Council Still Doesn't Get It

Paying $750 For A Simple Digital Sign Approval Makes Us Look Like 

The City Led by Controlling Luddites

At this weeks council meeting a spokesman for the St. Andrews Church on Departure Bay Rd. addressed city council. He itemized many examples of digital signs on the lower mainland on main roads and in fact some of his examples were different government signs.

The point he was making which seemed lost on council was the fact that his church had to pay the city of Nanaimo a $750 fee to process a variance permit to enable the installation of what is a simple straightforward sign in jurisdictions where they have leaders who recognize technology has made many advances since the discovery of electricity.

Not recognizing the fact that expending $750 causes problems for people who are actually spending their own money, instead of tax dollars, is just another symptom of what is wrong with this council.

Council, instead of understanding the point he was making, acted as if they were doing some huge favour by granting the sign variance, rather than realizing he was making some valid points which hopefully will be rectified with the election of a new council this fall.

This council has spent considerable time and money establishing a separate economic development office to try and steer Nanaimo into a successful economic future. One of the goals of this new multi-million dollar corporation will be to try and convince businesses that Nanaimo is a good place to come and set up shop. I wonder how they will handle explaining our apparent backward approach to the latest invention - 'electric signs'. While they are at it, they will perhaps have to explain the extra burdens our design panel of 'experts' keeps wanting to impose on new business trying to locate here.