STAFF REPORT: Land Use Bylaw, 1990, No. 35 – Sign Regulation Update

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council receive the March 4, 2014 report regarding amendments to Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35, Part 7, Division 2: Signs.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER'S COMMENTS I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES' COMMENTS I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

The purpose of this report is to present an update to the status of the Sign portion of Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35, in terms of what can be clarified or updated in the short term to address contemporary issues and concerns, and what must be done as part of the ongoing Zoning Bylaw review.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

Part 7 Division 2 of Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35 is devoted to the regulation of signs in the municipality. At 15 pages long, it is not simple or easy to read or understand, and has been amended over the years such that it is no longer a cohesive bylaw clear in scope or purpose. It contains many of the shortcomings existing in the Land Use Bylaw, and specifically suffers from the use of jargon and the lack of illustration. Staff is of the opinion that it does not reflect the values of the municipality, the goals in the Official Community Plan, or the desires of the business and development communities in the Town of View Royal.

The complexity of the bylaw ensures that almost all sign applications received by the municipality fall into one of two categories:

• The sign requires a variance (and thus a Development Variance Permit); or
• The sign requires a Temporary Sign Permit.

The collective result leaves applicants with the sense that the Town is not friendly to or cognizant of the needs of the business and development communities. Additionally, by articulating outdated requirements it is not providing strong and clear regulation ensuring the values of the Town are being upheld. Council needs a stronger compass for determining the appropriateness of sign applications should variances be requested.

Once a new Zoning Bylaw is adopted it will be necessary to develop a stand-alone Sign Bylaw which reduces the instances where variances and temporary sign permits are required to build logical and sensitive signs consistent with other development in the municipality. The new Zoning Bylaw will not include a sign portion; its adoption will not repeal portions of the existing Land Use Bylaw such that they will remain in force until new stand-alone regulation can be drafted.

Staff’s approach to eventually carving off the sign portion of the Land Use Bylaw will be two-fold:

• Draft amendments to the existing division in the Land Use Bylaw to address significant shortcomings.
• Draft a new comprehensive, stand-alone bylaw.

Significant Shortcomings

There are two main categories of shortcomings which can be addressed quickly with Land Use Bylaw amendments:

• Language changes (to clarify what is permitted in the bylaw)
• Regulatory changes (to change what is permitted)

Language Changes

Language changes to the bylaw will address some overlooked or confusing regulation which currently exists but which may need to be clarified. This is a large problem within the bylaw generally, but there are several major areas of concern which need to be highlighted, as they come up consistently in applications and enforcement contexts.

Examples include:

• Signs in the boulevard (not permitted)
• Third-party signs (signs on private property advertising signs on other parcels – not permitted)
• Temporary commercial real estate sign requirements

It should be noted that some of these language issues could be supplemented by changes to the regulation.

Regulatory Changes

These will address shortcomings of the bylaw which are commonly held and/or easy to fix, such that efficiencies are achieved in the issuance of sign permits by reducing the number of variances and temporary sign permits required by applicants. These applications are costly for the Town in terms of staff time, and for applicants in terms of construction and advertising delays.

Examples include:

• The establishment of a permitted size, number and duration for posted commercial real estate signs.
• A reduction in the number of sign types and moving the focus to total visual impact of the signs on the parcel.
• A change from the fixed maximum area of signs on a building (11m2) to a density of signs on the building where the size of a building or site is taken into consideration.
• An increase in the fee for a temporary sign permit to reflect the staff time involved in an application.
• Animated/video sign regulations.

These updates will be accomplished in two steps. The first will include a comprehensive set of immediate changes which can be made to the Land Use Bylaw to better address signage in the municipality. The second phase will delve into appropriate signage within the Town and will result in a comprehensive review of signage issues and eventually will produce a new stand-alone bylaw to regulate signs.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council receive the March 4, 2014 report regarding amendments to Land Use Bylaw 1990 No. 35, Part 7, Division 2: Signs.

SUBMITTED BY: J. Davison MCIP RPP, Planner

REVIEWED BY: L. Chase MCIP RPP, Director of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Land Use Bylaw Part 7 Division 2: Signs