Newmarket Ward 5 byelection: 3 candidates have violated municipal sign bylaws so far

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 21, 2016
Chris Simon

They’ve only been allowed to place election signs out for a few days, but three Ward 5 candidates have already been caught violating municipal bylaws, town clerk Andrew Brouwer said.

The Era has learned several signs were pulled after Newmarket’s election sign bylaw came into effect Sept. 17.

Tom Pearson and Tracee Chambers each had two violations. Bob Kwapis also broke the rules, but he had not consented to a public disclosure agreement with the town prior to the erection of the signs, meaning the number of violations he committed is kept confidential. All other candidates agreed to disclose the information when they registered to run. The York Region bylaw permitted the erection of signs at some regional intersections starting Monday morning.

Violations seemed to occur due to confusion over when each bylaw took effect. So basically, signs were erected at regional intersections before the permitted date.

In an email, Kwapis said eight of his signs were found in violation of municipal bylaws. He is also willing to disclose sign bylaw infraction details in the future.

“I am quite content with having such information public,” Kwapis said. “It's no surprise that in any campaign that some signs get installed in incorrect spots. Most would agree that it makes no sense that on some roads you have to wait (two) days later... an honest oversight, for which we take responsibility.”

The number of infractions could be due to the relatively inexperienced crop of candidates. Of the seven hopefuls, only Darryl Wolk, Ian Johnston and Ron Eibel ran in the last municipal election.

“Everybody got all the information ahead of time,” Brouwer said. “From our perspective, we communicated what the rules are. It just may be a misunderstanding… of the allowable timeframe, rather than a location issue… on their end, or the campaign teams didn’t pass on the information to their volunteers. We’re not sure.

"We’re trying to balance (our reaction) because there are a number of new folks in the mix. We’re trying to strike a balance between educating the candidates and recognizing there’s a short turnaround time and that the community does expect us to enforce the bylaw.”

Candidates will receive an email notification for a first-time offence, when one of their signs is found in contravention of region and/or town bylaws. After that, violating signs will be subject to a $25 removal fee. However, no notification will be provided to candidates during the final week of the campaign.

Brouwer has helped administer several previous elections. Typically, signs are pulled because they are erected too early into the campaign, placed too close to sidewalks and curbs, or cause sightline issues that may compromise safety along the roadway.

“Bylaw officers… will get to that infraction at the earliest opportunity,” he said. 

The byelection is Oct. 17, and advance voting takes place Oct. 8 and 15.

To report potential election sign violations, call the town’s customer service department at 905-895-5193. Complaints regarding stolen or defaced signs should be directed to the York Regional Police non-emergency line, 1-866-876-5423.

For more information on the byelection, visit newmarket.ca/ward5byelection.

SIDEBAR

So what should a Ward 5 resident know before they allow a candidate to place a sign on their lawn?

Here are a few tips to ensure you remain in compliance with Newmarket and York Region sign bylaws:

For Newmarket roads

• Sign dimensions can be a maximum area of 16 square feet (same for York roads).
• Signs must be at least .6 metres away from the edge of sidewalks, or set back 1.83 m from the curb. Where that’s not possible, the sign must be placed at the furthest distance possible from the sidewalk, curb or edge of pavement.
• Any signs that are temporarily removed for grass cutting, lawn maintenance or other related work must be placed back in accordance with the bylaws, or they will be removed.
• Do not place signs on trees, utility poles or light standards or any vehicle parked on a property used as a polling station or advance voting location.

For York roads

• Signs can only be placed at permitted regional intersections.
• Signs cannot impair or obstruct vehicle or pedestrian traffic, warning devices or street signage.
• Must be located within 50 m of the intersection of the road with the centre line of the intersecting road.
• Cannot be located on any centre median or traffic island, within 5 m of a fire hydrant, a transit shelter or bus stop or within a 3 m lateral distance from the edge of road pavement.
• Signs must be maintained in a proper state of repair.
• Only two signs per registered candidate shall be permitted at any one intersection, but no more than one sign per candidate can be placed at a specific corner of an intersection.

– source: Town of Newmarket