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A step-by-step guide to billboard variances
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• Find the variance applications (Steps 1,2,3 & 4 below) • Contact the City Councillor (Step 5) • Prepare a written or oral deputation (Step 6) • Inform the community (Step 7)
Step #1 Each month, the city's Community Councils hold public meetings. The agendas for these meetings are posted on the City's website. From the city's homepage
(www.city.toronto.on.ca),
you can go to the "Accessing City Hall" section, click on
"Quick links", then "Agendas" and then press "GO".
On the Agendas page, the Community Councils are listed down the left side. Each Community Council represents a different geographic area of the city, roughly matching the former municipalities that existed prior to amalgamation. The six are: Etobicoke, Midtown, NorthYork, Scarborough, Toronto East York & Humber York. The Councils are made up of the Councillors who represent the constituents of that area. Each Toronto Councillor sits on City Council and on one Community Council. info about the Community Councils General info from City website Map of Community Council boundaries (hard to download) List of Community Council members
Step #2 Choose the Community
Council you're interested in. On the Community
Council Agendas page, click on your selection. 
Click on the upcoming meeting. If the date is not underlined, it means the agenda has not been posted yet.
Step #3 Now you're looking at the Agenda.
There will be around 30 or 40 items on the Agenda, a mishmash of re-zonings, street name changes, road closures, building permits, traffic calming, etc. The variance applications will usually appear in a cluster, but not always. The easiest way to scan through the agenda, is to click on the blue "Agenda Index" link in the upper right hand corner.
In this example, there is only one variance request, item #20.
When you click on the item number, it will take you to the full item which is actually a Staff Report.
The Staff Report always begins with a staff recommendation. In this case, staff is recommending that the application be refused.
(Don't let that get your hopes up. City Councillors are happy to ignore a staff report, especially if no one has ever seen it, and they are being lobbied by both the property owner and the billboard company. Billboard companies also happen to be one of the largest financial contributors to City Councillor's election campaigns.) The Staff Report goes on to explain the background situation. In this case, a building owner wants to install double billboard for third party commercial advertising. This is a violation of the sign bylaw because the building is in a residential area.
The Background and Comments are usually followed by a Conclusion, contact info for the staff person and the name of the Councillor whose ward the billboard would be in.
Step #4 The variance process was designed to allow for flexibility in the bylaw in unusual situations. Decide for yourself if this application is a fair request, or simply another attempt to abuse the loophole. If you decide that it's an abuse, continue to #5.
Step #5 Contact the City Councillor. If the staff recommendation is to refuse the application, ask the Councillor to support the staff report. If the Staff Report recommends approval, ask the Councillor to refuse the application and explain why.(Click here for a sample letter.) If you live in his or her ward, or nearby, let them know.
Step #6 Send a written deputation to the Committee Administrator. This will be copied and included in the agenda of all Committee members. The phone number and e-mail of the Committee Administrator at the top of the agenda.
If you have time to actually attend the meeting, please do! This is the best way to have an impact. Call the Committee Administrator and tell him or her that you'd like to make a deputation. They should be able to tell you what time the item will appear on the agenda. Click
here for a handy guide to making depututations! Step #7 If you have time, inform the community around the proposed billboard location about the application. Do a poll or a survey. If you meet someone who is opposed to the billboard tell them to contact their Councillor. Raise awareness, and give them information they need to influence their Councillor. When making the deputation, point out that it should not be your responsibility to contact the community. The City should be consulting residents for every Variance Application. People need to have a say about what happens in their community and who is able to purchase our visual environment. GOOD LUCK and please keep us informed about your efforts!!!
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