As readers of this blog are keenly aware, the City of York signs by-law prohibits the erection of a new billboard unless an existing billboard is removed. Unfortunately, the City of Toronto Buildings Department is improperly not requiring the removal of an existing billboard before clearing the inspection of a new sign. As a result, [...]

Today we take a look at the main reason behind the proliferation of illegal billboards in the City of York. It’s about the Cap and Replace system. Billboard companies in York are permitted to build a new billboard only if they remove an existing legal billboard of a similar type elsewhere in the former city.
The [...]

The City of York has a signs by-law that places more restrictions on ground signs than on roof signs, much like North York. This entirely goes against current planning thinking with respect to billboards - roof signs are being banned all across Ontario, and ground signs permitted. One of the more restrictive aspects of York’s [...]

Today we continue our look into illegal billboards in the City of York, probably the dirtiest of the former municipalities on an illegal billboard per capita basis. Take a look at these two Pattison signs along Jane Street, on the CPR right-of-way:

This railway is in fact the borderline between North York and York. Buildings Department [...]

First, an apology. On May 8, 2008 inaccurate information appeared on this web site concerning city planner Paul Bain. Mr. Bain was involved in the writing of the signs by-law between 1993 and 1994 but had no involvement in variance applications or law enforcement since then. IllegalSigns.ca apologizes for the error. [...]