Finding A Balance: Greenwich Looks To Address Signage, Lighting Regs.

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Planning & Zoning Department and Architectural Review Committee are beginning the process of getting feedback from the community on the town's signage and lighting regulations.

The regulations have been the source of controversy lately after a floral display outside Abigail Fox Designs in Old Greenwich was found to be in violation.

A few months ago, an outside consultant was hired to work with the town and Planning & Zoning on updating signage and lighting regulations related to the town's 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Spurred on by reaction from the public and support for the floral display and Abigail Fox Designs, the Planning & Zoning Department decided to get public feedback sooner in the process. A public workshop was held last week via Zoom, and featured comments from residents and merchants. Over 80 people attended the meeting.

Rhonda Cohen, a member of the Architectural Review Committee, said there needs to be a balance when looking at the regulations, which have been in place for about 30 years.

Town regulations state that eye-catching devices, portable signage, banners, streamers and marquees are prohibited.

Eye-catching devices, similar to what Abigail Fox put up, are allowed for one, seven-day period out of the year, according to current regulations, for events like a business opening, closing or a big sale.

During the holiday season, decorations are allowed for a period of 40 days.

"It's about balance and making sure shop owners have a visual identity that people will notice so that they can compete, and in turn, simultaneously respecting and reflecting the values that give Greenwich its unique identity," Cohen said at the beginning of the workshop. "That's where regulations come into play to make sure we have the timeless quality that Greenwich is known for, and a visual aesthetic that we all appreciate and is really the fabric of our town in a visual sense."

Planning & Zoning Commission Chair Margarita Alban said, "We want to create a set of parameters that works for merchants, that helps their businesses, but gives people flexibility to build their own identity within that."

Several speakers spoke in favor of Abigail Fox Designs. Their flower display is still up, and a petition has garnered over 2,000 signatures in support of the business.

"The whole idea of putting them up was for the community to beautify Old Greenwich and our storefront," Fox said at the workshop. "I think it would be great if there were more clear and consistent guidelines for regulations regarding decorations. My violation was a little unclear of where exactly it fit in. I feel they should be fairly enforced and not picking and choosing which ones you're going to enforce, and which merchants you're going to enforce it on."

Planning & Zoning Director Katie DeLuca said that before Abigal Fox Designs was flagged, another businesses attempted to put up a floral display, and a coffee shop on Greenwich Avenue was issued a violation.

Fox said like with outdoor dining for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, there should be some concessions made for retail stores with regards to decorations.

"I think that would be really helpful for retail stores because our visual identity is important. I think merchants need to have a say in their identity," she said. "It sort of sounds like we can all be on the same page of figuring out guidelines that work for everyone."

Mariana Ayres, a Greenwich resident, moved to town from London in 1997. She said such floral displays are commonplace there, and are meant to beautify the environment.

"We do know the town can be nimble when necessary, as we know with restaurants in the midst of COVID. There should be an equal application and the same nimbleness shown here as well," Ayres said. "The bottom line is, this is celebratory, this is a good thing... This is not something that should become a regulatory hassle for a small business owner."

Mary Hull of Greenwich Green & Clean said she'd like to see flower arrangements be consistent, because some arrangements "are artificial and not pretty, and some take up space and are distracting."

"I would love to see some unifying regulations that are simple, so that we can have our flowers but also have a restful town," Hull said. "It's very jarring to have some things, especially big signs. We work hard to keep our town from having too many signs."

Hull suggested having a group oversee a plan on how to put up flower displays, and merchants can consult the group with any questions. Alban was receptive to the idea.

Resident John Kennedy said standards and regulations have to be better communicated to merchants and followed-up on.

Another resident, James Walsh, suggested giving merchants specific timeframes in the spring, summer and fall to go along with the 40-day allotment for the holidays, to put up decorations or displays that fit into the character of the town.

"It won't be something that stays up indefinitely. It has to come down," he said.

Other residents brought up other signage issues. Susan Foster, a member of the Riverside Association, said there's a flashing ATM sign inside the local McDonald's.

"I would love to see that we don't have flashing neon signs in Greenwich," she said.

She also wants to see Riverside have a more cohesive downtown, especially with uniform signage for businesses. For example, Old Greenwich has black signage with white lettering throughout.

"We're just a mishmosh of everything," she said.

There will be more public workshops and opportunities for the public to weigh-in, something DeLuca said is "important." She also said it's important for store owners to follow the rules that are in place.

"We all have to follow the set of rules, and if people just break the rules and then say, 'Well, we'll just wait until the regs. get fixed or hope everyone backs us,' we just won't have a community that functions very well," she said.