A local developer seeking special permission to use over-sized advertising signs was denied by Puslinch council on July 16 and instead got a lecture about living up to expectations.
Bruce Donaldson, who represents developer Cityview Homes, said at council’s last meeting in July the company “regrets it immensely” that it placed four signs without permission from the county or township on the Meadows of Aberfoyle property on Brock Road. The largest sign is 12 feet by 16 feet, and the others measure eight by 12.
Cityview realizes the signs exceed size restrictions in the Puslinch sign bylaw by quite a bit, Donaldson told council, and it has already removed three, with plans for the fourth to come down within days (all the signs are now down).
But the signs “didn’t come cheap,” Donaldson added, and his client would like permission to use them, as well as coloured flags, to help sell the remaining third of the development lots.
The delegation, however, received little sympathy from staff and council.
Mayor Brad Whitcombe said council had serious concerns for neighbours at the outset of the development process, and subsequently acted as a mediator to help address the concerns of residents.
And now, Whitcombe noted, township staff gets repeated phone calls from those residents wondering when some of the assurances made by the developer will come to fruition.
Clerk Brenda Law, said she, too, was tired of the broken promises.
“I’m getting really fed up with it,” Law said. “Enough’s enough.” As an example, Law said neighbours were told the developer would be planting trees on a berm along the property line in May, which is now long gone.
She added if the township is not given a date when the trees will be planted, it will hire someone itself and bill Cityview, possibly through taxes.
Councillor Dick Visser agreed with Law, saying this was the perfect year for planting trees. He also said he does not see why Cityview could not meet another assurance about putting up a fence.
Councillor Don McKay said he was concerned when he heard about the signs going up without permission and he was glad to hear they were coming down.
“Your adage seems to be that it’s better to ask forgiveness than seek permission,” McKay said. “I have no sympathy for you.” He added he would not be in favour of an exemption from the sign bylaw, especially considering Cityview already has large signs on a trailer and barn on the property.
Councillor Matthew Bulmer took a somewhat less rigid stance. He said if the developer can “prove [its] worth” to neighbours, he may support a bylaw exemption, but he could not do so right away.
Council is in a tough position, councillor Susan Fielding told the delegation. It does not want to hurt Cityview’s business, but it has to enforce the rules. She added there have been a lot of negative comments from residents about the development, and noted there may also be issues with the other signs on the property.
Whitcombe said it makes sense that the signs be removed, and suggested Cityview try to make progress on the promises made to neighbours and come back to council at its next meeting on Aug. 6 (the results of which were not known by press time). The delegation agreed.
Whitcombe told the delegation if it used the same zeal on its development agreement that it has on the sign issue, it likely wouldn’t have any problems.
Last week Whitcombe said he and Chief Building Official Dave Thompson have met with Cityview’s Evan Shear to discuss items that need to be completed, and now it’s up to Cityview to deliver.
