HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 759117 Election Sign (Consolidated)
Office Consolidation
Election Sign By-law No. 7591/17
Passed by Council on December 11, 2017
Last Update: August 18, 2022
Amendments:
Notice of Motion
(Resolution #419/18)
March 12, 2018 Amend Section 07 and 7.03
By-Law 7868/21 August 30, 2021 Amend Section 01 and Repeal and
Replace Section 06.04 and 06.14
By-law 7959/22 August 18, 2022 Repeal and Replace Section 6.14 c)
By-law 7591/17 Page 2
The Corporation of the City of Pickering
By-law No. 7591/17
Being a by-law to Regulate Election Signs.
Whereas paragraph 7 of subsection 11(3) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25
states that a municipality may pass by-laws respecting signs;
And Whereas Council deems it desirable to repeal section 63 of Sign By-law No.
6999/09 regarding Election Signs and to replace it with an Election Sign By-law to
effectively regulate signs which create a nuisance, affect public safety and detract from
the character of the community during an election period.
Now Therefore be it Resolved That the Council of The Corporation of the City of
Pickering enacts as follows:
01 Definitions
01.01 Campaign Office Sign - means an Election Sign displayed on a building
or portion of a building which is used by a candidate or an agent of a
candidate as an election campaign headquarters.
01.02 Candidate - has the meaning ascribed to it in the Canada Elections Act,
the Election Act, or the Municipal Elections Act, as applicable, and shall be
deemed to include a person registered pursuant to any of the above-noted
statutes or an agent for a registered person seeking to influence anyone to
vote for or against a question or by-law submitted to the electors.
01.03 City - means The Corporation of the City of Pickering or the geographical
area of Pickering, as the context requires.
01.04 City Clerk - means the City Clerk of the City of Pickering or a person
delegated by the City Clerk for the purpose of this By-law.
01.05 display – means, but is not limited to, display, erect, affix, attach, place or
maintain or cause or permit to be erected, affixed, attached, placed or
maintained.
01.06 Election - means any federal, provincial or municipal election and any
question or by-law submitted to the electors and includes an election to a
local board or commission.
01.07 Election Sign - means any image, words, sign, picture, device, notice or
visual medium, or any combination thereof, including, without limitation,
any poster, placard, bulletin, banner or vehicle wrap, which: (a) identifies,
depicts, promotes, advertises or provides information about (i) an
individual who is a candidate; or (ii) a question or by-law submitted to
By-law 7591/17 Page 3
electors; or (b) promotes recognition of or influences persons to vote for or
against any candidate or any question or by-law submitted to electors. An
Election Sign does not include any election campaign literature. For the
purpose of clarification, “Election Sign” includes “Vehicle Sign” and
“Campaign Office Sign”.
01.08 Election Sign Owner – any person who places or permits the placing of
an Election Sign, or any person described on the sign, or whose name,
address or telephone number is on the sign or who benefits from the
message on the sign. For the purposes of this By-law there may be more
than one owner of an Election Sign. A person is not an Election Sign
Owner by reason of being an owner of private property on which an
Election Sign is displayed.
01.09 Highway - has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Highway
Traffic Act and includes unopened and unassumed road allowances.
01.10 Vehicle Sign - means any form of Election Sign displayed in or on a
vehicle or trailer.
01.11 person – includes, but is not limited to, a corporation and the heirs,
executors, administrators, or other legal representatives of an individual
person.
01.12 private property - does not include the side of a fence located on a
property boundary which faces public property.
01.13 Regional Road – means a road forming part of the regional road system
and includes Altona Road, Whites Road, Liverpool Road, Brock Road,
Bayly Street, Taunton Road, Kingston Road/Highway 2, Finch Avenue,
Westney Road north of the 5th Concession and south of the 7th
Concession, and Durham Road 5 (Central St. Claremont/9th Concession).
(By-law No. 7868/21)
01.14 Voting Day - means any day on which voting takes place or on which
voting by internet or telephone is permitted within the City.
01.15 Voting Place - means any public building or property, including parking
lot, where voting takes place, and includes 100 metres on either side of
such building or property.
02 References
02.01 In this By-law, any reference to any Act or By-law is a reference to that Act
or By-law as it is amended or re-enacted from time to time.
