Trial Basis—

P&Z Approves Sandy Hook Center A-Frame Signs

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to a request from the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) for liberalized commercial sign regulations, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved some trial zoning rules to regulate the placement of temporary sidewalk signs for business advertising in the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD), a mixed-use zone in Sandy Hook Center.

Following discussion at an October 20 session, P&Z members approved the sign regulations for a one-year trial period to gauge the workability of such rules. SHOP is a business owners group that promotes Sandy Hook business.

Under the plan, P&Z members specified 13 conditions under which temporary portable signs may be used on sidewalks adjacent to businesses. Such folding signs, which have two faces, are known as A-frame signs or sandwich-board signs.

The P&Z approved the trial period for the A-frame signs at the request of SHOP members who want to increase the visibility of their businesses to stimulate sales in the SHDD zone. However, the P&Z wants to regulate the placement of temporary signs to prevent “visual clutter” in the area.

The trial rules take effect on October 31.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean said that after the A-frame sign rules expire in one year, the P&Z would hold a public hearing on the topic, after which it would decide whether to make the A-frame sign rules permanent.

The P&Z created the SHDD zone in 1995 as a stimulus for the physical improvement and economic revitalization of Sandy Hook Center. SHDD zoning is a form of flexible mixed-use zoning that encourages a mixture of commercial and residential land uses, and suitable parking, plus the provision of pedestrian amenities.

The Sandy Hook Center Streetscape Project, which enhanced the appearance of Church Hill Road in that area, illustrates the SHDD zoning concept. That project, which was built in 2005 and 2006, provided textured-concrete sidewalks, granite curbing, fieldstone walls, a pedestrian plaza, decorative street lighting, and crosswalks, plus landscaping elements, such as ornamental trees. The Church Hill Road leg of the streetscape project was the first leg of a planned multi-legged project.

P&Z members met last December with Sandy Hook Center businesspeople to discuss how the zoning regulations could be modified to foster economic growth in that area. Among the topics discussed at that session, SHOP recommended that commercial sign regulations be made more flexible in the SHDD zone. In particular, the group called for a liberalization of certain rules regulating the use of A-frame signs in the SHDD zone.

“The most visible way for a merchant to advertise products or specials in a pedestrian environment is through the use of tasteful sandwich-board type sign,” according to SHOP.

The trial A-frame sign regulations approved by the P&Z on October 20 include requirements that such signs: be limited to a maximum 16 square feet in sign area; not be lit; be allowed only at the business location; be temporary; be self-supporting and not attached to a stationary object; be located on the business premises; not interfere with pedestrian traffic or motorists’ sight lines; be limited to one sign per business displayed during business hours; be limited to use for sales, promotions, and events; be consistent in their structural design; and be displayed temporarily.

SHOP would obtain a $100 annual permit from the P&Z which would cover all A-frame sign postings in the SHDD zone. Any sign rule violations would be handled by the zoning enforcement officer.