Richmond city council has approved a new de-cluttering bylaw with regard to business signs.
The city claims the updated bylaw will “modernize regulations related to signage, increase education and enforcement, introduce new permit fees and address a variety of concerns about clutter and visual pollution.”
What it doesn’t address, despite public pressure last month, is a demand for mandatory English on the signs.
Such a move was blocked by city council, citing concerns over legal challenges and the fact that city staff say they’re getting “100 per cent” compliance from new sign applicants to consider having English on their signs.
The new bylaw, which went into effect Tuesday (July 11), includes a number of changes which will limit the percentage of storefront windows that can be covered by signage and clarify rules for temporary signs.
Also in the bylaw will be provision for specifying the number, location and duration of display of each type of sign permitted; introducing new permit fees to recover processing costs and match current norms across the region and increasing penalties for sign bylaw infractions and introducing an adjudication process to deal with disputes.
The new bylaw regulations are not retroactive; they apply to all new signs and all temporary or portable signs (i.e. real estate and open house signs) going forward.
A permanent full time sign inspector, with fluency in English and Chinese, will be hired to continue the city’s outreach program, designed to educate businesses and ensure compliance with signage regulations.
