Kim Zimmer, owner of Exotic Pet Corner in Brandon, Canada, is fighting the city’s proposed restrictions against mobile signs. She will bring the issue in front of the city hall with a petition she’s collected containing at least 100 signatures. The proposed bylaw is a compromise from an earlier attempt to ban mobile signs altogether.
Zimmer bought a black, neon-lettered mobile sign early this year after renting one for several years. If the proposed bylaw passes, she would only be allowed to display the sign for 60 days at a time and would also have to pay $50 just for the right to display the sign. In addition, she would also have to pay another $20 every time she wants to bring the sign out of storage and display it for another two months. She would also have to pay someone to move the sign and store it. Business owners worry that this petition could drive business out of the city.
Many other cities have similar restrictions. Some let business owners use temporary signs for only a certain number of times a year, while one - Red Deer, Alta. – bans them outright. The proposed bylaw stems from wanting to keep mobile signs from multiplying, particularly along the entrance into the city. If the bylaw is passed, a strip mall could only have three signs, which would have to be far enough away from driveways and not taking away from the minimum requirement for parking spaces.
