White Rock council has decided to cut some red tape for a West Beach business – knowing that it will likely establish a precedent for many others.

Stephen and Jenann Preddy, owners of Bean & Berry Café (1122 Vidal St.), came before council on Feb. 9 to ask for a “modest adjustment” to their signage to create slightly better on-street visibility for their business.

They were asking to put a sign that reads ‘café’ into an existing sign box on the side of the building, former site of the Galaxie brew pub, and a small ‘entrance’ sign to mark the business’s recessed doorway.

“It’s not about promotion, it’s about clarity and way-finding,” Jenann Preddy said, while Stephen Preddy said online reviews have mentioned that the café is not easy to locate.

Under the existing bylaw, the request counts as two signs where only one would be allowed, necessitating a variance to the city’s signage bylaw.

Coun. Elaine Cheung warned that going against the existing signage bylaw to grant the Preddys’ request would open the floodgates for signage requests from other White Rock businesses.

But a majority of council – feeling the bylaw is long overdue for an overhaul – ultimately decided to approve a motion from Coun Christopher Trevelyan, seconded by Coun. Anthony Manning, to initiate a variance to allow the Preddys their signs.

After hearing the Preddys’ plea, Trevelyan noted that city staff have had “absolutely no choice but to follow the bylaw as written.”

“Saying that, I know myself – and going back, when Coun. Manning was on council (before) – we’ve been asking for four years to have that sign bylaw to be reviewed.

“I know there’s been a lot of issues along the way with SSMUH (provincial small-scale, multi-unit housing legislation) and COVID, so I understand why it’s not been done,” he added.

“I think that sign bylaw should be changed, modified and reviewed. I know that the timeline of a business is not the same as the timeline of government at any level.

“I’m very much in favour of just supporting what you’re saying, and get that sign done. It’s a pre-existing structure, it’s not a structural issue … putting a few more words above your doorway and on a new piece of glass is not an unreasonable request in these tight economic times.”

But Cheung, while noting she supports the café, and that a review of the sign bylaw is among council’s list of strategic priorities, said she could not support the motion.

“I’ve been approached by multiple businesses that all want to change the signs – Grounds & Greens; PR Fitness – they’re hidden behind (a restaurant). (They) put a sign on the sidewalk and got told off. Maya’s Ice Cream – I’ve got so many businesses that have come to me and asked me to change the bylaws.

“I’ve said you’ve got to wait, because if we give (a) one-off, then everybody’s going to come. If I give it to you and I give it to someone else who comes as a delegation, then it’s a mish-mash. Then (when) we change the bylaw it’s not consistent at all.

“I need to be fair to every business. I hear what you’re saying and I wish that, as a council, we would stick to our strategic priorities instead of adding things to it, so that we can move forward on our plans.”

Coun. David Chesney noted that if council had not heard from many businesses before, they were about to hear from them, after the meeting.

However, he said, “I’m fully in support of the motion.”

“By the time we review the sign bylaw, we’ll be older and greyer,” he observed.

“Everything moves far too slow,” he told the Preddys. “You people have made a yeoman effort to turn that business completely around. Maybe we open a can of worms. This is not a knock on staff – it’s a plain and simple matter (that) everything moves so slow. …

“In today’s environment of trying to make a business work I think we should stand behind of you and not in front of you,” Chesney added.

In answer to a question from Mayor Megan Knight, Stephen Preddy confirmed that they had asked staff about a getting a variance but had been told that it would take from a few months to as much as a year to get it approved.

“It’s been challenging to get a level of consistency and modernization from that bylaw,” Coun. Bill Lawrence said, adding that the review process does need to be accelerated.

The motion passed, with Cheung, Knight and Lawrence opposed.

Knight also offered a positive suggestion, echoed by Cheung, that the couple could talk to the city’s arts and culture committee about commissioning a thematic mural on the side of the building.

“That is part of the phase 2,” Stephen Preddy said, noting that the business has not yet had its grand opening.