Item - 2023.PH7.15

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 2378-2410 Eglinton 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 16, 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”) applied to City Council to amend the Sign By-law. The aim was to replace the existing regulations concerning third-party signs with new regulations for the premises at 2378-2410 Eglinton Avenue East (“The Subject Premises”), designated as a Commercial Residential (“CR”) Sign District. The Applicant initially proposed the Previous Proposal, which the Planning and Housing Committee considered at its May 2019 meeting. The committee referred it back to the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, for further discussions with the Applicant. The Applicant subsequently revised the Previous Proposal and is now applying for an amendment to replace the existing third-party sign regulations applicable to the Subject Premises with new regulations (“The Current Amendment Proposal”).

The Current Amendment Proposal would allow for and regulate the Proposed Sign, a third-party electronic ground sign. The Proposed Sign would contain two sign faces in a “V-shaped” configuration, displaying static copy on one side and electronic copy on the other. Each side would have a sign face area of 18.6 square metres, with a height of not more than 7.62 metres. The Proposed Sign would face and be in close proximity to various forms of “Residential Sign Districts,” as well as being in close proximity to multiple other third-party signs. 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. The proposal would also require the removal of an existing third-party ground sign erected under the provisions of a Sign by-law of a former area municipality (the “Existing Sign”). Additionally, the initial permit term would be modified to 10 years from the usual 5 years.

The Current Amendment Proposal contains regulations that allow for and regulate 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 the maximum term of a sign permit to be 5 years rather than the 10 years sought by the Current Proposed Amendment.

• The Sign By-law typically prohibits third-party signs from having sign faces displayed in a “V-shaped” configuration.

• A sign face area of 18.6 square metres 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 60-135 metres of, and facing a CR 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 metres to or facing these types of Sign Districts.

• The Proposed Sign would be allowed to be erected within 90 metres of another third-party sign, where the Sign By-law generally prohibits third-party electronic signs from being within 150 metres of another third-party sign.

Toronto Building does not recommend approval of the Current Amendment Proposal to replace the existing regulations for 2378-2410 Eglinton Avenue East.

It is the opinion of the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, that the Applicant has not provided sufficient justification for why the existing regulations for the Subject Premises are unsuitable 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.