Barrie Mayor Asking for Harder Stance on Illegal Signage

Sign By-Law Review Doesn't Go Far Enough

City Hall is taking a softer stance on intrusive billboards than the mayor would like. A review of Barrie’s Sign By-Law ended with a handful of changes of clarification Monday night, taking few steps to mitigate the problem of illegal signage in the city. Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman says the review didn’t take a hard enough stance on issues such as trailers being used as permanent billboards, and asked city staff if there were more strict enforcement steps to be taken. The city’s by-law office will take a look at the matter and are expected to report back before the By-Law review is ratified by council at next week’s meeting. The changes to the by-law initially approved Monday night include clarifying actions a by-law officer can take in dealing with illegal signage, while changing up various sections to contain more plain language for residents to understand. Fines for illegal signage would be increased to reflect the cost of enforcement, while city staff are quick to point out it’s difficult to find the owner of an illegal sign in order to fine them.