Digital, portable signs in the sights of new Kelowna sign bylaw

KELOWNA – Vegas-by-the-Lake is not what we want when it comes to signs on private businesses nor do we want a sea of portable signs along our roadways.

That continues to be the position of Kelowna’s community planning department as it puts forward a final recommendation to council for a revamped sign bylaw.

A long time coming, the proposed bylaw includes restrictions on digital LED signs and the height of so-called pylon signs like the those common along Highway 97 but also recommends increased penalties and enforcement.

“Digital signs on buildings are out, except maybe downtown on Prospera or the Rotary Centre for the Arts,” community planning manager Ryan Smith said. “That’s not what people want.”

The proposed bylaw is the culmination of three years of consultation, Smith said, made necessary by years of council inaction before that as sign tastes and technology changed.

Sign sentiment splits along predictable lines. Business people and the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce welcome clarity but chafe at restrictions while private citizens just don’t want to see ugly signs, Smith said.

A month-long survey held by the city last fall found 69 per cent of respondents rated digital billboards as somewhat to very intrusive.

Paper billboards didn’t fare much better, with bus shelter, contractor signs and shrink-wrapped vehicles rating the least intrusive forms of signage.

A report to council outlining the proposed changes says a ban on digital signage will help set Kelowna apart from West Kelowna and Vernon and could be changed later if desired, while allowing them now would make the signs much harder to ban in the future.

The new bylaw, while raising fees and fines, will also make it easier than the current system for businesses to navigate when applying to install a sign, Smith said.

Kelowna council will consider the proposed bylaw at its regular meeting, 1:30 p.m. Monday, July 30, 2018 at Kelowna city hall.

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.