LED Sign Bylaw Merry-Go-Round

Council Still Split On Contentious Issue Of LED Signs

The lengthy debate on the LED sign issue clearly demonstrated two things, one is the need for a tie breaking vote on council and the complete inability for this council to come to a consensus on this issue.

In spite of a well researched and delivered presentation by Bill McKay from Signage which clearly demonstrates the advantages of the LED sign technology and the urging of Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Andrea Rosato-Taylor to not adopt option #3 as presented by staff; council debated for nearly an hour and basically refused all three options presented to them.

It was only when they decided to 'revisit' one of the already defeated options that they agreed on option #3 which basically is not really much of a choice at all. It was either that or once again debate this issue ad nauseam without coming to a decision, which would make them look not just a little foolish.

Council Passes "Not Business Friendly" Option

Council only passed option #3 out of sheer desperation and only after 'reconsideration' was the option, did option 3 actually pass. Option #2 could have succeeded if it had been voted on again as Councilor Johnstone indicated she would change her vote if Option #2 were reconsidered.
Not being an expert on Parliamentary procedure I am unclear why Option #2 could not have been treated the same way that Option #3 was, before finally passing. Confused? So was council and anyone watching.
One of the disadvantages pointed out by staff in the option which council finally adopted reads as follows:

"The disadvantage of Option 3 is related to "business friendliness" as it will require a political process with public involvement and comes with an expectation that Staff will negotiate, based on established signage criteria, safety issues and overall visual identity issues. This could involve lengthy negotiations and may involve MOTI and supporting documentation.studies being provided by the applicant."

So, in spite of claims of being business friendly this council could only agree on the option described as being unfriendly to business because of the resulting lengthy negotiations which will be involved in the process. Basically no business will know in advance if they qualify for an LED sign permit without taking the time and spending the money to wade through another red tape laden city hall process.

It is kind of ironic as the Economic Development Strategy Report recently commissioned by the city points out the problem with city hall red tape as an impediment to our economic development.

Comment: After watching the wrangling and hand wringing and beard scratching this council has gone through dealing or not dealing with this issue, you would have to wonder who in their right mind would want this bunch making a decision on an LED sign application. It seems it would be an exercise in sheer frustration for any business person. As an aside, did you notice how the option which staff seemed to favour was the only one that seemed to be the easiest to understand?