Reasons for approvals vary based on the city in which they’re sought, the proposed sign type, and the extent of variance required.

Try to consider all possible reasons that your application might be refused, and focus on addressing those issues. A refusal may be related to the extent of the variance required and, often, on how much of a precedence would be set by its approval. If the City staff person perceives the variance as too great a deviation from the City’s by-law regulations and he or she cannot ascertain an adequate justification for the variance, it will not get approved.

Stage 3
Once the City staff person has completed a review and due diligence with respect to the application, he writes a report. This report is sent to the local City Councillor and afterwards to the applicant. It is at this time that the applicant can review the proposed variance with the local Councillor, if required, before the application goes any further.

Shortly after distribution of the report, the item is brought before Council or one of its sub-committees, depending on the format set out by the local municipality. Larger municipalities have a sub-committee review such items before they are brought to Council. Sub-committee meetings, which are relatively informal, are more likely to provide the public with an opportunity to discuss the item in question than if the matter went directly to Council.

If the variance report is not favourable, it is usually better to have the application brought before a sub-committee of Council. This gives the applicant an occasion to discuss the application’s merits and perhaps to persuade committee members that the application should be further reviewed. Once the matter is before Council, there is usually no opportunity for the applicant to make a delegation to argue the merits of the application.

Stage 4
Once the application has been reviewed by the sub-committee and gone to Council for final approval, the last step is to await the authorization letter. Watch for the City Clerk’s letter of approval of the proposed variance. This document makes possible the approval of a sign permit application. Only with this letter can you apply for the sign permit itself and finally get a permit to install the signage.

In some cities, these four stages can take a year to complete! Be prepared to work hard and spend a significant amount of time on the variance approval.

Make Sure the Process Goes Smoothly

How do you ensure that this procedure is not a waste of time? It depends on the situation.

What is the reason for the variance application?

• Is the by-law to which it relates overly restrictive?
• Does the nature of the building make compliance with the by-law impossible?
• Is it simply that your customer wants a sign that doesn’t comply?

Whatever the reason, to get a variance approved, the justification you use is the key. A variance that is justified will be approved. What provides justification though? How is it used and where do you find it?

For each application, justification is pretty much the same. A sign by-law is a document that was created by a municipality to try to cover all types of signage and signage needs. Unfortunately, not all proposals will fall within its regulations. Getting a variance from these regulations is not a negative thing to do. It should be viewed more as a need to approve a unique situation that does not fall within the parameters of the by-law.

Here are some justifications that can be used:

Nature of the building. Is the building constructed in such a way that a sign cannot be installed in compliance with the by-law? Is the building located such that the proposed sign will not be useful if installed in compliance with the by-law?

Scale of sign. A sign constructed to the maximum allowable area under by-law could appear to be too small in relation to the scale of the building. Is the proposed sign going to be so small that it is lost on the building façade?

Sign type is not permitted. Once in a while, a sign type is not permitted or not identified in the sign by-law and a variance will be required. In this instance, the justification is based upon the need for that sign type. How does this sign type work better than a sign type that is permitted in the by-law?

It does not matter how much of a variance is required; it is really the way that the justification for the required variance is presented that will usually determine the variance application’s approval or refusal. Even a proposed sign that has many areas of non-compliance can be approved when it is presented with sound reasons.

Finding and using the right justification is the key. A good starting point is to use the individual traits of the proposed sign. Highlight, for example, the sign’s benefits, its slight impact on the community, or even about how small the amount of variance required really is.

Diminish the amount of variance by presenting it as being:

• only a small per cent above the maximum sign area permitted
• only slightly larger than the maximum sign dimensions permitted
• required to be located beyond by-law provisions due to visibility limitations

If the amount of variance required is substantially more than what the by-law permits, negotiations might be required to find common ground that satisfies both the customer and the municipality.

Know, though, that even the most-complete and justifiable application will face a major hurtle: TIME.

Just Cole is President of World Impact Inc., in Concord, Ont. He also works with SAC on by-law issues and reviews and is a member of its Ontario Chapter Board of Directors. He can be reached at jcole@worldimpact.ca.