Item - 2019.PH6.10

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1.  Referred the item to the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building for further discussions with the applicant.

The City received an application to amend the Sign Bylaw to enable 2075 Lawrence Avenue East to contain a third party electronic ground sign with two faces, directed east and west.

The Sign Bylaw is a harmonized, City-wide set of regulations governing signs which was adopted in 2010. Under the Sign Bylaw, City Council considers applications from the public where significant changes are requested. The Chief Building Official (CBO) brings forward all of the applications to amend the Sign Bylaw on an annual basis, so that City Council can consider the overall and cumulative impact of these applications on the City's built environment, and the Sign Bylaw itself.

This report is in response to an application for an amendment that would facilitate the replacement of an existing third party ground sign that was established under a previous Bylaw with a third party electronic ground sign displaying static copy east and west along Lawrence Avenue East. Under the current Sign Bylaw, neither the existing third party ground sign nor the proposed third party electronic ground sign is permitted in a Commercial Residential (CR) Sign District. The applicant's proposal would require that the existing third party ground sign be removed prior to the sign permit being issued. The proposed amendment also seeks to modify the applicable sign permit term by extending the initial permit from five to ten years.

Toronto Building, in consultation with City Planning and Economic Development and Culture, conducted a thorough review of the application, and does not believe that the applicant's rationale is consistent with the objectives of the Sign Bylaw.

Toronto Building does not recommend approval of this amendment as the proposed sign is likely to have a negative impact on a number of residential properties to the south, as well as an 11-storey residential apartment building approximately 145 metres to the west. In addition, the proposed sign adds to sign clutter in the area and conflicts with existing first party signs.