Friday, October 3rd, 2008 ::: Screw-Ups

Section 297 11 (D) (f) of the former City of Toronto Municipal Code regulates the height of billboards that are built on the side walls of buildings and states:

In the case of a fascia sign used for the purposes of third-party advertising and located on a wall not facing a street, it is not erected on a building historically listed by Council or designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and is not erected above the fourth floor or fifteen (15) metres above grade, whichever is less;

What part of “not erected above the fourth floor” is so difficult to understand? This is Astral Media’s illegal 16′x12′ fascia sign at 3261 Dundas West/283 Gilmore Ave:

The sign has been vacant for the past six months, but that’s not because of enforcement. As you can see, the sign is erected above the fourth floor of the building, as high as the top of the fifth floor.

It is impossible to build a 16′x12′ sign on this wall without building it higher than the 4th floor of this building. Therefore a 16′x12′ sign should not be permittable on this wall. (A 10′x20′ horizontally oriented sign would not work on this wall on account of the abutting property destroying visibility.)

Never one to be a stickler when it comes to billboard regulations, the City of Toronto Buildings Department ignored the 4th floor restriction and granted Nick DiBona of Astral Media the right to violate the law when it issued permit 01-153799 on June 29, 2001.

The approved plan for permit 01-153799 clearly calls for a 16′x12′ sign:

Now look at the elevation diagram that the buildings department stamped and approved:

The Signs By-Law requires applicants to submit elevation diagrams to scale. Not only was Nick DiBona’s diagram not to scale, it wasn’t even drawn with a ruler. The diagram also illustrates a sign built slightly above the 4th floor. Nevertheless, it was stamped and approved by the Buildings Department.

According to the Building Inspector’s notes, on May 9, 2002, the building inspector for the area inspected the sign and, although it was clearly built above the 4th floor, cleared the permit and wrote that the sign was built “as per plan”:

Astral Media entered into an encroachment agreement with the abutter, 3257 Dundas Street West in order to obtain the permit. Nick DiBona did very well. 3257 Dundas West is getting screwed big time. It is receiving $1,000/year for encroachment rights that are worth at least $6,000/year: