Roger Varley has been in the news business almost 40 years with The Canadian Press/Broadcast News, Uxbnridge Times-Journal, Richmond Hill Liberal and Uxbridge Cosmos. Co-winner with two others of CCNA national feature writing award. In Scout movement over 30 years, almost 25 as a leader. Took Uxbridge youths to World Jamboree in Holland. Involved in community theatre for 20 years as actor, director, playwright, stage manager etc. Born in England, came to Canada at 16, lived most of life north and east of Toronto with a five-year period in B.C.
Giving business the business
It was pretty much a tempest in a teacup, or a coffee cup if you will, but council's mini hoohah over a commercial sign Monday once again points out the necessity for councillors to carefully consider any and all bylaws they pass and the unintended consequences that might ensue.
As reported on page 13, a new coffee shop will be opening in the downtown area later this month. Cafe XXIX will be located in the medical building at 29 Toronto Street South, hence the XXIX in the café's name.
The owners want to install an internally illuminated sign which carries the CAFE XXIX logo inside an overhead view of a stylized coffee cup. The handle of the cup also serves as the accent aigu on the word "cafe" and also as a straw from which issues forth a stream of multi-coloured bubbles. The logo is to the left and the bubbles stream to the right.
In an e-mail presented to council, the owners explain the logo was designed by a graphics designer from Chantilly, France, and that the design "is not an accident".
The reason for the multi-coloured bubbles? They represent the fact the cafe will not only serve coffee, but also cold drinks, Italian sodas and smoothies made from fresh fruits.
"The froth is purposely streaming to the side as it represents a journey and not a static point," the e-mail explained.
I would venture to suggest that just about every store owner considers their signage carefully, wanting it to represent not only what they sell but their values as well.
The problem is, the café will be situated in the downtown Heritage area and so the owners had to submit their proposed sign to Heritage Uxbridge for approval. Heritage Uxbridge is a committee of council staffed by volunteers.
In considering the sign, these volunteers had the temerity to suggest not only that the colours of the bubbles be changed to reflect Uxbridge's heritage colours of green, gold and white, but also that the logo be moved from the left side of the sign to the centre. That's rather like asking Blue Heron Books to change its logo to a grey heron or the Cosmos to change the location of the flower in its logo.
And much as the Golden Arches bring immediate recognition to McDonald's or the red triangle with the green leaf instantly identifies Canadian Tire, so too the owners of Cafe XXIX want their bubbles to identify what they hope will be a chain of similar coffee shops. But Heritage Uxbridge doesn't think it fits in with the Heritage area.
First of all, who came up with the Heritage area idea? Apart from just a few buildings, not many of the structures in the downtown area have any real historical significance and even if they do most of them are in a sad state of repair. In fact, I have personally pointed out to chief building officer Brian Pigozzo evidence of what I consider to be crumbling brickwork on the facades of a number of buildings along Brock Street.
Secondly, Heritage Uxbridge seems perfectly willing to pick on what they might determine to be "small" businesses. They certainly didn't interfere with Pizza Pizza's widely known sign, or Mac's Milk, or Coffee Time or the TD Bank or . . . I could go on. In fact, if you check out the store signs along Brock Street you will find that most of the ones that actually have a "heritage" look about them are well suited to such a look by the nature of the wares or services they sell. It's hard to imagine a nail salon having a "heritage" sign.
In view of such a mélange of different signage downtown, how can the committee not only turn down a proposed sign, but have the audacity to ask for changes in the artwork?
The manager of a storefront operation on Brock Street asked me about a year ago if I could write about his problem. He had a small neon "Open" sign in his front window and had been told it didn't meet the township's signage bylaw. Yet there are other small neon signs dotted around the downtown: not many, but they are there if you look.
All of which means the heritage sign bylaw is not being administered equitably and fairly. Not only that, but too much pressure on store owners to change their signage might just lead them to set up shop elsewhere. And with empty stores already sitting along the main retail section, that's something the township can ill afford.
Tell me, am I wrong?
