Home »
Chamber forms ad hoc committee to review city sign bylaw
Open house Dec. 5
The Cranbrook and District Chamber of Commerce has formed an ad hoc committee to review the draft of the City of Cranbrook’s proposed new sign bylaw.
City council Nov. 19 unanimously approved the draft of Sign Bylaw 2012 and councilors are urging the public and business owners to pay close attention to its proposed contents.
“This is a very complete document,” said Coun. Denise Pallesen, admitting as a business owner that she has questions about it. As a result she urges citizens to “come out to the open house when it is advertised because it is critical.”
Coun. Gerry Warner added, “If you care about your signs, it will be a darned good idea to attend.” One suggested change sign owners would want to know about is the recommended lowering in maximum heights of signs.
Coun. Diana J Scott agreed. “Just think about all the signs around the city – there is so much to think about.”
Mayor Wayne Stetski said, with a wry smile, “I encourage you all to sign up.”
Other suggested changes in the draft bylaw is the removal of sandwich board signs in the city, a move necessitated more by liability concerns than anything else, Stetski said.
“The new bylaw will repeal the existing sign bylaw adopted in 1977 and replace it with updated regulations for signs currently covered by the existing bylaw and also provide regulations for a number of new sign types. Regulations will include specifications such as sign height, size, placement and setbacks regulations. The bylaw will also contain voluntary design guidelines to assist applicants with designing, manufacturing and locating new signs,” explained a Corporate Services Report to council.
“In addition to a number of new permissible signs in the bylaw, a number of signs will also be prohibited. Many of the prohibited signs remain the same; however, notable differences include the prohibition of off-premise signs (signs advertising goods, services etc. and directs a person to a different location). The current bylaw allows for one accessory sign (off-premise sign) but it ‘is felt that these signs add to visual clutter, are typically inconsistent with the premises they are located on, and do not advertise for the business located on the property. Other new prohibited signs include certain types of portable signs, balloon signs (with exceptions), abandoned signs, day-glo, fluorescent, luminous or reflective material or copy, and sandwich board signs,” Corporate Services reported.
The chamber of commerce is taking council’s suggestions to heart. The chamber’s ad hoc committee will review the draft and welcomes commentary from members.
The city is hosting an open house on the draft sign bylaw on Wednesday, December 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Manual Training School beside the Cranbrook Public Library.
To see Corporate Services’ Draft bylaw go to: https://cranbrook.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=2652
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
