Anyone wanting to post a prominent message to the public be warned: the District of Squamish will no longer tolerate unpermitted signs, and anyone planting signs on municipal property will find them removed in short order.
That was the message sent on this morning (May 8) as two municipal workers, one bylaw officer and one municipal loader made their way to a location long used to advertise community events, Cleveland and Buckley Avenue. At 9 a.m. the staffers removed a large sign advertising Aqua development's Coastal Village residential units located on the estuary's shores.
"It's a little bit of just sign pollution as a concern," said Community Development director Mick Gottardi. "That isn't the only site that we'll be removing signs from. I believe that there are some other signs that are on municipal property. There's another Aqua sign at Main Street and Loggers Lane where the recycling bins used to be. And there are signs along the highway as well that we're looking into."
The decision comes on the heels of Mayor Greg Gardner's assertion that the district will ensure economic growth in Squamish in part by ensuring the community development and planning departments are "business-friendly." Gottardi said despite the sign's removal, the friendly attitude remains.
"We want to be friendly, but we want people to do things the right way too. Putting in signs without permits is not the right way of doing things."
Gottardi said the district had given the developer until May 7 to remove it.Aqua Development sales representative Jill Carter said the district did not have to pay the cost to have the sign removed.
"We - that's Al DeGenova as well - we proposed our project to do it, that's we proposed that our guys do it, they went ahead and got their people to do it this morning."
She said the sign's presence could have been due to misinformed marketing personnel, but "it's definitely not signage that is not enhancing to the areait's definitely signage that I think promotes where we are and what we're doing and catches people eyes."
She suggested $3 million put toward the estuary for such things as dike work, new habitat for the public trail, water gates and a water separater enhances the community.Carter said the developer's progress is great news for the community.
"He's really forging ahead, he isn't closing his doors, we're building, we're doing it and it's such a positive thing for the people wanting to use that estuary."
