CITY OF TORONTO
URBAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
420/997103
Development Approval
Contact: L. Mazzocca
392-0421
January 6, 1998
To: Toronto Community Council
Subject: 647 Gerrard Street East: Request for approval of variances from Chapter 297, Signs, of the City of Toronto Municipal Code to permit one illuminated projecting sign (Ward 25).
Origin: Commissioner, Urban Development Services, upon referral of an application by Forward Sign & Advertising Co. Ltd., 4144 Midland Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario, M1V 4S7, on behalf of Tran Hai Sinh/Truong Lai Phong, 647 Gerrard Street, East, Toronto, Ontario, M4M 1Y2. (p:\1998\ug\uds\pln\lu971500.pln) - jc
Recommendation:
That City Council refuse Application No. 997103 respecting minor variances from Chapter 297, Signs, of the City of Toronto Municipal Code to permit one illuminated projecting sign.
Comments:
The property is located on the south side of Gerrard Street East, east of Broadview Avenue, in a mixed-use (commercial/residential) district. The property accommodates a three storey mixed-use building with residential units on the upper storey and retail uses at grade.
The applicant is requesting permission to install one illuminated projecting sign on the north elevation of the building (see Figure 1). The sign has a length of 0.7 metres and a height of 2.2 metres, with an area of 1.5 m².
The sign does not comply with Chapter 297 of the Municipal Code in the following ways:
the area of the projecting sign (1.7 m²) exceeds the maximum area permitted of 0.4 m² by 1.3 m²; and
the sign will be located within 10 metres from a residential window.
The variances relate to the size and location of the proposed sign. The maximum area for a projecting sign is based upon the amount of frontage the unit has on the street. In this instance, a fascia sign identifying the ground floor retail use already exists and the applicant proposes to install an additional sign on the second storey level of the building, which I consider excessive given the narrow frontage of this commercial unit. The sign would also be located within 1 metre of residential windows on either side. An illuminated projecting sign this close to a residential window will cast light into the residential unit and could adversely affect the tenant’s enjoyment of the unit.
I am recommending that this application be refused, as I find the variances requested to be significant and not within the general intent and purpose of the sign provisions of the Municipal Code.
John Morand
Commissioner
