Council signs off on election restrictions

KELOWNA – A bylaw passed by councillors Monday caps the number of election signs you can legally display on your property.

Effective immediately, no private or public places can display more than two signs for any single candidate.

According to Karen Needham, the changes have been made as a result of concerns raised by council regarding the abundance of signs during the 2011 election.

“During an election, people want to put signs up,” she says. “This restriction applies to each candidate, not the total number of signs per frontage. If there are 10 candidates, there could be up to 20 signs placed on one frontage.”

Signs can also only be displayed between Sep. 30 and Nov. 19, and must also include information about who paid for it as well as contact information.

Needham says the phone number requirement is more about accountability and transparency than a way to lodge complaints, which will be handled by bylaw enforcement.

“It’s about being open about where campaign financing is coming from and who paid to put that sign up.”

Election signs can also be no larger than 1.5 square metres and signs that exceed a maximum height of 1.8 m will require a permit.

2014 municipal elections will be held Nov. 15.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.