Signs outside of churches and schools might be permitted some extra pizzazz should council approve a motion to allow digital sign displays on land districted public and private service (PS).
The motion, put forward by Coun. Wes Brodhead, is currently queued for council discussion on March 21. The motion would amend the City’s land-use bylaw to permit digital design displays in the public and private service land district, with regulations including setbacks to minimize impact on surrounding lands, and automatic luminosity dimming during the evenings.
Currently, signs with a digital display are only permitted in land districted as corridor commercial (CC) or commercial and industrial service (CIS). St. Albert’s neighbouring municipalities, including Fort Saskatchewan, Sturgeon County, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, and Leduc, all permit signs with a digital display in a public service district or its equivalent, according to administration’s answer to an information request from Brodhead.
While Morinville doesn’t currently permit digital sign use within the public service district, the information request said they are in the process of reviewing their bylaw to incorporate digital display signage.
In 2017, council voted to allow digital signs on commercial land. Prior to that, the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce had boasted the city’s first two digital signs, beginning in 2011.
In an interview, Brodhead said sign manufacturers had argued that St. Albert schools and other entities on public service land use signs that don’t reflect “modern sign technology.” Additionally, Brodhead said his church wanted to put up an electronic sign, but found they weren’t allowed.
“It wasn’t just because I was involved in a certain faith community and we want to put up a sign … although that certainly drove it for me,” Brodhead said. “It was around, ‘Is this good for our community and in keeping with where the region and where society is going with this type of sign?’”
Greg Pawlechko, owner of Sign Guru, an Edmonton portable sign rental business, said even with dimming requirements, enforcing how bright signs are could be an issue for the city.
“Some of these churches are in the middle of a residential area,” Pawlechko said. “Is this going to impact somebody else’s right to sleep?”
In the information request, St. Albert administration said in the past, the City has been opposed to allowing digital signage in the public service district “due to the potential conflicts between parties interested in using the signage, and the adjacent residents.”
Brodhead said St. Albert has always been careful around its sign bylaws.
“We want to make sure that we don’t get sign pollution,” Brodhead said. “But there is a purpose for them, and if we do it well, then they add to the community. If we don’t then they’re a distraction … hopefully we can come up with a reasonable path forward.”
Brodhead’s motion is scheduled to come forward for council’s debate on March 21.
