Item - 2019.PH6.9

The Planning and Housing Committee withdrew Item PH6.9 from the agenda.

The City received an application to amend the Sign Bylaw to enable 494 Richmond Street East to contain a third party electronic ground sign with one sign face, directed east.

The Sign Bylaw is a harmonized, City-wide set of regulations governing signs, adopted in 2010. Under the Sign Bylaw, City Council considers applications from the public where significant changes are requested. The Chief Building Official (CBO) brings forward all of the applications to amend the Sign Bylaw on an annual basis, so that City Council can consider the overall and cumulative impact of these applications on the City's built environment, and the Sign Bylaw itself.

This report is in response to an application for an amendment that would facilitate the erection and display of a new third party electronic ground sign, and the removal of an existing third party ground sign at 520 Richmond Street East. Under the current Sign Bylaw, neither the existing third party ground sign nor the proposed third party electronic ground sign is permitted in a Commercial Residential (CR) Sign District. The applicant's proposal would require that an existing third party ground sign at 520 Richmond Street East be removed prior to the sign permit being issued. The proposed amendment also seeks to modify the applicable sign permit term by extending the initial permit from five to ten years.

Toronto Building, in consultation with Transportation Services, City Planning and Economic Development and Culture, has conducted a thorough review of the application, and does not believe that the applicant’s rationale is consistent with the objectives of the Sign Bylaw.

Toronto Building does not recommend approval of this amendment as the proposed sign is likely to have a negative impact on a 19-and 22-storey residential building to the south-east, and a 24-storey residential building to the south. In addition, the proposed sign adds to sign clutter in the area as there are two existing third party signs within the 150 metre separation distance required by the Sign Bylaw.