Duane Hicks
Starting Jan. 1, people wishing to put a mobile or temporary sign on properties within the Town of Fort Frances are required to adhere to all aspects of the bylaw that regulates such signs.
As such, the town is asking those parties to familiarize themselves with the most recent requirements under Bylaw 19/10, a new sign bylaw passed by council back in late August.
“The sign bylaw, even though the language is slightly different, the regulations contained within it are very similar to what was in the old sign bylaw,” noted Chief Building Official Rick Hallam, who also is superintendent of Planning and Development.
“The fees change annually, but the biggest single change in the bylaw was with respect to the mobile and temporary signs,” he added.
Under the new bylaw, businesses will be able to put a mobile temporary sign on a property for up to 180 days during a calendar year.
This means that businesses can apply for a sign permit in increments of 30 days, 90 days, or 180 days—as long as they only total 180 days in a calendar year.
It does not matter how long one waits in between the permits.
For instance, it is possible someone could choose to get a permit for the last 180 days of a calendar year, and then another for the first 180 days of the following year, since these blocks of time would be in two separate calendar years.
The sign permit only is issued to the property owner, not to someone simply wanting to put a sign on someone else’s property, Hallam clarified.
Temporary mobile signs also have to follow certain conditions, such as:
•the sign must have the name, address, and telephone number of the owner on it;
•the sign must conform to the Building Code Act;
•the sign can’t have flashing lights to illuminate the copy on the sign; and
•mobile signs located on residential property only can advertise personal, private events like birthdays (commercial advertising in a residential zone is prohibited).
The town will allow the public to have mobile signs on their residential property for three days, with no permit or fee attached, to promote a personal family event like a wedding, birthday, or anniversary.
Mobile signs also will be permitted in all areas zoned commercial, industrial, and institutional, but these require a permit and must follow the 180-day limit per calendar year.
Not more than one mobile sign will be permitted to be located on any lot in Fort Frances. However, one additional mobile sign may be located on any lot or parcel of land having a street frontage of at least 100 metres.
Other changes to the bylaw refer to garage sale signs and sidewalk signs, among others.
A copy of the bylaw may be obtained by making a request to the bylaw enforcement department at the Civic Centre during regular business hours.
