Vancouver city staff have proposed a public hearing on new regulations for floating signs like a 12-metre wide digital billboard that sailed through False Creek and raised the ire of residents last month.
While floating signs are not permitted under the city’s sign bylaw, staff have received complaints about commercial vehicles and barges floating in its waters, according to a report headed to council next week. Staff are proposing a raft of bylaw amendments to clarify the rules and “allow floating signs in a limited manner” and asking councillors to put them to residents for comment.
The proposed changes would prohibit any floating signs larger than one square metre, and each vessel would be limited to a single sign. “This would allow limited promotional advertising on commercial vessels,” according to the report.
At least some of the complaints received by the city were directed at a company called Burke Billboards, which had sailed a massive digital billboard through English Bay and False Creek. The company claimed on its website — before it went down — that it intended to sail the billboard seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and boasted it could be seen from up to two-kilometres away. The boat was swiftly detained by Transport Canada pending its registration and certification as a commercial vessel.
The city’s sign bylaw regulates any signs on property other than streets, lanes or public parks, and that includes signs on city waters, according to the report. Some Vancouver waters are also under the jurisdiction of Port of Vancouver, which prohibits floating ads.
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