Town, Sandy Hook Merchant In Dispute Over Signs

By Andrew Gorosko

A Sandy Hook merchant and the town are embroiled in a dispute over the placement of neon signs at the merchant’s Sandy Hook business.

Jeff Laczko, proprietor of The River Cone Ice Cream Shop at 117-B Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center, said Tuesday he is the victim of selective enforcement of neon sign regulations by the town. Mr Laczko said that although other nearby businesses are in violation of the neon sign regulations, his business has taken the brunt of enforcement by Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette.

Mr Laczko said he is being used as a “scapegoat” in the matter. “They are hammering us,” he said.

“It’s a tough situation. I know Mr Frenette has a job to do,” Mr Laczko said.

Mr Laczko said that after Mr Frenette began enforcing the neon sign regulations against him, he pointed out to the zoning enforcement officer that other businesses in Sandy Hook Center have been in violation of the town’s neon sign rules for years.

The ice cream shop opened in renovated facilities next to the Pootatuck River last summer. Mr Laczko installed three neon signs to advertise the business. The business is under a town cease-and-desist order to remove the signs.

In October, Mr Laczko applied to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a permit to have two neon signs but was denied a permit “without prejudice,” meaning he can reapply. The ZBA conducted a hearing on the Laczko application October 6. 

At the hearing, Neal Laczko, who is Mr Laczko’s wife, said that she and her husband had been unaware that a permit was needed for neon signs. If other Sandy Hook Center businesses do not have neon sign permits for their businesses, why should the ice cream shop need to get a permit, Ms Laczko asked ZBA members. Ms Laczko explained that the ice cream shop wanted permission to operate two neon signs, according to ZBA records.

In deliberations on the ice cream shop’s neon sign request after the hearing, ZBA members said it appeared that the shop had three neon signs, not two signs, and that the shop had ignored a cease-and-desist order which Mr Frenette had issued requiring that the neon signs to be removed, according to ZBA records. ZBA members then denied the application for two neon signs, noting that only one neon sign is allowed in a business by special permit.

ZBA members then stressed the need for the town to make sure that all current violators of the neon sign regulations be notified that they must obtain permits for such signs, according to ZBA records.

 Had Mr Laczko agreed to have only one neon sign, as is allowed by the zoning regulations, he probably would have gotten a permit, according to Mr Frenette. Mr Frenette noted that the yellow signs that the ice cream shop has placed beneath its front windows are in violation of the town sign regulations.

“I’m not selectively enforcing… I try to work with everybody. It’s easier. It’s simpler,” Mr Frenette said. “This guy (Laczko) has not cooperated with me from day one,” Mr Frenette said.

Mr Frenette said he plans to have other businesses in Sandy Hook Center comply with applicable neon sign regulations, meaning they will be allowed only one neon sign per business, if they obtain a neon sign permit from the ZBA. Some businesses there now have multiple neon signs.

 Mr Frenette said other businesses in Sandy Hook Center affected by the neon sign regulations include Pootatuck Spirits, Hair ‘N The Hook, Sandy Hook Deli, and 100 Church Hill. Mr Frenette said Michael Burton, the owner of the building which houses the first three of those businesses has told him that neon sign permit applications will be filed.

The enforcement officer said he has notified Sandy Hook Center shops by mail about the town’s neon sign regulations and has enclosed applications with which they can apply to legitimize their sign displays. 

“These signs are very important. I just want to make a living. I’m fighting for what I believe in,” Mr Laczko said, adding that he has spent about $3,500 on signs to advertise the ice cream shop and to stimulate business. “I’ve been the center of attention since I opened, and this guy (Frenette) has not let up on me,” Mr Laczko said.

Mr Laczko said he will reapply to the ZBA to have one neon sign.