CANMORE – Canmore’s Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Town to suspend its enforcement of signage regulations while it goes through a process to rewrite the Land Use Bylaw.
But the municipality is holding firm to the direction it received from council last year to increase enforcement of the rules around a very particular kind of signage that has proliferated in the community.
Bow Valley Chamber of Commerce board chair Janet Nystedt said the issue of signage in the community has reached a point that the pause button needs to be pushed and a step back taken.
Nystedt said with a review of the Land Use Bylaw underway, which includes signage regulations, it is premature to begin enforcing rules that might end up changing in the future.
“We are hoping they will pause on the active enforcement that started on May 1 until we have consultations,” she said. “We know an update is coming and it seems perhaps it is not as timely as it could be to start enforcing something after many years of not enforcing it, and when we know a change is coming.”
All businesses in the community received a letter in April from the municipality with details concerning the enforcement, and especially in relation to those businesses that place A-frame signage on public land. Not only are A-frame signs prohibited under the bylaw, but businesses are also not permitted to place signage in public places like sidewalks and street corners.
Manager of planning Alaric Fish said the timing of the enforcement increase is related to the municipality having enough resources to dedicate staff time to the issue.
In 2017, council approved an increase of resources for a contract planning position to begin tackling enforcement of issues related to unauthorised nightly rentals and signage. The process began by looking at the first issue and now that illegal tourist homes have been cracked down on, the focus has shifted to the signage issue.
“Signage wasn’t the highest priority, short-term rentals were,” Fish said. “Now we are able to dedicate resources that are necessary to ensure consistent and fair enforcement (of the signage regulations).”
Fish said while there is a process underway to review the Land Use Bylaw, the current one remains in effect and it prohibits that particular type of signage throughout the community.
The lack of enforcement on signage has led to a proliferation of A-frame signs in the downtown core, he said, and that highlights one of the reasons for stepping up education and seeking compliance.
“It is an issue of cluttering the sidewalks,” Fish said. “It is a narrow area and we want people to be able to move freely in that area and there are other alternatives available (for signage).”
He likened the proliferation of A-frame signs to that of an arms race among local businesses seeking to catch the attention of potential customers.
It inherently demands larger, more visible signs and, with a lack of enforcement, he said that is the likely result.
“The Town recognizes businesses need to be able to communicate with their customers and it is in the Town’s best interest for businesses to succeed, but they need to work within the existing bylaw,” Fish said.
He also said that while there is a Land Use Bylaw conversation happening in the community right now, topics of discussion do not include revisiting mobile, or A-frame sign restrictions.
Nystedt said the Chamber respects the Town’s right to enforce the regulations, and appreciates that consistent enforcement is a goal, but said the impression in the business community after an event last fall around the issue was that more conversations would occur before the Town cracked down.
In September, the Chamber hosted a breakfast conversation café on the issue of the signage regulations, which was well attended and brought up many issues businesses face with the bylaw.
“The Chamber had an impression there was a commitment to engage in more discussion of what a more appropriate signage bylaw would look like,” Nystedt said.
The confusion over the approval process for new Spring Creek Mountain Village entrance way sings on Main Street has complicated the issue even further for the Chamber, she said.
“What we are saying is there is confusion about a lot of things to do with signage,” she said. “Let’s sit down and talk and engage with the business community before we enforce bylaws that might very well change in the future.”
Fish said the entrance way signs for the subdivision were included in the 2004 area redevelopment plan for Spring Creek, but when it came to the process of approving them this year, there was miscommunication about what was required.
“The focus was on the legal agreement for the signs to be on Town-owned land and less attention was on the details of what the signs were,” he said. “Once they were constructed and community concerns raised, the Town realized we needed a broader public process.
“Development of this sort is unusual on public lands, so we don’t have a standard procedure to review these sorts of proposals.”
The Town sought feedback from the public concerning the signs, and a Canmore Planning Commission meeting has been scheduled for May 29 to officially approve the development permit required with variances to signage area, height, number of signs and landscaping.
