Vancouver City Council

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

Date: March 13, 2003
Author/Local: M White/7094
RTS No. 02891
CC File No. 113

Council: March 25, 2003

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of City Plans

SUBJECT:

Oversized Banner Signs (Amendment to Sign By-law)

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the Director of City Plans be instructed to make application to amend the Sign By-law to:

(i) restrict the size and coverage of banner signs on exterior building faces to 4m², generally in accordance with Appendix A, except for banner signs in the DD and BCPED Districts displaying events organized and presented by a non-profit society or public agency, and

(ii) require sign permits for banner signs that are larger than 4m² or that are secured on all four sides by a rigid frame or high-tension cables, generally in accordance with Appendix A, and

FURTHER THAT the application be referred to Public Hearing;

AND FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to prepare the necessary amending by-law for consideration at Public Hearing.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council policy, as reflected in the Sign By-law, is to regulate the number, type, size and location of signs in the city. The By-law currently permits vertical banner signs under 2m² anywhere in the city. Banner signs over 2m² are permitted only in commercial and industrial areas, with restrictions on the amount of banner used for signage and third-party advertising. General Motors Place has a site-specific sign schedule that contains customized banner regulations. Banner signs do not require a sign permit. Purely decorative banners are not regulated by the Sign By-law.

Summary and Purpose

The intent of the Sign By-law is to restrict large third-party advertising signs to minimize visual and safety impacts to the public. Staff are concerned that signs that are made of lightweight material, that otherwise meet the definition of a billboard in the Sign By-law, may be portrayed as banner signs. In order to prevent the installation of oversize banner signs, which are effectively large billboards, staff are recommending that Council restrict the size and coverage of private banner signs on exterior building faces to 4m². To be consistent with existing policy, this restriction would not apply to banner signs in the DD and BCPED Districts displaying events organized and presented by a non-profit society or public agency. Staff are also recommending that banner signs that are larger than 4m² or that are secured on all four sides by a rigid frame or high-tension cables, be required to have sign permits to ensure compliance with Building By-law safety regulations.

Background

In October, 1996, Council approved citywide banner sign regulations to allow vertical banner signs under 2m² anywhere in the city and over 2m² in commercial and industrial areas, without permit. Content and third-party advertising restrictions were created for those over 2m² to prevent large banners being used for advertising as opposed to being primarily decorative. An exemption was included for signage displaying events organized and presented by non-profit societies or public agencies in DD and BCPED Districts to accommodate banners such as those on the Art Gallery. Over the years, Council has also approved a number site-specific schedules to accommodate the signage needs of particular areas. In January, 1995, Council approved a site-specific sign schedule for General Motors Place that, amongst other things, allowed banner signs, without permit and subject to content restrictions.

Discussion

According to the Sign By-law, a freestanding or facia sign that is greater than 17m² and contains only third-party advertising is considered a billboard. Billboards require an application, cannot exceed 21.5m², and are not allowed in many parts of the city. Staff are concerned that facia signs that are made of lightweight material, that otherwise meet the definition of a billboard, may be portrayed as banner signs and thereby not be subject to the billboard regulations.

Such signs would defeat the intent of the Sign By-law with regard to banner signs and not reflect current billboard policy. A banner sign is defined as "a sign which is composed of lightweight material, including nylon, vinyl, cloth, canvas or similar fabric, and which is attached to a rod at the top and secured at the bottom". Banner signs over 2m² are allowed in commercial and industrial areas without permit and can have third-party advertising as a percentage of the copy comprising words and logos on the banner face.

Staff are recommending that the Sign By-law be amended to restrict the size and coverage of banner signs on exterior building faces to 4m², as outlined in Appendix A. Staff are not recommending amendments to the definition or regulations at this time as these issues will be examined in the context of a wider review of the Sign By-law. This measure should have minimal impact on legal banner signs as the majority of banner signs do not exceed 4m² in size. As well, this would not restrict the number of perpendicular banner signs that could be attached to exterior building faces.

