Public places in Mission could see fewer signs in upcoming elections. A motion was carried unanimously in Monday’s Mission City Council meeting to review options for restricting campaign signs during federal, provincial and municipal elections.
Councillor Ken Herar put forth a motion to council proposing restrictive zones for campaign signs in future elections. He cited the Township of Langley’s proposal to ban all election signs from private property, however, he said a complete ban may be extreme.
Herar says during elections, signs are vandalized and blow down. He says they are also a financial hurdle for people who want to run for office.
In the ensuing discussion, Carol Hamilton noted issues with sight lines and Jag Gill voiced concerns about the ability for staff to patrol signage during elections. Council also asserted its desire to regulate the size of campaign signs.
“Size is important,” Danny Plecas said.
Mayor Paul Horn supported the motion and expressed how his views about campaign signs have changed since taking office.
“I’ve gone from a person who was somewhat supportive of signs to a person that detests them,” Horn said. “Frankly, they are wasteful, expensive, environmentally unsound and a major time-consumer.”
City of Mission staff will prepare a report for council to review limiting the number of overall signs, their size and placement in public places.