Report to/Rapport au :

 

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

04 June 2007 / le 04 juin 2007

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,

Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement 

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource: Sandra Garnett, Manager, Business Integration

Services, Building Code Services Branch/ Services du code du bâtiment

(613) 580-2424 x41544, Sandra.Garnett@ottawa.ca

 

Gloucester-South Nepean (22)

Ref N°: ACS2007-PTE-BLD-0011

 

 

SUBJECT:

SIGN MINOR VARIANCE - 15 BILL LEATHEM DRIVE

 

 

OBJET :

DÉROGATION MINEURE AU RÈGLEMENT SUR LES ENSEIGNES –15, PROMENADE BILL LEATHEM

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

 

That Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council approve the application to vary Section 78(1) of Sign By-law 2005-439 to permit three identification wall signs to be located in the third storey of a three-storey office building located at 15 Bill Leathem Drive.

 

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil d’approuver la demande visant à modifier le paragraphe 78(1) du Règlement municipal 2005-439 afin de permettre l’installation de trois panneaux muraux d’identification au 3e étage d’un immeuble de bureaux de trois étages situé au 15, promenade Bill Leathem.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

Minto Developments Inc. has applied for a minor variance to permit the installation of three wall mounted signs in the top storey on the east, west and south elevations of a three-storey commercial building location on the subject property (Reference Document 1).

 

The property is located on the north side of Bill Leathem Drive, west of Leikin Drive within an existing Business Park (Reference Document 2).  The property is zoned MBC and, therefore, is classified a District 3 under the Sign By-law.  In this District, wall mounted signs are restricted to the first or second storeys only.  Company logo signs, typically displayed on the top storey of buildings located in the higher intensity District 4 commercial and industrial zones, are not permitted on the subject property.

 

Approval of this application would permit a wall sign on each face on the third storey.

 

 

DISCUSSION

 

The wall signs within District 3 zones are permitted a sign face area of 20 per cent of the area of the wall storey on which the sign will be located.  On this property, the sign area permitted would be 5.7 square metres per sign.  The proposed per sign area is 3.3 square metres.

 

For multi occupancy buildings, wall signs are typically installed in the first or second storey, close to the entrance of the business to which the sign relates.  Logo signs, permitted in District 4, are building identification signs typically installed on the top storey of single or multi-occupant high rise buildings. e.g. Nortel Building, Carling Avenue.  In many cases, the building name is assigned to the major occupant. 

 

Large logo signs are associated with high rise commercial development and are restricted to District 4 properties zoned for high density commercial/industrial uses to balance sign location and scale with building size and use. 

 

The proposed signs, on each of three elevations, would be the only signs on the building.  At 58 per cent of what is permitted under the by-law, the scale of the proposed signs is significantly smaller.  Within the business park, the buildings are well set back from one another so that the size and location of the proposed signs in the third storey will have minimal visual impact. 

 

In light of the above, the Department is satisfied the application is in keeping with the intent of the Sign By-law and approval is recommended.

 

 

CONSULTATION

 

In response to the standard circulation to property owners, occupants, business and community groups, and the Ward Councillor, no comments in opposition to the application were received.

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

N/A

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1 - Elevation Perspective

Document 2 - Location Plan

Document 3 - Sign Details

 

 

DISPOSITION

 

City Clerk's Branch, Secretariat Services to notify the applicant, Mr. Rob Price, 300-427 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON, K1R 7Y2 of Council's decision.

 

Building Services Branch will process sign permits resulting from the Council direction in accordance with Sign By-law 2005-439.


ELEVATION PERSPECTIVE                                                                                DOCUMENT 1

 

 

LOCATION PLAN                                                                                                  DOCUMENT 2

 

 

SIGN DETAILS                                                                                                       DOCUMENT 3