Anyone driving through town who doesn’t know the name Askew’s may soon find it hard to miss.
Salmon Arm council has approved a variance requested by Askew’s Foods president David Askew to increase the allowable size for a freestanding sign from 24 metres square to 35.6 metres square.
This approval will allow for the placement of a sign on the Uptown Askew’s property that can be read from the Trans-Canada Highway.
Askew was also looking for a variance to the number of allowable information signs, in order to place a smaller information sign at the corner of 30th and the frontage road (across from Setters Pub). But council turned down this request.
Regarding the freestanding sign, “It must be large enough to read at 50 to 70-km/hr, as well as to be read from the arena across the highway and ideally, from the intersection of 30th and the Trans-Canada Highway,” states Askew in a written submission to the city.
A public hearing was held on the variance and, aside from Askew, the only other speaker was Tim Lavery.
While supportive of the variance, Lavery expressed concern for the digital nature of the sign, and the direction the city is taking as such signs become more common. He suggested the city needs to update its signage bylaw.
“This digital technology display stuff is on the horizon and I think there’s going to be more and more, and I think there’s a need for controlling the location, the hours, the view of these displays,” said Lavery.
The brightness of these signs and the frequency of message changeover on them was given particular attention. Development services director Kevin Pearson said the digital portion of the sign falls under the city’s definition of a changeable copy sign, which is regulated in the sign bylaw.
“But the brightness, which Mr. Lavery referred to, there is no control on that,” said Pearson. “And the frequency of messages coming up on the sign, there’s no regulation for that either.
“There aren’t very many communities in B.C. that have those type of regulations for digital signs. I found a couple that do, and they’re the two large communities in the region – Kamloops and Kelowna.”
Council supported the freestanding sign as requested. Council also suggested staff could have a look at the sign bylaw to better address digital signs.
Regarding the information sign variance, staff noted Uptown Askew’s already has one information sign (in front of the Mac’s/Shell location) – the maximum number allowed under the bylaw.
Askew was seeking a second information sign for the corner of 11th Ave. NE and 30th.
Couns. Alan Harrison, Debbie Cannon and Marg Kentel. were opposed to the motion granting this variance. Mayor Nancy Cooper and Couns. Denise Reimer and Ken Jamieson were in favour.
As is in the case of a tie, the motion was defeated.