Sign Bylaws
Portable Sign Bylaws
Portable sign bylaws are designed to restrict the use of signage in almost every municipality in Canada. Often these bylaws violate the Canadian Corporate Charter and the right to free speech. Arguably these rules are, at the minimum, unfair in comparison to how other types of signs are enforced against. In the larger scope of the industry these bylaws, for the most part, are out right discriminatory. For example; in almost every jurisdiction a real estate sign on commercial private property is exempt from requiring permits. While a mobile, portable or temporary sign not only requires a permit but is often also limited on their use, the number of signs allowed on a property and also require separation distances.
The Below Regulations are summarized for the reader’s convenience. The Bylaws are always subject to the interpretation of the regulations in favor of the respective City, Town or County. The leading authority may change the signage bylaws at any time. Detailed information may be found for each jurisdiction following the links below.
Alberta
City of Beaumont Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Permit Required
- Shall be located on private property;
- Shall not be located on a residential lot or within the Conventional Neighbourhood, Integrated Neighbourhood, or Mature Neighbourhood Districts;
- Shall be limited to 1 sign per lot or 1 sign per registered condominium plan;
- Shall not exceed 2 m in height and 4.5 m² in area;
- Shall be located at least 1m from a lot line;
- Shall not be located closer than 25 m from another portable sign;
City of Brooks Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Valid permit required, must have landlord approval
- Issued annually at the start of the calendar year.
- If issued after June 30 the fee will be half of the annual fee
- Signs must be placed .5m from the curb line
- 1 sign per property/business
City of Calgary Bylaws for Portable Signs
- 4×4’ signs or smaller on private property do not require a permit
- Separation distance of 75m between signs
- 4×8’ or larger signs are required to be placed on a city marker. If a market needs to be created, there will be an additional one time fee
- Non-profits are eligible to place signs on public land
- Maximum number of signs per property
- 75m or less frontage allows for 1 sign
- 75 – 200m frontage allows for 2 signs
- 200m or greater frontage allows for 3 signs
City of Edmonton Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Valid permit required, must have landlord approval. Subject to zoning
- up to 5 signs per property are permitted at any time
- Separation distance of 100 ft between signs.
- Set back to property line. No obstructing traffic view
- No 3rd party advertising
- Permits issued in 90 or 365 day increments.
- Non-profits
- Permits valid for up to 14 days, locations selected from an extensive list of predetermined sites on public land throughout the city.
- Each NP has an allowance of 8 permits per year.
City of Fort McMurray (Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) Bylaws for Portable Signs
- All portable signs must have a valid sign permit or be placed on a valid sign marker.
- Approved for all land use districts except CR, SH, HR, SE and any other residential land use districts.
- Signs must be set back 3m from the road
- There must be a minimum of 25m between portable signs & 10m from a permanent sign
- No 3rd party advertising allowed
City of Fort Saskatchewan Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required to place a portable sign. Permission of the property owner must be obtained.
- Must be 1.5m from property line, 3m from site access & 5m from a corner intersection
- Cannot be illuminated (per city discretion)
- Separation distance of 10m or 50m between signs. Site dependent.
City of Grande Prairie Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A development permit is not required if all the applicable conditions from the bylaws in section 4.10 are met.
- No 3rd party advertising allowed
- A separation distance of 15m from another portable sign or billboard.
- Signs per property
- 1 portable sign for up to 30m of frontage.
- 2 portable signs for between 30m to 150m.
- 3 portable signs for a frontage greater than 150m.
City of Lacombe for Portable Signs
- No Permit required
- One Sign per property
- Must be wholly located within property line
City of Leduc Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Valid permit required, must have landlord approval.
- No part of the sign may obstruct traffic view;
- Set back 1.0 m from any property line; and
- Separation distance of 61 m from another portable sign.
City of Lethbridge Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Valid permit required
- Sign may be placed for 120 days at a time or no more than 180 days per year.
- Maximum number of signs per property
- 78m or less frontage allows for 1 sign
- 78m or more frontage allows for 2 signs
- Minimum separation distance of 46m between signs
City of Lloyminster Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required for all portable signs
- Separation distance of 30m required between portable signs
- 1 portable sign is permitted for sites less than 50m
- 2 portable signs are permitted for sites greater than 50m
- Must be placed a minimum of 1.5m from the property line
- No 3rd party advertising allowed
City of Medicine Hat for Portable Signs
- Valid permit required
- Portable signs must be 40m apart
- A Portable Sign is a permitted use in all districts except the residential districts and the downtown mixed-use district, and is a discretionary use in the downtown mixed-use district.
City of Red Deer for Portable Signs
- No permit required
- Portable signs must be 100m apart
- Maximum of 180 days/year, max 90 days at a time with 30 days between sign placement
- 1.5m inside of property line
City of Sherwood Park (Strathcona County) Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required
- Portable signs must be set back from other features:
- 23m (75.5 ft) from a permanent sign
- 1m (3.3 ft) from an existing or future curb line
- Portable signs per site:
- Two (2) sign, up to 90m frontage
- Three (3) signs, more than 90m
City of Spruce Grove Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required to place a portable sign
- 1 temporary sign (portable, a-frame, banners or billboards) is allowed for every 90m of street frontage
- Permits can be issued for a period not exceeding one year
- Must not obstruct views of traffic
City of St Albert Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required to place a portable sign
- No third party advertising.
