Report to: General Committee Date of meeting: April 24, 2006

SUBJECT: Election Signs

PREPARED BY: W. Wiles, Manager, By-law Enforcement & Licensing

RECOMMENDATION:

That a by-law be enacted to amend By-law 2002-94 “Sign By-law” to provide appropriate revisions to effect the changes outlined in Schedule A- Identified Issues & Amendment Solution Table;

And that By-law 2002-276 “Fees By-law” be amended to incorporate the proposed fee format, outlined in Schedule A.

RECOMMENDED

BY: ________________________ ________________________

S. Birrell A. Taylor

Town Clerk Commissioner, Corporate Services

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial 5. Environmental

6. Accessibility 7^. Engage 21^st 8. Affected Units 9. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

To provide election sign by-law regulations that:

• are easy to understand for candidates, campaign workers, and citizens
• addresses citizen concerns with the size, number, installation and location of signs
• are easier to enforce and administer for staff
• provide increased cost recovery provisions.

BACKGROUND:

Staff have been maintaining a listing of enforcement, candidate and citizen issues with respect to election sign by-law regulations and enforcement. A review of the issues was completed by staff.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

The review of the current by-law found a number of opportunities for improvement to the by-law:

• Standards- Alignment with York Region Sign By-law regulations

- Create Lawn & Poster Sign definition

• Time Periods- Extend period for removal
• Placement- Prohibit inappropriate locations
• Installation- Affixed to ground, prohibit multiple groupings
• Deposit- Increase maximum amount payable

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION: (cont’d.)

Details on identified issues and concerns, along with the recommended amendment solution, is included in Schedule A- Identified Issues & Amendment Solution Table.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (Separate Attachment):

Not applicable

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Reduced signage clutter on roadways and reduced amounts of non recyclable signage

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Not applicable.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A- Identified Issues & Amendment Solution Table

Appendix B-Designated Markham Road & York Region Road Allowances

Appendix C- Proposed Election Sign Checklist

Appendix A- Identified Issues & Amendment Solution Table

Identified Issues & Concerns	Amendment Solution
Different standards and regulations in Town’s By-law & Region’s By-law Having two sets of regulations is confusing and confusion over what is a municipal and regional road	Align Town’s standards with Region by: no sign within 5m of hydrants no sign within 3m of pavement no sign within 10m driveway max. 1.49m^2sign size 1 sign per candidate per corner Within 50m of corner And provide a single consolidated election sign checklist for use by staff and candidates
Post election sign removal deadline is midweek Resources are difficult to arrange and work must be done at night due to campaign staff work commitments	Extend deadline to midnight of Sunday following election.
Confusion with sign types and sizes allowed Candidates unclear as to the size and type of type of signs being referred to in by-law	Define two types of signs within by-law. “Lawn”- maximum size 0.75m^2and “Poster”- maximum size 1.49m^2 with a minimum size of 1.0m^2
Placement of signs on municipal boulevards abutting rear yards and public places/ lands Candidate placing multiple signs along municipal boulevards	Signs would be permitted only on regional roads and designated municipal boulevards (see Appendix B)
Placement of signs on vacant lots Multiple signs by candidates being placed and difficulty confirming that required authorization from owner was obtained	Prohibit the placement on vacant lots
Placement of signs on centre medians/ boulevards Multiple signs being placed, obstruction of view of road	Prohibit the placement at those locations
Placement of signs on fences, hoarding etc. Multiple signs being placed, damage to fences, unsightliness and use of hoarding that is permitted in other areas of the sign by-law	Require signs to be independently attached to the ground
Placement of signs on municipal boulevards adjacent to lands in Industrial, Commercial and Intuitional zone areas. Number of signs being placed and no consent of adjoining property owner	Prohibit the placement on municipal boulevards in the designated areas.
Placement of signs on private property within Industrial, Commercial and Intuitional zone areas. Single properties having multiple signs	Limit the number of signs to one sign per candidate in the designated areas
Maximum amounts for cost recovery do not cover actual costs of enforcement & removal No incentive to avoid sign placement contraventions once maximum amount is reached	Costs over the required deposit will be invoiced to the candidate and made recoverable under authorities in the Municipal Act
No limit on number of signs on private property or adjoining municipal boulevard Single properties/ adjoining boulevards having multiple signs	Limit number of signs on private property or adjoining municipal boulevard to one per candidate in residential zones
Maximum size of signs in residential area should be of “lawn sign” size only By-law allows for placement of poster type signs on municipal boulevards	Maximum size of sign where permitted is 0.75 m^2 (lawn sign size)
Placement of signs on or abutting Civic Centre Not an appropiate location for election signs	Prohibit placement of signs at 101 Town Centre Boulevard

