City of Toronto Act,
2006 Public Notice
Temporary
Signs By-law Review
Toronto City
Council will be considering recommendations to adopt amendments to City of Toronto
Municipal Code Chapter 693, Signs, Chapter 694, Signs, General, Chapter 441,
Fees and Charges, and Chapter 27, Council Procedures.
It
is proposed that the amendments be adopted at the City Council meeting to be
held on June 14, 15, and 16 2023, or at a subsequent meeting. The proposed amendments
are outlined in the report titled "Temporary Signs By-law Review”. To view
or obtain a copy of the report, visit the City's website at: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/#/committees/2563/23259. The report
has the following recommendations:
1. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
require that, when located on public property, A-frame and Portable Signs must
be placed curbside and in the Furnishing and Planting Zone, as described by the
City of Toronto's Streetscape Manual, whenever possible and adhere to any
separation distances established by the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing
and Standards.
a. If location requirements are
not met;
b.
If space is required by the City of Toronto or other entity with the
appropriate rights over public property such as a utility company for any
reason including the installation of street furniture or construction; or
c. If space is
required by the Toronto Transit Commission, including for operational,
accessibility, or public safety reasons.
4.
City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
increase the pedestrian clearway requirement to 2.5 metres for streets
identified in Appendix A of the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk
Cafes, Parklets and Marketing Displays.
5. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
align Portable Sign regulations with existing A-frame Sign regulations by
specifying that Portable Signs also cannot be displayed or erected along the
right-of-way areas along Bloor Street East and Bloor Street West between Avenue
Road and Sherbourne Street, or along Yonge Street
south of Davenport Road.
6. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
align Portable Sign regulations with existing A-frame Sign regulations by
specifying that:
a.
Where the frontage associated with the main, front
wall of a building is 6.1 metres or less, a maximum of one Portable Sign per
building may be displayed regardless of the number of businesses in the
premises;
b.
Where the frontage associated with the main,
front wall of a building is more than 6.1 metres, display a maximum of two
Portable Signs per premises regardless of the number of businesses in the
premises; and
c. Despite 6a. and
6b., if a building is on a corner property with two or more walls adjacent to a
highway, one additional Portable Sign may be displayed adjacent to the side
wall of the building.
7. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
establish a new temporary sign type, called "Contracted Services
Signs".
8. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
define a Contracted Services Sign as "a sign advertising a contractor who
repairs, renovates or landscapes a premise."
9. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
direct that, in addition to complying with the general restrictions in the new
Article 1 that apply to all signs and the regulations that apply to all
temporary signs, Contracted Services Signs must adhere to the following:
a. Only one sign per
contractor is allowed on a property.
b. There cannot be more than
three signs on a property.
c. No permit is required.
d. The sign must be erected
entirely on private property.
e. Consent of the owner or
occupant of the property is required before the erection of the sign.
f. The sign may only be
attached to a stake or fence (not including a fence that is vegetation).
g. The sign can only display
content related to a contracted service underway or completed at the property.
h. The sign may have no more
than two sign faces and no sign face can be larger than 0.37 square metres in
area.
i. The sign cannot exceed a
maximum height of 0.61 metres or a maximum width of 0.61 metres.
j. The sign cannot be higher
than two metres above grade.
k. The sign may only be
displayed while the contracted service is occurring or after it has occurred
and must be removed no later than 30 days after the contracted services have
occurred.
10. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
establish a new temporary sign type, called “Home Builder Identification
Signs”.
11. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
define a Home Builder Identification Sign as “a sign identifying a builder or
renovator who constructs or renovates a residential building or related structure.”
12. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
direct that, in addition to complying with the general restrictions in the new
Article 1 that apply to all signs and the regulations that apply to all
temporary signs, Home Builder Identification Signs must adhere to the
following:
a. Only one sign per property
is allowed.
b. No permit is required.
c. The sign must be erected
entirely on private property.
d. Consent of the owner or
occupant of the property is required before the sign is erected.
e. The sign can only display
information related to the builder or renovator responsible for undertaking
work at a residential building or related structure.
f. The sign may have no more
than two sign faces and no sign face can be larger than 1.5 square metres in
area.
g. The sign cannot be higher
than two metres above grade.
h. The sign may only be displayed while
the construction or renovation is occurring or after it has occurred and must
be removed 30 days after the construction or renovation has occurred.
i. The sign may only
be attached to a stake or fence (not including a fence that is vegetation).
13. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
establish a new temporary sign type, called “Advocacy Signs”.
14. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
define an Advocacy Sign as “a sign that advances a point of view and is not for
a commercial purpose, not including an election sign, outsider election sign or
campaign office sign.”
i.
Otherwise adheres to all general restrictions
and specific requirements for a temporary sign;
ii.
Is not located within 1.5 metres of the curb or
the edge of the travelled portion of a highway;
iii.
Is not located within 0.60 metres of either
side of the sidewalk; and
iv.
Is not located within 15 metres of an intersection
or pedestrian crossover of a collector road or arterial road and not located
within 3 metres of an intersection or pedestrian crossover of a local road.
16. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
allow Open House Directional Signs to be displayed up to 2 hours before the
start of the open house and 2 hours after the end of the open house.
17. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
state that there may be no more than six Open House Directional Signs per
advertised property.
18. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
remove the requirement that Mobile Signs may only have black and white
lettering.
19. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
remove the requirement that mobile signs be located directly in front of the
business that the sign is advertising and instead specify that the sign must be
on the property in which the business is located.
20.
City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to increase the maximum number of Mobile
Sign permits issued from 3 to 6 for a single business location in a calendar
year.
21. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to move
the provisions governing construction hoarding signs from Temporary Signs
Article 3 to Article 6 that includes vehicular destination signs and
neighbourhood and business area identification signs; these are sign types
which are administered by the General Manager, Transportation Services.
22. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to prohibit
an A-frame or Portable Sign being displayed where a small frontage café or
small marketing display has been installed and the building frontage is
6-metres or less.
23. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
specify that a business that has a permit for a café or marketing display may
locate an A-frame or portable sign only within the limits of the permitted area
and must have a permit issued under Chapter 693 for the sign.
24. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
remove the required storage period for all signs, except election signs, and
update the removal and disposal provisions accordingly.
25. City Council rename Chapter 693, Signs to be
“Signs, Election and Temporary”.
26. City Council include in the general
restrictions section of Chapter 693, Signs that signs regulated by Chapter 693,
Signs must not damage underground or aboveground services.
27. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to
align regulations for temporary signs by requiring that, except in accordance
with a sign permit, they be no closer than 0.60 metres from a sidewalk or where
there is no sidewalk, 0.60 metres from the travelled portion of the highway,
and direct that this provision be included in the location requirements for all
temporary signs in the amended Chapter.
28. City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to:
a. Establish a minimum fine of $500 and
a maximum fine of $100,000 for offences.
b. Add a special fine in an amount equal
to any economic gain obtained from non-
compliance.
c. Include offences for obstruction and
failure to provide information as required.
d. Designate each offence as a
continuing offence with a minimum daily fine of
$500 and a maximum daily fine of
$10,000 and a total fine which may exceed
$100,000; and
e. Include authority to enter to
inspect, to make orders to comply and to take
remedial
action.
29. City Council add the following transition
provisions to Chapter 693, Signs to establish that:
b. All prosecutions and other
enforcement processes commenced under this chapter which have not been
completed on March 1, 2024 shall be completed as if the chapter had not been
amended on that date.
30.
City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to remove the requirement that sign
owners of A-Frame and Portable Signs must display on the sign a sign permit
identifier issued by the City as evidence that the sign has been authorized.
31. City Council repeal section 694-6A(6) of
Chapter 694, Signs, General, removing signs affiliated with the ongoing
construction or demolition of a building as this sign type will be regulated as
a Home Builder Identification Sign under Chapter 693, Signs.
32. City Council amend Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, Appendix C- Schedule 12, Municipal
Licensing and Standards, to delete fees unique to each sign type (reference
numbers 46, 48, 49, 55, 56, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136) so that the removal,
retrieval, storage, and disposal fees for temporary signs are the same (reference numbers 137, 138, 139, 140), as
outlined in Attachment 1, Table A.
33. City Council amend Chapter 441, Fees and
Charges, Appendix C- Schedule 12, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to update
and include an annual adjustment based on the annual rate of inflation related
to temporary signs, as outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Recommended updates to fees 137, 138, 139, and 140 in Chapter 441,
Fees and Charges, Appendix C- Schedule 12, Municipal Licensing and Standards.
REF
NO. |
SERVICE |
FEE
DESCRIPTION |
CATEGORY |
FEE
BASIS |
2023
FEE |
ANNUAL
ADJUSTMENT |
137 |
Private Properties |
Removal fee for Illegal Temporary Signs |
Full Cost Recovery |
Case |
$100.00 |
NEW Yes |
138 |
Private Properties |
Retrieval fee for Illegal Temporary Signs |
Full Cost Recovery |
Case |
$200.00 |
NEW Yes |
139 |
Private Properties |
Storage fee for Illegal Temporary Signs |
Full Cost Recovery |
NEW Per Day |
$15.00 |
NEW Yes |
140 |
Private Properties |
Disposal fee for Illegal Temporary Signs |
Full Cost Recovery |
Case |
$50.00 |
NEW Yes |
34. City Council amend Chapter 441, Fees and
Charges, Appendix C- Schedule 12, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to delete
fee 414 (Annual fee: –Temporary Sign permit- Portable) and establish two new
fees for the application and renewal of portable sign permits that are
identical to that of A-frame sign permits, as outlined in Table 2 below.
Table
2: Portable Sign permit fee recommended to be deleted and to be made identical
to that of A-Frame Signs, as detailed in Table 3.
