Campaign signs set to be banned from public property in Surrey

The City of Surrey is banning election signs on public property after bylaw officers removed more than 1,800 signs that were put up illegally during the last municipal campaign.

Surrey'sbylaw requiresa 25-metre buffer between intersections and signs, but was largely ignored by candidates in 2018.

Mayor Doug McCallum says an outright ban on signs on city property is an appropriate step.

"The criticism that we received during the campaign, or I can say myself on signs, was horrific," he said.

"There were many, many complaints."

Coun. Brenda Locke saidtaxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for that much money.

"The cost to Surrey to manage election signs is getting cost prohibitive," she said.

"It's actually kind of silly."

The city did recover about $8,600 from candidates who paid a $25 fee to get their signs back after they were taken down.

Council voted unanimously in favour of the ban Monday evening and will vote again at a later date to officially adopt the new bylaw.