[officedweller]

The billboard was City bylaw issue (enforcement zeal) - mind you, the original no billboards bylaw (and removal of neon years ago) was probably NIMBY inspired.

WRT big box, let the market decide what will work.
What if MEC or Whole Foods (big boxes in eco disguises) wanted to move to the location? Would they complain then?

The funny thing is that people talk about about maintaining the prominence of the Lee Building. I'll bet that the Lee Building was to be "typical" and not a tall landmark for the area (look at the big Post Office that was built for the area - the area was supposed to grow big). It would be cool to see the fork/triangle at Kingsway & Main developed with a true flatiron building of at least 10 storeys.