Item - 2023.PH7.14

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council refuse the application to amend the Sign By-law to add an area- specific amendment to Schedule 'B' of Chapter 694, Signage Master Plans and Area-Specific Amendments, to replace the existing Sign By-law regulations concerning third party signs applicable to the premises municipally known as 2075 Lawrence Avenue East with regulations to allow for, and regulate, a single third party electronic ground sign, as described in Attachment 1 of the report (October 12, 2023) from the Acting Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building.

Toronto's Sign By-law is a harmonized, City-wide set of regulations governing signs which was adopted in 2010. The Sign By-law contains a process for any member of the public to apply to City Council to amend the Sign By-law to implement significant changes to the sign regulations for a specific property or area. Applications are commonly made requesting amendments to the Sign By-law to allow signs that are prohibited, to remove permissions for signs in an area, or to modify the administrative requirements of the Sign By-law. The Chief Building Official ("CBO") brings applications to amend the Sign By-law together on an annual basis for City Council consideration, so that that City Council can more easily assess the overall and cumulative impact of these applications on the city's built environment, and the Sign By-law itself.

In 2018, Pattison Outdoor Advertising (the “Applicant”) made an application requesting that City Council amend the Sign By-law (“the Previous Proposal”). This amendment would have allowed for the replacement of the existing regulations concerning third-party signs at 2075 Lawrence Avenue East (the “Subject Premises”), located in a Commercial Residential (“CR”) Sign District, with new regulations. The Planning and Housing Committee considered the Previous Proposal at its May 2019 meeting and referred it back to the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building for further discussions with the Applicant.

Subsequently, the Applicant revised the Previous Proposal and is now applying for a similar amendment to replace the third-party sign regulations applicable to the Subject Premises with new regulations. The new regulations would allow for, and regulate, a third-party electronic ground sign in a CR Sign District, where it is not a permitted sign type (the “Current Amendment Proposal”).

The Current Amendment Proposal would allow for and regulate the Proposed Sign, a third-party electronic ground sign containing two sign faces in a back-to-back configuration. Each side would display electronic static copy with a sign face area of 18.6 square meters, which is more than six times larger than permitted by the Sign By-law. The maximum height of the Proposed Sign would not be more than 7.65 meters.

The Current Amendment Proposal would have the Proposed Sign be limited to a maximum illumination level of 150 nits during the period between sunset and sunrise. It also contains provisions which would require the removal of multiple existing third-party ground signs erected under the Sign By-law (the “Existing Signs”); require the removal of various temporary signs; and the revocation of all associated permits. The Current Amendment Proposal also modifies the initial sign permit term for the Proposed Sign to 10 years from the usual 5 years.

The Current Amendment Proposal contains regulations allowing for, and regulating, the Proposed Sign. These regulations would be a significant departure from the regulations enacted by City Council concerning third-party electronic ground signs, the Subject Premises, and other premises within the City in the following ways:

· The Sign By-law mandates that the maximum term of a sign permit be 5 years rather than the 10 years sought by the Current Amendment Proposal.

· The Sign By-law generally prohibits third-party electronic ground signs in CR Sign Districts.

· A sign face area of 18.6 square meters is more than six times larger than permitted for a third-party sign in a CR Sign District, such as the Subject Premises, by the Sign By-law.

· The Proposed Sign would be allowed to be erected within 40-60 meters of and facing an Institutional (I) Sign District, Open Space (OS) Sign District, Residential (“R”) Sign District, and a Residential Apartment (“RA”) Sign District, where the Sign By-law generally prohibits third-party electronic signs from being closer than 250 meters to and facing these Sign Districts.

Toronto Building does not recommend approval of the Current Amendment Proposal to replace the existing regulations for 2075 Lawrence Avenue East.

In the opinion of the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building (“CBO”), the Applicant has provided an insufficient basis as to why the existing regulations for the Subject Premises are not suitable for the current and long-term uses of the Subject Premises, the surrounding area, and the City as a whole. Furthermore, it is the CBO’s opinion that the third-party electronic sign that would be allowed under the Current Amendment Proposal is not compatible with the Sign District, Zoning By-law, and Official Plan designations for the property. In addition, CBO believes that the Proposed Sign would also add to sign clutter in the area and would conflict with existing and future first-party signs on the Subject Premises and surrounding area.