Item - 2026.SB21.1

The Sign Variance Committee:

1. Refused to grant the requested variances to sections 694-15.A, 694-22.D and 694-24.A(23), required to permit the issuance of a permit for the erection and display of the Proposed Sign, as further described in Attachment 1 to the report (February 27, 2026) from the Project Director, Business Transformation, 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.

Kramer Design Associates (the "Applicant") has applied for three variances required to allow the Chief Building Official ("CBO") to issue a sign permit to erect and display a third party electronic window sign, displaying electronic static copy (the "Proposed Sign"), on the premises municipally known as 4804-4812 Yonge Street, in Ward 18 - Willowdale (the "Subject Premises").

The Proposed Sign would have a maximum height of 9.02 metres and would contain one rectangular sign face displaying electronic static copy, with dimensions not exceeding 14.5 metres by 4.0 metres, with total sign face area of approximately 58.0 square metres. The Proposed Sign is described further in Attachment 1.

The Subject Premises is designated as a Commercial Residential ("CR") Sign District, where third party electronic window signs, such as the Proposed Sign, are not expressly permitted. The Proposed Sign would be situated around 6.3 metres of the westerly limit of Yonge Street, entirely within an area governed by a site-specific area restriction that prohibits third party signs from being erected within 450 meters of this street. It would also be located less than 100 metres from an existing third party roof sign, contrary to the Sign By-law separation requirements. Therefore, variances to Chapter 694 are necessary to allow for a non-permitted third party sign type to be erected in the CR Sign District, with a non-conforming proximity to an existing third party sign, within an area where no third party signs are allowed to be displayed.

The Sign By-law contains criteria to be used in evaluating variance application for signs. Specifically, §694-30A states that an application for variance may only be granted where it is established that the Proposed Sign meet each of the eight established criteria. The Sign Variance Committee is required to conduct an evaluation and determine whether the party seeking the proposed variances meets all eight of the mandatory criteria, on the basis of the information presented by the parties before the SVC.

Following a review of the Applicant's submissions and additional City staff research, the CBO has determined that there is not a sufficient basis to conclude that the eight criteria in §694-30A of the Sign By-law have been established with respect to the three variances, as described further in Attachment 1 to this report.