Following a public hearing on September 9, the St. Paul town council approved the final readings of a Land Use Bylaw amendment that will allow electronic signs in Institutional Districts. The change will open the door for institutions like schools, the RCMP detachments, the St. Paul AG Corral, and Portage College to install modern digital signs.
The amendment was requested by Garry Perry, an independent development permits agent, who has been working with Blanchett Signage Solutions and Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est (CSCE), the region’s francophone school board. Perry explained that the initiative is part of a broader effort by the CSCE to update outdated manual signs with digital ones, which provide more flexibility and safety for staff tasked with updating messages.
“This initiative would see a total of six freestanding digital sings installed across the region including the two proposed in St. Paul,” said Perry. These signs would be installed at École du Sommet and CSCE’s central office in St. Paul.
The digital signs will allow staff to safely and efficiently update messages, especially during the winter months, and help improve communication with students, parents, and the community. The signs will display a range of messages, from student achievements to urgent alerts, and will be equipped with automatic dimming features to prevent them from becoming overly bright or distracting.
Perry highlighted that the changes to the LUB in St. Paul mirror similar amendments already approved in Bonnyville and Lac La Biche, where other CSCE schools are located. No members of the public voiced opposition to the amendment during the hearing, and the council quickly moved to pass the second and third readings of the bylaw.
While the council was generally supportive of the amendment, concerns were raised about the potential impact of electronic sings near residential areas, particularly across from St. Therese Healthcare Centre. Mayor Maureen Miller suggested that the bylaw’s effects be reviewed in three to six months to ensure the signs do not negatively impact nearly residents.
“I would just like to be able to do what we need to do, but then be considerate of those others that are within residential areas,” Miller said.
Councilor Nathan Taylor, while supportive of the amendment, raised concerns about the process of repeatedly revisiting the bylaw changes after they’ve been passed. “We need to train our public that when bylaw amendments come, once and only once, they need to be here,” Taylor stated, emphasizing that community members should participate during the amendment process rather than raising concerns after the fact.
Miller responded by framing the Land Use Bylaw as a “Living document” that evolves as new information comes to light. “If we make an error, it’s just that we didn’t have all the information when we made the decisions,” she expressed.
In addition to approving the amendment, the council passed a separate motion to review the bylaw’s impact in six months to ensure it meets the community’s needs without creating unintended issues for residents.
