Banff politicians are backing off active enforcement of illegal outdoor displays in the face of strong opposition from retailers who say they need to draw tourists into their shops.
During a special meeting of council on Wednesday (Aug.1), council did, however, tell administration that bylaw officers can continue to write fines if complaints are made.
Councillor Stavros Karlos, who made a motion for bylaw officers to implement a reactive, instead of proactive, approach to issuing tickets, said the issue came about due to poor communication between the Town and retailers.
“I heard from a number of them (retailers) that our communication wasn’t as good as it could have been,” he said.
“They wanted to have some more discussion around this topic, not in the middle of high season where everyone is trying to make money to carry them through the rest of the year.”
According to Karlos, council’s original plan in January was to develop a communication strategy to go along with enforcement, but that never really came to fruition.
“I don’t believe that we actually treated the communication strategy as good as we could have and that’s why I’m happy to take a step back and look at this later on,” he said.
“We’re going to move forward with the communication strategy and hopefully by the end of this year we’ll have a good discussion with those retailers in a way that makes sense for everybody.”
Banff Mayor Karen Sorenson supported Karlos’ motion, adding that some retailers were taken aback by the increase in bylaw enforcement over the past few months. However, some of the feedback from the meeting was positive.
“The people that I talked to who were in the gallery (at the council meeting) were understanding and respectful of the process and are anxious to have a conversation with council,” Sorenson said. “We’ve agreed to talk about where there could or should be any changes be made to this bylaw.
“I would say it was a positive meeting and a step forward,” the mayor added.
Amy-Rose Sigouin, owner of District Clothing, said she is okay with the outcome of the special meeting, but looks forward to a long-term plan on the issue.
Sigouin was given a $50 fine on July 20 for displaying a mannequin on a table on the sidewalk outside of her Bear Street shop – and immediately took her display inside because she couldn’t afford another fine.
“I can’t have my mannequin out in case someone complains, but I can put some flowers out and that’s a whole issue I would like sorted out,” she said.
“They should have given us the heads up before we all got warnings and tickets.”
Sigouin said she understands there will be another meeting this fall, at which time she is hoping there can be a group formed to give a unified voice to retailers.
“I think we need a common voice,” she said.
Greg Christou, owner of Cascade T-Shirts, said he’s disappointed he still has to pay his two fines, which total $300, especially now The Town of Banff won’t proactively enforce the bylaw.
He plans to be in Canmore Provincial Court to fight the fines on Sept. 5. Town administration has indicated council has no legal authority to rescind tickets.
“Honestly and truthfully, I was a little browned off; it was handled so badly and at the wrong time of the year,” Christou said.
“They’ve decided to back off proactive enforcement and now I still have to pay.”
Christou said he may not be able to be as generous to community and sporting groups, such as hockey teams, the day-care and Soroptimists this year as he has in the past because of the fines.
“The fines have taken a big chunk out of my donation budget. I’ve got $600 of retail to make up to pay $300 in fines,” he said. “They react hastily and now we have a trickle down effect.”
In January, council decided to enforce a 20-year bylaw that bans the display of merchandise on downtown sidewalks to ensure the streetscape is esthetically pleasing for visitors.
The Town sent 46 letters to businesses with outdoor retail displays and merchandising, as well as advertising signage on July 17. Formal warnings were given to several businesses on July 20.
Following that, $50 fines were issued to three businesses on July 24, followed by $250 fines for two businesses that refused to take down their outdoor displays.
According to Sorenson, about 95 per cent of retailers complied with the bylaw.