02.02 Unless otherwise specified, references in this By-law to sections or
schedules are references to sections or schedules in this By-law.
03 Word Usage
By-law 7591/17 Page 4
03.01 This By-law shall be read with all changes in gender or number as the
context requires.
03.02 In this By-law, a grammatical variation of a word or expression defined has
a corresponding meaning.
04 Severability
04.01 Each section of this By-law is an independent section, and the holding of
any section or part of any section of this By-law to be void or ineffective for
any reason shall not be deemed to affect the validity of any other sections
of this By-law.
05 Application
05.01 This By-law applies to all Election Signs displayed within the City.
06 General
06.01 No person shall display an Election Sign within the City except in
accordance with the provisions of this By-law and all applicable legislation.
06.02 This By-law shall not apply to signs displayed by the City to provid e
information concerning an Election or any part of an Election process.
06.03 No person shall display an Election Sign without the name and contact
information of the Election Sign Owner on it.
06.04 No person shall display an Election Sign at any location other than entirely
on private property or on a Regional road in accordance with the
provisions of this by-law, provided, however, that a Vehicle Sign can be
displayed by a Candidate on or in a vehicle owned by the Candidate while
such vehicle is in use on any Highway in accordance with all applicable
laws and by-laws. (By-law No. 7868/21)
06.05 No person shall display an Election Sign that is more than 1.5 m 2 in area.
06.06 No person shall display an Election Sign on private property without
permission or consent of the owner or occupant of the property.
06.07 No person shall display an Election Sign that:
a) Is painted on, attached to or supported by a tree, stone or other
natural object;
b) Incorporates flashing lights or rotating parts;
c) Is Illuminated;
d) Simulates any traffic control device;
By-law 7591/17 Page 5
e) Is affixed to public utility poles;
f) Is displayed so as to obstruct, impede or interfere with any fire
escape, fire exit door, window, skylight, flue, air intake or exhaust,
or any means of access by firefighter to any part of a building or fire
hydrant;
g) Is displayed so as to impede, hinder or prevent parking by vehicles
on private or public lands or on a highway; or
h) Includes the City of Pickering’s logo, crest or seal in whole or in
part, however, official City of Pickering portable magnet signs
issued to the sitting Mayor and Councillors are exempt from this
paragraph.
i) Is in contravention of the Election Act, Canada Elections Act, or the
Municipal Elections Act, as applicable.
06.08 No person shall remove, deface or willfully cause damage to a lawfully
displayed Election Sign.
06.09 No person shall, at any time on any Voting Day, display an Election Sign
on any property used as a Voting Place or where the administration of
Election processes are conducted.
06.10 No person shall display a municipal Election Sign except within the
boundaries of the Ward(s) to which the Election Sign relates.
06.11 No person shall display a provincial and/or federal Election Sign except
within the Candidate’s riding boundary.
06.12 Notwithstanding any other provision of this By-law, where a road serves
as a boundary between Wards, no person shall display an Election Sign
except on private property on the side of the road within the boundaries of
the Ward/Riding to which the Election Sign relates.
06.13 Notwithstanding any other provision of this By-law, where a Regional road
is a municipal boundary road, no person shall display an Election Sign
except on the side of the road within the City of Pickering.
06.14 No person shall display an Election Sign on a Regional Road (By-law No.
7868/21):
a) on a sidewalk, median, traffic island, or on any official sign erected
and maintained by the Region;
b) closer than one (1.0) meter from the curb, on the shoulder, or within
two (2.0) metres of the travelled portion of the roadway.
c) that has dimensions exceeding 1.2 meters by 0.8 meters;
By-law 7591/17 Page 6
d) within 500 metres of any other sign being used to attract attention
to the same candidate;
e) with a height exceeding 0.6 metres within 20 metres of any
intersecting Highway, private road, driveway or Regional Road;
f) which, by reason of its size, location, content, or colouring,
obstructs the vision of drivers entering or leaving the road, detracts
from or interferes with the visibility or effectiveness of any traffic
sign or traffic signal light; and,
g) longer than 3 days after the last Voting Day of any Election.
