The notice follows Ward 2 candidate Sigmund Lee’s plan to use vehicle magnets instead of conventional election signs, raising questions about exactly how Richmond Hill’s sign by-law applies to privately owned vehicles.

Richmond Hill has told municipal election candidates that removable magnetic campaign signs attached to vehicles are not permitted under the City’s election sign rules.

In an email sent to candidates, Andrew McHenry, Manager of By-Law Education and Enforcement, said the City had “recently become aware of election-related signage being displayed on vehicles regarding removable magnetic signs.”

“Following a review of Sign By-law 52-09, this type of sign type and display was determined not to be a permitted Election Sign,” the email said.

Candidates were asked not to use removable magnetic signs attached to vehicles as campaign advertising.

The notice comes after Ward 2 candidate Sigmund Lee publicly announced that he would not pay the combined City and York Region fees required to use conventional election signs under both systems.

Richmond Hill requires candidates and registered third-party advertisers to obtain an election sign permit and pay a $308 fee before displaying election-related signage. York Region charges another $310 per registrant for candidates who want to place election signs at permitted locations on Regional roads.

Lee has described the resulting $618 cost as a barrier to candidates and announced a different approach.

On his campaign website, Lee says he intends to use non-illuminated magnetic campaign signs on vehicles during normal everyday use and has invited Ward 2 supporters to put the magnetic signs on their vehicles as well. He calls the effort a “visible protest for fair access to voters.”

The City’s email does not mention Lee by name or say whether his announcement prompted the review.

What does the by-law actually say?

There is language in Richmond Hill’s Sign By-law that could support the City’s interpretation.

Section 7.14.1 says no person may display an election sign without an election sign permit. Sections 7.14.8 and 7.14.9 further say that election signs displayed in residential, commercial or other zones must be in the form of a Portable Sign or Window Sign, subject to size restrictions.

A magnetic sign attached to the side of a vehicle does not appear to fit the City’s definition of a portable sign. The City describes a portable sign as a free-standing sign that is not permanently anchored to the ground, such as an A-frame, T-frame or sandwich board.

But another provision raises an interesting question.

Section 7.14.4(b) specifically prohibits an election sign, poster or placard “in or on a vehicle” when that vehicle is parked at a voting place on voting day or an advance voting day and the sign can be seen from outside the vehicle.

That provision appears to contemplate, at least in some circumstances, an election sign being in or on a vehicle.

If election signs on vehicles are prohibited everywhere and at all times, why does the by-law specifically prohibit them on vehicles parked at voting places?

That does not necessarily mean magnetic campaign signs are permitted. The City may interpret Sections 7.14.8 and 7.14.9 as an exhaustive list of the forms election signs may take, meaning anything other than a portable or window sign is prohibited.

But the distinction deserves clarification, particularly when the vehicle involved is privately owned and being used for ordinary transportation rather than parked or positioned primarily as an advertising display.

A lawn sign placed on a municipal boulevard clearly involves public space controlled by the City. A campaign sign placed on someone’s property is also expressly dealt with in the by-law.

A removable magnet attached to a resident’s personal car while that person drives to work, goes shopping or takes their children somewhere presents a somewhat different situation.

The question is not whether Richmond Hill has any authority to regulate signs on private property. Municipal sign by-laws routinely do so.

The narrower question is: What provision of Richmond Hill’s existing by-law specifically makes a campaign magnet attached to an ordinarily used private vehicle illegal?

Other municipalities have dealt explicitly with the issue. Toronto, for example, specifically includes vehicle wraps, mobile signs on vehicles or trailers and bumper stickers within its election-sign rules, and its rules expressly allow election signs on the surface of vehicles and trailers, subject to restrictions.

Toronto’s rules do not determine what Richmond Hill’s by-law means, but they demonstrate that vehicle campaign advertising can be addressed explicitly when a municipality chooses to regulate it.

Strong Richmond Hill is seeking clarification

Strong Richmond Hill is not taking a position on whether Lee’s proposed magnetic signs should or should not be permitted.

We are asking the City to clarify how it reached its interpretation of the existing by-law and where the line is drawn for campaign advertising on privately owned vehicles.

Among the questions we are seeking answers to are:

• Which specific subsection of Sign By-law 52-09 prohibits a removable election sign attached to a privately owned vehicle being used for ordinary transportation?
• How does the City reconcile that interpretation with Section 7.14.4(b), which specifically refers to election signs “in or on a vehicle” and prohibits them when a vehicle is parked at a voting place?
• Is the City’s position that any form of election sign not specifically identified as a Portable Sign or Window Sign is automatically prohibited?
• Does the rule apply equally to bumper stickers, permanent vehicle decals or other political messages displayed on privately owned vehicles?
• Was the recent notice prompted by Lee’s announced magnetic-sign campaign, or by other complaints or examples brought to the City’s attention?

The City has invited candidates to contact its Community Standards Division for clarification.

Strong Richmond Hill is also seeking clarification from the City and will update this story when a response is received.

For now, however, candidates have been given a clear instruction from Richmond Hill: do not use removable magnetic election signs on vehicles.

What remains less clear is precisely where the by-law says so, and how broadly the City intends to apply that interpretation.