Item - 2019.SB4.8

The Sign Variance Committee:

1. Refused the requested variances required to allow the Applicant to obtain a permit for the erection and display of one third party electronic ground sign at 115 City View Drive, as described in Attachment 1 to the report (June 18, 2019) from the Manager, Sign By-law Unit, Toronto Building.

A decision of the Sign Variance Committee, in the case of a decision to refuse to grant a variance, is final and binding on the date the decision was issued; and in the case of a decision to grant a variance with conditions, the decision is final and binding 21 days after the date the decision was issued unless an application to consider is filed by the ward councillor in accordance with §694-30S of Chapter 694 of the City of Toronto Municipal Code.
 

This report reviews and makes recommendations to the Sign Variance Committee regarding a proposal by Pattison Outdoor, on behalf of the property owner (the Applicant), to allow for one third party electronic ground sign displaying electronic static copy (the Proposed Sign), as described in further detail in Attachment 1.

The Proposed Sign would be located at the south-west corner of the property municipally known as 115 City View Drive (the Subject Premises), which contains a one-storey building intended for light industrial use. The Proposed Sign would have a height of 9.14 metres from grade, and contain two sign faces in a back-to-back configuration with a sign face area of 18.6 square metres on each side.

The Subject Premises is designated as an E Sign District, which allows third party electronic ground signs, and the proposed height and sign face area are in-line with the Sign By-law requirements for third party electronic ground signs in an E Sign District.

Only the south-facing sign face would display electronic static copy; the north sign face would display static copy. The Proposed Sign is intended to capture the attention of traffic travelling along City View Drive and, further west, Highway 27.

The Subject Premises is located in two overlapping area-specific restrictions specified by the Sign By-law, where third party signs shall not be erected. It would be located within 400 metres of the northern limit of Highway 409, and within 400 metres of the eastern limit of Highway 27.

The Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building (the CBO), has determined that the Applicant has not provided sufficient information to establish that the Proposed Sign meets all nine of the criteria set out in §694-30A of the Sign By-law, which are required for a variance approval to be granted.

Specifically, the Applicant has not provided sufficient information to allow the CBO to determine that the Proposed Sign is compatible with the development of the premises and surrounding area, supports the Official Plan objectives for the premises and surrounding area, does not alter the character of the premises or surrounding area, and is not contrary to the public interest.