Appendix B- Designated Markham Road & York Region Road Allowances

Appendix C- Proposed Election Sign Checklist

ELECTION SIGN CHECKLIST

BY-LAW DEFINITION: “Election Sign” means a sign advertising or promoting the election of a political party or a candidate for public office in a federal, provincial, or municipal election

	#	By-Law Requirements	Section
General Requirements
¨	1.	Sign permit and fee payment ($200 deposit) required to erect election signs	17.1
¨	2.	Sign permit/ fee not required: if election signs are to be erected on private lands only	17.7.1(a)
¨	3.	May not be erected or installed earlier than official date of notice of the date of voting for any federal or provincial election, with the exemption of signage at a campaign headquarters	17.2
¨	4.	May not be erected or installed earlier than four weeks prior to election day in a municipal election, with the exemption of signage at a campaign headquarters	17.3
¨	5.	All election signs and campaign headquarters signs to be removed by midnight of the Sunday following the election	New
¨	6.	No restriction on the number of election signs erected at a designated campaign office, each registered candidate entitled to a single campaign office only	New
¨	7.	Signs must be independently attached to the ground, except for a designated campaign headquarters	New
¨	8.	No election signs are not permitted anywhere on the property of a designated polling station (see Schedule A- Polling Stations)	New
¨	9.	Two Sign Types: LAWN: Maximum size- 0.75m^2 (8.07 sq.ft)- Permitted only within residential zones POSTER: Minimum size- 1.0m^2 (10.76 sq.ft); Maximum size- 1.49m^2 (16 sq.ft.) Permitted only on Regional Road Allowances and Sign Designated Road Allowances (see Schedule B) and in Industrial/ Commercial/ Institutional Zones	New
On a Regional Road Allowance or a Sign Designated Road Allowance
¨		Only “Poster” type signs are permitted	New
¨		See Schedule C for restricted intersections where no signs are permitted	New
¨	11.	Cannot exceed 1.49m^2 (16 sq.ft.) in area; 1.22m (4.ft.) in height or width	RB- 3.1(a)
¨		Minimum size- 1.0m2 (10.764 sq.ft)- Town of Markham Designated Road Allowance
¨	12.	Maximum 1 sign per candidate per corner
¨	13.	Cannot impair or obstruct movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or the visibility of warning devices, and railway, traffic or municipal street signs	RB- 3.1(e)
¨	14.	Must be erected within 50m (164 ft) of centre point of intersecting streets (measured along the centre line, out from the centre point forming a square)	RB- 3.1(g)
¨	15.	Cannot be erected on any centre median, traffic island, or centre boulevard	RB- 3.1(h)
¨	16.	Cannot be erected within 5m (16.4 ft) of fire hydrant, bus shelter	RB- 3.1(i)
¨	17.	Cannot be erected within 3m (9.8 ft) of edge of road payment	RB- 3.1(j)
¨	18.	Cannot be erected within 10.0m (32.8 ft) of a driveway	RB- 3.1(k)

Within Residential Zones (determined by properties Zoning/ Official Designation and not on a Sign Designated Road Allowance )
		Only “Lawn” type signs are permitted
¨	20.	If there is a building on the lot, permission from owner/ occupant required to place signs on private property- maximum size 0.75m^2 (8.073 sq.ft)	17.6.1(a)(d)
¨	21.	If there is no building on the lot, permission from owner/ occupant required to place signs on private property- maximum size 2.0m^2 (21.528 sq.ft) (1.49m^2)	17.6.1(b)
¨	22.	If there is a building on the lot that has vehicular access to a municipal road, may be erected on adjacent municipal boulevard, permission from adjacent owner/ occupant required- maximum size 0.75m^2 (8.073 sq.ft)	17.6.1(c)
		Cannot be erected on any centre median, traffic island, or centre boulevard	New
		Cannot be erected within 1.0m setback from edge of road (curb), shoulder of road, sidewalk	17.5.1
		One election sign only is permitted per candidate on each property or abutting municipal boulevard	New
All Other Zones (see residential zone note- Industrial, Commercial, Institutional and not on a Sign Designated Road Allowance ))
		Only “Poster” type signs are permitted
¨	23.	If there is a building on the lot, permission from owner/ occupant required to place signs on private property- maximum size 2.0m^2 (21.528 sq.ft) ) (1.49m^2)	17.7.1(a)
		One election sign only is permitted per candidate on a property	New
		Cannot be erected on any centre median, traffic island, or centre boulevard	New
		Cannot be erected within 1.0m setback from edge of road (curb), shoulder of road, sidewalk	17.5.1
		Election signs are not permitted on the adjacent municipal boulevard	New