07 Vehicle Signs and Businesses (Resolution #419/18)
07.01 No person shall display a Vehicle Sign except in accordance with all
provisions of this By-law.
07.02 The total area of the Vehicle Sign(s) displayed on any one vehicle shall
not exceed 1.5 m2.
07.03 Notwithstanding anything else contained in this By-law, no person shall be
prohibited from displaying a business-related sign on a vehicle or in any
other location provided that: (Resolution #419/18)
a) such business operation is duly registered or incorporated as
required by all applicable laws and has filed a Federal income tax
return for the preceding two years and/or has met the requirements
of the Canada Revenue Agency as a self-employed person;
b) such sign is limited to providing only information related to the
business;
c) such sign is not used in the course of campaigning or advocacy in
relation to any Election or otherwise for the purpose of, or with the
intent of promoting such person in an Election; and
d) such sign complies with the provisions of By-law 6999/09.
For the purposes of this section, “campaigning or advocacy in relation to
any Election” includes but is not limited to:
a) door-to-door visits to electors;
b) distribution of any printed matter, Election Signs or paraphernalia;
and
c) public appearances,
By-law 7591/17 Page 7
related to any Election.
08 Campaign Office Signs
08.01 Paragraphs 06.04, 06.05 and 06.07(c) of this By-law do not apply to
Campaign Office Signs.
08.02 A Campaign Office Sign may be displayed on a Campaign Office as soon
as the Candidate has filed his or her nomination papers.
08.03 Campaign Office Signs must comply with all applicable provisions of Sign
By-law 6999/09.
09 Timing
09.01 No person shall display an Election Sign for a federal or provincial Election
prior to the day the writ of Election is issued.
09.02 No person shall display an Election Sign, including a Vehicle Sign, until 25
days in advance of the last Voting Day for the Election to which the sign
relates.
09.03 No person shall display an Election Sign more than 3 days after the last
Voting Day for the Election.
09.04 Portable magnet signs issued by the City to the sitting Mayor and
Councillors must not be displayed at any time after commencement of the
25 day period referred to in section 09.02.
10 Removal of Unlawful Election Signs
10.01 Where an Election Sign has been displayed contrary to this By-law, the
City may remove such sign immediately, without notice or compensation.
10.02 Election Signs that have been removed under section 10.01 shall be
stored by the City for a period of 30 days, during which time the Candidate
or Candidate’s agent may retrieve the sign upon payment of a fee of
$25.00 per sign.
10.03 Any Election Sign that has been removed by the City and stored for more
than 30 days may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the City
without notice and without compensation.
10.04 Despite section 10.02, the City shall not be obliged to store Election Signs
made entirely of paper material, and may dispose of such Election Signs
immediately upon removal.
By-law 7591/17 Page 8
11 Offence
11.01 Any person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is guilty of an
offence and upon conviction pursuant to the provisions of the Provincial
Offences Act is liable to a fine of not more than $10,000.00.
11.02 No person shall make a false or intentionally misleading recital of fact,
statement or representation in any application or other document required
by this By-law.
11.03 No person shall prevent, hinder or interfere or attempt to prevent, hinder
or interfere with an officer enforcing the provisions of this By-law.
11.04 Where an officer has reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has
been committed by a person under this By-law, the officer may require the
name, address and proof of identity of that person, and the person shall
supply the requested information.
12 Liability for Damages
12.01 The provisions of this By-law shall not be construed as relieving or limiting
the responsibility or liability of any person displaying or owning any
Election Sign for personal injury or property damage resulting from the
placing of such signs or resulting from the negligence or willful acts of
such person, or his or her agents or employees, in the construction,
erection, display, maintenance, repair or removal of such signs.
13 Conflict
13.01 If a provision of this By-law conflicts with a provision of any applicable Act,
regulation or other by-law, the provision that establishes the higher or
more restrictive standard shall prevail.
14 Repeal
14.01 Section 63.(1) to 63.(6) and Schedule “A” – Redemption Fee – Election
Signs of Sign By-law No. 6999/09 is repealed.
15 Short Title
15.01 The short title of this By-law is the “Election Sign By-law”.
By-law 7591/17 Page 9
16 Effective Date
16.01 This By-law shall take effect on the date that it is passed.
By-law passed this 11th day of December, 2017.