- Set back 1.5 m from any property line
- Separation distance of 30 m from another portable sign.
- Up to 2 signs per property
- Regulations may vary within districts
City of Stony Plain Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A minimum of 15m is required between signs
- Must be set back a minimum of 0.3m within the property
- A maximum of 1 sign per business
- A maximum of 1 sign per 30m of frontage
Town of Whitecourt Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required with land owner permission.
- A Portable sign must be at least 20.0m from any other sign.
- A Portable sign must be at least 0.6m from a property line.
Saskatchewan
City of Lloyminister Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required for all portable signs
- Separation distance of 50m required between portable signs
- 1 portable sign is permitted for sites less than 50m
- 2 portable signs are permitted for sites greater than 50m
- Must be placed a minimum of 1.5m from the property line
- No 3rd party advertising allowed
City of Moose Jaw Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Temporary signs mus be placed a minimum of
- two (2.0) metres from the curb
- one (1.0) metre from any City sidewalk or pathway.
- five (5.0) metres from any private driveway.
- thirty (30) metres from any intersection.
- two (2.0) metres from any fire hydrant.
- separation distance of 20.0 metres between signs
City of North Battleford Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Portable signs are prohibited on all streets and buffer strips.
- All Temporary signs regulated in this bylaw must be removed from a permitted area within fourteen (14) days after placement of the sign(s) unless otherwise specified.
- Third party signs are not permitted in any zone with the exception of non-profit organizations
City of Regina Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Requires a valid permit, which are issued in 12-month periods, starting July 1st. Will not be prorated
- Portable signs must be set back 0.3m from property lines
- One sign per every 90m of frontage
- Distance between signs is a minimum, the average height of the two signs
- Off-site advertising only permitted in MAC, MAC3, HC, DSC, D and Industrial zones
- Located a minimum of 45m from other portable signs and 30m from billboards
City of Saskatoon Bylaws for Portable Signs
- Requires a valid permit
- Must be placed on private property, with the exception of Community Associations.
- A minimum of 20m from other portable signs
- All parts of the sign must maintain within the property line
- Portable signs are not permitted in the AM, MX2, DCD1, 3, 5-7 districts
Manitoba
City of BRANDON Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- Valid permit required
- are only permitted in the “C” Commercial, “I” Industrial, and “EI” Educational and Institutional Zones
- no mobile sign shall be located within 3.0 metres of any driveway, intersection, fire hydrant and 4.0 metres of a street curb;
- shall be no closer than 25.0 metres from another mobile sign
- a maximum of one (1) mobile sign may be erected per premise. Where a premises has multiple businesses, no more than two (2) mobile signs may be erected on the premises
City of Steinbach Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- Development permit required.
- A business may only have one sign.
- A lot with multiple businesses may have two signs max.
- Signs may not be illuminated.
City of Winnipeg Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- Permit required to place sign
- Minimum setback from any and all property lines
- 10 ft. from any entrance/exit driveway
- Separation distance of 65ft required between mobile signs
City of Portage La Prairie Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- Valid mobile sign permit required.
- Cannot be located within 3.0 metres of any exit, entrance, driveway or corner of property site lines.
- Must be a minimum distance of 6.0 metres from any other mobile signs at all times
- Max. Quantity: 1 per site, or a max. of 3 where there are 3 or more uses on the same site.
City of Thompson Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- Permit required, valid up to one year.
- One (1) mobile sign shall be permitted per user
- a maximum of three (3) mobile signs on the zoning lot,
- mobile signs must be located on the site a minimum distance of 20 m (66 ft), apart
- located minimum distance of 0.3 m (1 ft) from the site line
Newfoundland
Town of Burin Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- no advertisement shall be erected or displayed in the Planning Area unless a permit for the advertisement is first obtained from the Authority.
- Offsite Promotional Signs falling within the designated control lines of any highway must be referred to an approved, or exempted by, the Government Services Office serving the area.
Town of Clarenville Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- a valid permit with land owner approval is required. Temporary sign permits are 45 days in duration
Town of Gander Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit is required
- May be placed for a duration of a maximum of 2 months, twice per calendar year, or 4 months, once per calendar year.
- No sign will be permitted to be erected in the public right-of-way or within 15 metres of another temporary/portable sign.
- One (1) sign shall be permitted on any one lot. Corner lots with multiple businesses, are permitted one (1) sign facing each street. (Both signs are prohibited for the same business
Town of Grand Falls-Windsor Bylaws for Portable Signs
- A valid permit with land owner permission is required. Permits are issued in 6 month intervals.
- Set back a minimum distance of 1.5 m from a lot line and at no time shall be permitted to encroach on town property.
- Not permitted in the public right-of-way or within fifteen (15) meters of another portable/temporary sign.
- One (1) sign per commercial lot. In the case of corner lots, one sign facing each street may be permitted.
Town of Lewisporte Bylaws for Portable Signs
- a valid permit with land owner approval is required.
City of St. John’s Bylaws for Mobile Signs
- A valid permit is required, issued in 6 month increments. Landlord permission required.
- Must be placed a minimum of 12m from other signs
- The approval of temporary signs, including their size, design, location and duration of placement, shall be at the discretion of Council.
- No third-party advertising
- Prohibited in heritage areas
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