A Bradford West Gwillimbury councillor is frustrated not all municipal election candidates are following the rules for campaign signs — putting some up on private or vacant properties without permission.
“It started with Ward 1. The signs were in public places or people didn’t authorize them to be put up,” said Coun. Raj Sandhu, who is running for re-election in that ward, which encompasses the west end of town between Sideroad 10 and Melbourne Drive.
“(Then) I started seeing it in other areas, too. It’s not only a Ward 1 thing.”
Sandhu said he is now being contacted by confused residents who have other candidates’ signs on their properties — often on boulevards — but they did not give permission for them to be put there.
“It takes up your time, and you have to find out and provide (a solution). I’d rather be knocking on doors than answering other candidates’ questions,” he said.
“People should follow the sign bylaw. If you don’t have permission, don’t try to sneak one onto the boulevard. As long as they’re on private property with the owner’s permission, they could come to Newmarket and put their signs up.”
This is Sandhu’s fourth municipal election in BWG and there have been sign issues every time, he said, adding last year someone cut several of his signs in half.
Brent Lee, the town’s manager of enforcement, said staff get calls during every election campaign about signs.
This year, he said, town staff have received some calls about signs being posted without permission, but “I wouldn’t say it’s too different from any other election.”
The first couple weeks after candidates are allowed to put up signs are the busiest for staff, as candidates go through a learning curve of knowing where they can place signs, he said.
Incorrectly placed signs are an issue everywhere in BWG, he added.
“The lack of compliance with bylaws … has been spread throughout the town.”
Some signs have been placed too close to roads, creating sightline or safety issues for drivers, and these signs are removed by town staff, Lee said.
Other signs have been placed on municipal properties, such as the BWG Public Library, Bradford and District Memorial Community Centre, and stormwater management ponds, and town staff also remove those ones, he said.
Sometimes election signs are also placed near mailboxes, at intersections, or near vacant properties, and town staff contact the candidates directly about removing those signs, Lee said.
While candidates are allowed to put up signs in any ward, they cannot do so without the property owner’s permission — even on boulevards.
“If they call us, we’ll respond to that sort of complaint,” said Lee.
Have a concern about a municipal election sign?
Contact the BWG bylaw enforcement hotline: 905-775-5366, ext. 1701
Municipal election sign rules:
- Candidates' signs can only be placed at private properties (residential or business) and only with the permission of the owner. If there is a sign on your property and no one in your household gave the candidate permission to put it there, please remove/report it.
- Only one sign is allowed per candidate per property frontage (meaning you could have two if you are on a corner lot or if your home backs directly onto a road, or three if you have both). This rule defines how many signs you can have per candidate, but it’s up to you if you put one sign on each frontage or all of them on one side, or any combination.
- The bylaw does not make special provisions for apartments, condos or other multi-residential buildings, meaning there is no more than one sign allowed for the entire building. You cannot put signs on balconies.
- Signs must be placed a minimum of one metre back from the roadway. They may be placed on the boulevard or municipal right-of-way if they fit, otherwise they must be put on the other side of the sidewalk (closer to the house).
- On corner lots, signs cannot be placed in the "sight triangle" where they block drivers' views.
Source: Town of BWG
