired changes in advance of a more comprehensive draft of a stand-alone Sign Bylaw coming later in 2016, as well as minor housekeeping.

PROCESS

The process for Sign Bylaw regulation drafting will be as such:

1. March 8, 2016: Report to Committee (this report) which will inform a bylaw amendment to be brought forward in April for readings to address highly desired, much discussed amendments to Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35 as discussed here.
2. April 12, 2016: Report to Committee of the Whole outlining the recommended direction for the stand-alone Sign Bylaw, and providing Committee with the opportunity for input on all sign matters.
3. July 19, 2016: Staff’s goal is to have a stand-alone Sign Bylaw ready for adoption before the summer Council break.

BACKGROUND

The sign regulations within Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35 need updating. Staff regularly encounters a disparity between the sign regulations and the desires of contemporary advertising and exposure for businesses and real estate; in particular with sandwich boards and commercial real estate signs. Staff wishes to explore permitting these two sign types.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

The regulations to be amended will be listed here, with the recommended changes in plain language (rather than as drafted bylaw) and explanation immediately below each change. The changes are in the bullet points.

1. Section 2 Sign Zones Housekeeping

• Add any missing zones in the appropriate categories, and amend the existing zones to match those within Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014.

A complete summary of zone additions to the Sign Zones will be provided at the time of Bylaw reading.

2. Sign Type: Commercial Real Estate Sign

• Add a 4’ x 8’ commercial real estate sign as a permitted use in rural, residential, commercial and industrial zones.

Currently an industry-standard 4’ x 8’ commercial real estate sign designed to advertise the sale of a vacant property or units within a new development requires a temporary sign permit, a staff report, and the permission of Council. Typically there is an application for one sign facing each roadway, to a maximum of two signs per property. Staff sees approximately 3-5 of these applications per year, and estimates that at least as many get posted in the municipality with no permits.

The recommendation is that a commercial sign type:

• is limited to one 4’ x 8’ sign per highway frontage to a maximum of two signs per property,
• must be renewed after one year after issuance,
• must be associated with the sale or lease of real estate on the property which it is situated

It is proposed that these signs are made a permitted sign type such that staff can issue a permit. The fee for a temporary sign permit is the same as any permanent sign: $30 plus 5% of the cost of the sign construction. The signs are usually fairly basic, so the total sign permit fee is often less than $100. The Town does not recover staff time on such an application with the permit fee – compare this to the $500 fee for a Development Variance Permit application, which requires the same amount of work from staff. As part of the comprehensive Sign Bylaw Review, it will be recommended that temporary sign permits be increased to this same $500 fee.

Staff sees commercial real estate signs as an accepted and desired sign type for developers and potential customers alike. It is a business-friendly practice to permit them at a staff-level such that they can be issued quickly at a time savings for staff and customer alike.

3. Sign Type: Portable Sign ( or ‘Sandwich Board’)

• Add a portable sandwich board sign type as a permitted use.

Currently sandwich boards are a prohibited sign type within the Town of View Royal. Nevertheless, sandwich boards are a prevalent sight in many portions of the municipality. They receive very few complaints and are heavily desired and used by the business community in View Royal.

Staff wishes to take the City of Victoria’s lead and permit what would be a much more limited use of sandwich boards than what is currently seen. The City of Victoria Portable Sign Information sheet is attached to the report. Staff proposes many of the regulations which the City of Victoria has implemented:

• Sign permit requires an associated, valid business license
• Must be placed at curb with minimum of 2m of clear sidewalk space, on a sidewalk with a minimum width of 2.6m (very few places in View Royal have this – staff may need to amend)
• Must only be placed on public property (staff recommends that only permanent sign types be placed on private property)
• Must be adjacent to lot of business for which it advertises
• One portable sign per business
• Must have liability insurance of a minimum $2M
• Only ground floor businesses can have portable signs
• There is a fee for both use of public property, and the sign fee itself (Victoria is $5 and $30, respectively)
• The sign is removed when business is not open

Staff sees sandwich board signs improperly placed often represent a tripping hazard, accessibility barrier and a traffic nuisance, and as a result unenforced or unregulated signs present a liability exposure. On the other hand, properly placed sandwich boards can be a business-friendly and desired sign type which enhances the vitality and liveability of View Royal.

CONCLUSION

After direction from Committee, the next step will be to amend the Zoning Bylaw to reflect Committee’s desired direction based on this report, and bring the bylaw back to Council for first and second readings. A legal review will be required to ensure these changes are done in a legally viable manner.

While there are no amendments listed here which staff deem to be specifically urgent, all are important and represent a high priority for staff.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Committee receive this report for information.

SUBMITTED BY James Davison MCIP RPP, Planner

REVIEWED BY Lindsay Chase, MCIP RPP, Director of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS

1. City of Victoria Portable Sign Bylaw Information Sheet