Item - 2022.PH34.14

City Council recessed its public session and met as Committee of the Whole in closed session on July 20, 2022 to consider confidential information on this Item as it pertains to advice or communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege and potential litigation.

City Council considered Items PH34.14, PH34.15, PH34.16 and PH34.17, together.

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council approve the application to amend the Sign By-law to add an area specific amendment to Schedule 'B' of Chapter 694, Signage Master Plans and Area-Specific Amendments, to establish regulations applicable to the premises municipally known as 2025 Wilson Avenue to allow for, and regulate, in addition to the signage otherwise permitted by the Sign By-law, a third party electronic ground sign, and modify the permitting regime with respect to this third party electronic ground sign, as described in Attachment 1 to the report (May 16, 2022) from the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building.

Toronto's Sign By-law is a harmonized, City-wide set of regulations governing signs which was adopted in 2010. The Sign By-law contains a process for any member of the public to apply to City Council to amend the Sign By-law in order to implement significant changes to the sign regulations for a specific property or area. Applications are commonly made requesting amendments to the Sign By-law to allow signs that are prohibited, to remove permissions for signs in an area, or to modify the administrative requirements of the Sign By-law. The Chief Building Official ("CBO") brings applications to amend the Sign By-law together on an annual basis for City Council consideration, so that that City Council can more easily assess the overall and cumulative impact of these applications on the city's built environment, and the Sign By-law itself. 

This report responds to an application for an amendment to the Sign By-law to replace the existing regulations concerning 2025 Wilson Avenue with regulations which would allow the property to display a third party electronic ground sign (the Proposed Sign), which is in contravention of numerous provisions of the Sign By-law. Currently, 2025 Wilson Avenue contains no third party ground signs.

2817270 Ontario Limited (the "Applicant") as made an application seeking City Council to amend the Sign By-law to replace the existing regulations concerning 2025 Wilson Avenue with new regulations which would:

-  Establish regulations to allow for, and regulate, a third party electronic ground sign (the "Proposed Sign"), which would: have a sign face area of 62.4 square metres (more than three times larger than permitted by the Sign By-law) and a height of 13.8 metres (3.8 metres higher than permitted by the Sign By-law); be built with two sign faces in a "v-shaped" configuration, which is typically prohibited by the Sign By-law, and, be erected within 250 metres of, and face, a Residential Apartment ("RA") Sign District, a Commercial Residential ("CR") Sign District, a Residential ("R") Sign District and an Open Space ("OS") Sign District, contrary to the minimum separation distances required by the Sign By-law

- Exempt 2025 Wilson Avenue from the area-specific restriction contained at 694-24A (1) of the Sign By-law which expressly prohibits any third party signs from being displayed on these premises; and,

-  Modify the permitting regulations for third party signs at 2025 Wilson Avenue to allow for the Proposed Sign to be issued a sign permit which would have a ten-year duration, double the permit length for other third party signs set out in the Sign By-law.

This application only qualifies for consideration by City Council as an amendment to the Sign By-law due to the request to amend the permitting regime applicable to 2025 Wilson Avenue.

Toronto Building has reviewed the Applicant's submission materials and cannot determine any basis for City Council to amend the City's Sign By-law to the Proposed Sign which is contrary to City Council's direction with respect to third party electronic ground signs generally, or City Council's direction with respect to the prohibition of third party signs at 2025 Wilson Avenue. 

Further, Toronto Building cannot determine a basis for City Council to amend the Sign By-law to allow a sign permit to have a duration twice as long as otherwise permitted for third party signs, where the Proposed Sign is so significantly different from the Sign By-law requirements for signs of this type throughout the City, as well as being located within an area of the City where third party signs are specifically prohibited.

Toronto Building, in consultation with Transportation Services, conducted a thorough review of the application, and has concluded that the Applicant's rationale is not consistent with the traffic safety requirements or objectives of the Sign By-law. For the reasons set out in this report, the Chief Building Official does not support amending the Sign By-law for 2025 Wilson Avenue.