Currently, banner signs that display events organized and presented by non-profit societies or public agencies in the DD and BCPED Districts are exempt from the copy and third-party advertising restrictions for banners. To date, banner signs erected under the exemptions have met the intent of the By-law, such as those at the Art Gallery which promote events organized and presented by the Art Gallery. The Art Gallery banners are over 4m². To be consistent with this policy and to continue to allow agencies such as the Art Gallery to display their banners, the proposed amendment to restrict the size and coverage of banner signs to 4m² would not apply to these types of banner signs in the DD and BCPED Districts. Staff will continue to monitor banner signs erected under the exemptions to ensure that they continue to meet the intent of the By-law. Staff will also advise Council if other suitable locations are proposed for this type of exemption for public interest events outside of the DD and BCPED Districts.

Currently, a permit is not required for the installation of banner signs owing to their temporary nature and emphasis on decoration as opposed to advertising. However, staff areconcerned that the construction of large banner signs and their supporting structures may present safety issues for the public (i.e. method of anchorage and combustibility). Staff are therefore recommending that banner signs that are larger than 4m² or that are secured on all four sides by a rigid frame or high-tension cables, be required to have sign permits for their installation. A more comprehensive review of construction requirements for all sign types (Section 15 of the Sign By-law) is currently underway.

Conclusion

Banners add a lively and decorative element to the city. Banners that contain signage can also be a very positive design feature, however, claims that some large third-party signs are banners rather than billboards defeat the intent of the Sign By-law. This report recommends Council restrict the size and coverage of banner signs on exterior building faces to 4m². Staff are also recommending that banner signs that are larger than 4m² or that are secured on all four sides by a rigid frame or high-tension cables, be required to have sign permits to ensure compliance with Building By-law safety regulations.

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APPENDIX A

BY-LAW NO.

A By-law to amend Sign By-law No. 6510
to regulate oversized banners

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VANCOUVER, in public meeting, enacts as follows:

1. This By-law amends the indicated schedules of By-law No. 6510.

2. Amend clause (iii) of subsection (a) of Section 1.0 of each of Schedules B and F as follows:

(a) in the first line of clause (iii), delete "exceeding 2.0 m², " and substitute "less than 4.0 m²";

(b) from subclause (A), delete "where the face of a banner is not greater than 4.0 m²,"; and

(c) Delete subclause (B), and substitute:

"(B) despite anything to the contrary in this By-law, the combined sign area for all banner signs on each exterior face of a building must not cover more than 4.0 m² of that exterior face, except for banner signs in the DD and BCPED Districts displaying events organized and presented by a non-profit society or public agency;".

3. Amend clause (i) of subsection (a) of Section 1.0 of Schedule C as follows:

(a) in the first line of clause (i), delete "exceeding 2.0 m², "and substitute "less than 4.0 m²";

(b) from subclause (A), delete "where the face of a banner is not greater than 4.0 m²,";

(c) Delete subclause (B), and substitute:

"(B) despite anything to the contrary in this By-law, the combined sign area for all banner signs on each exterior face of a building must not cover more than 4.0 m² of that exterior face;".

4. Amend clause (iii) of subsection (a) of Section 1.0 of each of Schedules G and I as follows:

(a) in the first line of clause (iii), delete "exceeding 2.0 m², " and substitute "less than 4.0 m²";

(b) from subclause (A), delete "where the face of a banner is not greater than 4.0 m²,"; and

(c) Delete subclause (B), and substitute:

"(B) despite anything to the contrary in this By-law, the combined sign area for all banner signs on each exterior face of a building must not cover more than 4.0 m² of that exterior face, except for banner signs displaying events organized and presented by a non-profit society or public agency;".

5. Delete clause (i) of subsection (r) of section 5.2.1, and substitute:

"(i) the banner sign is not secured on all four sides by a rigid frame or high-tension cables;".

6. Re-number clauses (ii) and (iii) of subsection (r) of section 5.2.1 as clauses (iii) and (iv).

7. Add to subsection (r) of section 5.2.1, after clause (i):

"(ii) the banner sign does not exceed 2.0m² in area in the districts regulated by Schedules A and D or 4.0 m² in all other districts;".

8. This By-law is to come into force and take effect on the date of its enactment.

ENACTED by Council this day of , 2002

Mayor

City Clerk

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TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of City Plans
SUBJECT:	Oversized Banner Signs (Amendment to Sign By-law)