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.

 

2.  City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to include minimum separation distances, as established by the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, for A-frame and portable signs from installations and utilities such as bicycle rings, fire hydrants or fire connections, intersection, or pedestrian crossovers, postering columns, benches, garbage/recycling bins, and transit stops and shelters as a location requirement.

 

3.  City Council amend Chapter 693, Signs to include that an A-frame or Portable Sign may be moved or removed 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.”

 

15.  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, Advocacy Signs must adhere to the following:

 

  1. Only one sign is allowed on a private property and/or its abutting public property.
  2. No permit is required.
  3. The sign may be displayed on private property and/or the public property in the boulevard abutting the private property provided that the advocacy 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.

  1. Consent of the owner or occupant of the premise is required before the erection of the sign.
  2. The sign may have no more than two sign faces and no sign can be larger than 1.2 metres in square area.
  3. The sign may only be attached to a stake or a fence other than a stake that is vegetation (except for an advocacy sign on private property secured to a window or balcony).
  4. The sign cannot be higher than two metres above grade (except for an advocacy sign on private property secured to a window or balcony).

 

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:

 

  1. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to permits granted or agreements entered into before March 1, 2024 until the permits or agreements are renewed, provided that the holders of the permits and parties to the agreements continue to comply with the terms of their permits or agreements and that the permits or agreements are not revoked or terminated and do not expire without renewal; and;

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