GRAVENHURST BYLAW STAFF REMOVE SOME ‘ILLEGAL’ HOSPITAL SUPPORT SIGNS ON ‘TOWN PROPERTY’
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — Town bylaw staff has begun removing some red signs supporting two hospitals in Muskoka, which they say are illegally on town property.
So when Save South Muskoka Hospital supporters march outside the town hall tomorrow from 2-3 p.m. before a council meeting, they can ask for them back, bylaw manager Kristen Ford told MuskokaTODAY.com
On Sunday bylaw enforcement staff was seen by a citizen journalist picking up signs along Bethune Drive, which SSMH says they received permission from homeowners to put up.
Ford said the “incidental signs” contravened municipal bylaws “as per section 4.0 prohibitive signs — section 41(b) incidental signs on town property.”
And that summer staff has begun removing as part of their job.
Sign enforcement is proactive where time permits, and the town does not require a complaint to deal with them.
The signs have been widely distributed across north and south Muskoka without any similar actions.
Yesterday they were seen sweeping up the north end of Bethune Drive between Brock Street and Winewood Road taking down the red signs.
Ford said A-frame signs promoting businesses are allowed, such as ones spotted nearby in front of Lester Square, where the bylaw officer was seen removing a SSMH sign.
SSMH member Phyllis Winnington-Ingram says she will take return of the signs Tuesday when she and others plan to march in front of the municipal offices as part of a continuing campaign to encourage Muskoka towns and towns to speak more forcefully to protect south Muskoka health’s hospital at Bracebridge.
But wishes there could have been more accommodation regarding the urgent pressing nature and public good concerned.
She and fellow SSMH support Lorraine Etler put out the signs on Bethune last week and this past Saturday did the same from Bethune Street down Bay Street to the Muskoka Wharf.
She said for each sign they did request the permission of the property owner to place.
Most of the other 50 signs they erected on the weekend, including the main street, were still standing Monday.
As for signs on private property, the town says that any type of prohibited sign per Section 4, Sub 4.1 (a-f), are not permitted to be placed on town property or private property. In the event that a sign is found placed on private property, By-law staff will contact the owner and request voluntary compliance or send a notice of removal..
A citizen journalist spotted town bylaw staff removing signs on north Bethune Drive Sunday.
Wouldn’t the decent thing for staff to have done was to move the signs 10 feet further away from the road considering dozens of other more flagrant, non-conforming signs routinely pop up on any given day?
Ford said even though Bethune Drive is a District Road the town has care and control regarding signage.
Mayor Heidi Lorenz offered little solace or sympathy re: the SSMH signs.
In an email reply she wrote: “In effort to maintain the aesthetics of the town, and as staffing resources are available (usually when the bylaw students start), we do proactively remove non-permitted signs from municipal road allowances regardless of their content.”
She wrote: “Staff have been picking up all kinds of roadside signs that don’t have permits and/or do not comply with the town’s sign bylaw, not exclusively the hospital ones.
“If you see other signs along roadways, they either have permits, or staff haven’t quite gotten to them yet.
“That said, it is the obligation of the sign owner to remove these signs and we typically have given them an opportunity to do so.
“This proactive community aesthetic program is in addition to our complaint-based system, in which staff would enforce a particular set of signs if they don’t meet the requirements of the sign bylaw.
“It’s no secret I was behind the push for a sign bylaw in 2016, in fact I don’t think it’s restrictive enough.”
The mayor concluded: “I believe the bylaw must be applied regardless of the message on the sign.”
A follow-up email to her about whether the signs deserved special consideration or permission wasn’t replied to.
A further question about the position of the Town of Gravenhurst and the mayor re: her and its official stances on the hospital and its financial contribution of only $1 million was not returned.
We will follow this story for any further developments.
For more information on signs and the town’s sign bylaw, 2023-031, they can either reach out to the bylaw services division or review the Sign By-law on the Town’s website https://www.gravenhurst.ca/en/town-hall/by-laws.aspx.
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