NO. |
SERVICE |
FEE
DESCRIPTION |
CATEGORY |
FEE
BASIS |
2023
FEE |
ANNUAL
ADJ. |
414 |
License & Permit Issuance |
Annual fee: Temporary Sign permit - Portable |
Full Cost Recovery |
Annual |
$250.64 |
Yes |
Table 3: Recommended portable
sign-related fees in Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, Appendix C- Schedule 12,
Municipal Licensing and Standards
REF NO. |
SERVICE |
FEE DESCRIPTION |
CATEGORY |
FEE BASIS |
FEE |
ANNUAL ADJ. |
NEW 500 |
Licence & Permit
Issuance |
Application fee: Temporary Sign
permit – Portable |
Full Cost Recovery |
Per application |
$119.05 |
Yes |
NEW 501 |
License & Permit Issuance |
Renewal fee: Temporary Sign
permit – Portable |
Full Cost Recovery |
Per application |
$93.99 |
Yes |
35. City Council authorize the City Solicitor,
City Clerk, and Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to
re-structure, consolidate, and simplify all existing requirements to improve
the readability of the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693 including adding a
section setting out the scope of the By-law, consolidating the general
restrictions that apply to all signs and setting out more clearly the location
requirements, and specific requirements that apply to all sign types, including
attachment requirements, substantially
in accordance with Attachment 2 to the report.
36. City Council direct that Chapter 27,
Council Procedures, Chapter 192, Public Service, Chapter 545, Licensing,
Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafes, Parklets and Marketing
Displays, and Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, Chapter 608, Parks,
and Chapter 694, Signs General be updated to reflect the new title of and new
section numbers in Chapter 693, Signs, as required.
37.
City Council direct that the changes to the Toronto Municipal Code
Chapter 27, Council Procedures, Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, Chapter 693, Signs, and Chapter 694, Signs, General, become effective
as of March 1st, 2024.
If
approved by City Council, City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693, Signs, Chapter
694, Signs, General, and Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, will require amendment.
At
its meeting to be held via video conference and in-person at City Hall, 100
Queen Street West, on Wednesday May 31 at 9:30 a.m., or as soon as possible
thereafter, the Economic and Community Development Committee of Toronto City
Council will hear from any person or by his or her counsel, agent, or
solicitor, who wishes to speak to the matter.
The
proposed amendments are subject to the decisions of the Economic and Community
Development Committee and City Council. Consequently, the proposed amendments
may be modified. Additional or other amendments to the above-noted By-law,
including amendments not contemplated or considered in the proposal by Municipal
Licensing and Standards staff, may occur as a result of the decisions of the
Committee and City Council.
To
submit comments or make a presentation to the Economic and Community
Development Committee on May 31, 2023, please contact the Committee no later
than 12:00
p.m. on May 30, 2023:
Economic and Community Development
Committee
Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West
10th Floor, West Tower, Toronto,
ON, M5H 2N2
Telephone: 416-397-4579; Fax: 416-392-2980
Email: ecdc@toronto.ca
For
further information concerning the Report, please contact:
Ginny
Adey
Director,
Policy & Strategic Support
Municipal
Licensing and Standards
Telephone: 416-338-5576
Email:
Ginny.Adey@toronto.ca
Anna
Fernandes
Director,
Bylaw Enforcement
Municipal
Licensing and Standards
Telephone: 416-396-8221
Email: Anna.Fernandes@toronto.ca
Fiona
Chapman
Director,
Business Licensing & Regulatory Services
Municipal
Licensing and Standards
Telephone:
416-392-3070
Email:
Fiona.Chapman@toronto.ca
Any comments
received after the Committee meeting will be forwarded to City Council.
While
the staff report sets out proposed changes, the Committee and/or City Council
may change these proposals and adopt additional or other amendments that differ
from the recommendations set out in the report. The proposed amendments are
subject to the decision of the Committee and the decision of City Council.
If this
matter is postponed at the Committee meeting or City Council meeting or
considered at a subsequent Committee or City Council meeting, no additional
notice will be provided other than the information on the subsequent Committee
or City Council agenda. Please contact the above City officials if you require
notice in these cases.
The Economic
and Community Development Committee will make its final recommendations on May
31, 2023, which will be forwarded to City Council for its meeting on June 14,
15, and 16, 2023.
Notice to people writing or
making presentations to the Economic and Community Development Committee: The City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City of Toronto Municipal Code
authorize the City of Toronto to collect any personal information in your
communication or presentation to City Council or its Committees.
The City collects this
information to enable it to make informed decisions on the relevant issue(s).
If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations, or other
communications to the City, you should be aware that your name and the fact
that you communicated with the City will become part of the public record and
will appear on the City’s website. The City will also make your communication
and any personal information in it - such as your postal address, telephone
number, or e-mail address - available to the public, unless you expressly
request the City to remove it.
Many Committee, Board, and
Advisory Body meetings are broadcast live over the internet for the public to
view. If you speak at the meeting you will appear in the video broadcast. Video
broadcasts are archived and continue to be publicly available.
If you want to learn more about
why and how the City collects your information, write to the
City Clerk’s Office, Toronto City
Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto ON, M5H 2N2 or by calling 416-397-4592.
Dated at the City of Toronto
this May 24, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk