Can the City of Richmond actually regulate language on private property signs?
Outgoing Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt has taken the first step towards bringing clarity to the foreign language sign debate by introducing a motion for city staff to investigate the legalities of the city regulating signs on private property.
On Tuesday, during a city council meeting, Halsey-Brandt introduced the sign regulation resolution, which includes asking whether the city can mandate a percentage of English on private signs.
“As the discussion in the community regarding the use of English on signs escalates I think it’s really important that both council and the citizens and residents of Richmond know whether or not council actually has the legal ability to regulate the use of English on signs,” said Halsey-Brandt.
“I hope this can bring some clarity to the issue,” she said.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie agreed.
“I think it’s a central issue in that whole discussion. If we do or we don’t have the legal ability, as you say, that’s going to obviously influence, in a decided manner, if we can go forward,” said the mayor.
The motion passed unanimously after Coun. Harold Steves noted two kinds of signs may be addressed by staff.
First, signs on private property that are addressing rezoning issues or property sales, he argued, need to be regulated.
Second, he noted non-English signs on private property, that don’t address necessary public information — such as restaurants — are likely out of the city’s jurisdiction.
He cited a recent letter to the Vancouver Sun from former Richmond bylaw manager Wayne Mercer.
“This would be a constitutional issue if any such bylaw initiative was challenged in court,” wrote Mercer.
Steves noted signs on city-owned land are already regulated for English.
Last week, RITE Richmond called on council to take action. It released a statement stating its council candidates — Michael Wolfe and Carol Day — would try to legislate a percentage of English on signs via a bylaw, if elected.
“Be it resolved that staff study the implications, and recommend to council potential steps to address the issue,” stated a RITE news release, citing Aberdeen Centre’s 70 per cent English rule as a “successful model for the city to follow.”
Mayoral candidate Richard Lee also said he wants action to be taken.
Last year, city councillors voted 8-1 to not investigate the matter after they were presented with a citizens petition. Only Coun. Chak Au dissented.
In addition to raising the point that it creates a community divide, Au also noted that emergency services may be hampered for businesses not displaying English.
Petitioner Kerry Starchuk has most recently taken exception to Chinese signs on school property. Furthermore, she has documents of complaints regarding signs dating back to the late 1990s.
Starchuk says the issue, which some feel fosters disconnections in the community, has been systematically ignored over time.
To view Starchuk’s research, such as old letters to council dating back to the 1990s, see below.
Furthermore, some of the responses Starchuk has received from members of different levels of government explain the constitutional boundaries signage restrictions may or may not have in a municipality.
Meanwhile, independent council candidate Janos Bergman noted he agreed with taking action against Chinese-only signs. Fellow independent Jerome Dickey disagreed on his Facebook page, citing logistical issues of bylaw enforcement and that it can drive a wedge in the community.
Dickey said the issue runs deeper than a sign bylaw.
Pinky Dang Page 2 - 2003 complaint
Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt Chinese sign response
Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore
