Signs are everywhere in Westport — and I’m not even talking about political ones.
Sandwich boards advertising nearby busineses are overrunning our sidewalks, encroaching on doorways and stairs. (Don’t believe me? Check out 180 Post Road East, across from Casa Me.)
Are they legal?
Kind of.
Planning & Zoning director Michelle Perillie notes that all merchants in non-residential districts are permitted one temporary, free-standing portable sign.
But a zoning permit is required, and it must be renewed annually.
In addition:
- Signs cannot be permanently installed in the ground.
- Signs must be self-supporting/portable, or hung on the façade of the tenant’s building. Signs cannot be attached to an immovable object like a structure, utility or light pole or fence.
- Signs must be no larger than 24 inches wide by 40 inches high as measured from the ground — including borders or supports. A sign hanging on a building façade can be no larger than 24 inches wide by 36 inches high, may only be one-sided, and hung flush to the building. Signs on façades must not be more than 7 feet above the ground, as measured to the top of the sign.
- Signs may only be displayed during the hours that the business is open. Signs must be removed when the business is not open.
- The sign must be a framed chalk board or eraser board. All wording must be hand drawn.
- Signs must be located on the property of the business that has put out the sign. The name of the establishment must appear on or be affixed to the sign. Signs may not be located in parking spaces.
- Signs must not interfere with pedestrian traffic or block sight lines for drivers.
- Signs may not have lights, be lighted, or have any moving parts
To obtain a permit, merchants must set up an account here. Scaled drawings showing the proposed sign, and a survey or site plan of the property are required.
If approved, an assigned number sticker must be attached to the sign. The annual permit cost is $100.
Questions? Email mperillie@westportct.gov.
This sign probably complies with all the rules — except it does not have the business’ name. It was for Bottlerock, which has since closed. And did they apply for a $100 permit?
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There’s a lot going on at Earthplace.
Beginning tonight.
At 7 p.m. today (Thursday), a Zoom lecture with Q-and-A explores “Remarkable Raptors & Their Highways in the Sky.” As hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures migrate soon, learn more about these birds of prey.
Also ahead:
- “Sound Bath with Abbey Chase Yoga” (September 18, 6 to 7:15 p.m.; $35, adult+).
- “Plein Air Painting on the Trails” (September 20, 10 a.m. to noon; $10 suggested donation).
- “Pick Your Own Bouquet” (September 21, 11 a.m. to noon; $25 members, $35 non-members).
- “Woodland Harvest: Foraging in Fall” (September 28, 1 to 2:30 p.m.; $10 members, $12 non-members).
- “Woodside Bash” (October 4, 7 to 10 p.m.; open bar, harvest dinner, fire pit, mechanical bull, live entertainment; $125)
Click here for details, and registration. Questions? Email v.swain@earthplace.org.
Birds of prey are among Earthplace’s many attractions.
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Speaking of the environment: “Yes, In My Back Yard!”
That’s the name of the next Aspetuck Land Trust Lunch & Learn webinar.
The September 18 Zoom (12 to 1:30 p.m.). features restoration ecologist Meghan Noe Fellows, discussing Miaywaki-style mini-forests at scale. She’s installed over 150 of them.
Mini-forests are dense plantings of native plants, trees, and shrubs. They increase biodiversity, provide bird and insect habitat, and (ahem) block out unsightly neighbors.
There are 7 in Bridgeport. All have received raves. Now it’s time to plan these “super-clumps” at home. Click here to register, and for more information.
Typical mini-forest.
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Among the interesting agendas for upcoming meetings:
Parks & Recreation Commission (September 17, 7:30 p.m., Zoom). Topics include the Longshore capital improvement plan (maintenance facility update), and an update on the parks master plan.
The Board of Education’s Finance & Facilities Committee meets today (Thursday, September 11, 11 a.m., Town Hall auditorium). They’ll review the capital improvement plan and proposed project, and hear a status report on the Staples High School auditorium and fieldhouse floor renovations, girls team room, pool scoreboard, and the Staples athletic fields master plan.
Westport Parks & Rec will be involved in upcoming improvements at Longshore and Staples High School.
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Congratulations to Owen Goldfarb, Nathaniel Greely, Jay Hari, Isabel Jo, Dylan O’Brien, Julian Saraf, Matthew Tybur!
The 7 Staples High School seniors are semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Nationwide, 16,000 semifinalists — fewer than 1% of the over 1.3 million students who took the 2024 PSAT/NMSQT qualifying exam — will compete for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $26 million.
From left: Isabel Jo, Principal Stafford W. Thomas, Matthew Tybur, Owen Goldfarb, Julian Saraf, Dylan O’Brien, Jay Hari, Nathaniel Greeley.
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Westport Police made one custodial arrest between September 3 and 9. A 28-year-old Bridgeport man was charged with operating an unregistered motor vehicle, theft of a marker plate, illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance and with a suspended driver’s license, illegal window tinting and violation f probation. He was held on a $61,000 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
- Traveling unreasonably fast: 29 citations
- Driving while texting: 6
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 4
- Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 4
- Improper use of markers: 3
- Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 3
- Speeding in a school zone: 2
- Speeding: 2
- Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 2
- Improper turns: 2
- Failure to halt alcohol possession by a minor: 1
- Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 1
- Distracted driving: 1
- Failure to obey stop sign: 1
- Failure to drive in the proper lane:
- Failure to obey traffic control signals: 1
- Failure to renew registration: 1
- Failure to wear seat belt: 1
Failure to halt alcohol possession by a minor is illegal.
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In advance of Rosh Hashanah (September 23), The Blondinit is preparing a catering menu of Israeli-inspired cooking.
Options (serving 8-10 people) include labneh, babaganush, saffron rice and chicken. All are served with pita, tahini, pickles and schug.
To order, call 203-557-3277, or email catering@theblondinit.com. All catering orders are pick-up only.
A few Rosh Hashanah options from The Blondinit.
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Dr. Amanda Posner, a well-known pediatrician, died August 28 in Westport, surrounded by her closest friends and family. She was 43.
She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2004 with a BA in religion and theater. She earned an MD from Columbia University in 2012, and completed her pediatrics residency at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in 2015. She was admired for her skill, compassion and warmth.
Amanda’ was also a talented performer. She acted and sang in productions at Dartmouth and with the Bard Hall Players at Columbia, after appearing off-Broadway as a teenager and acting in the films “Welcome to the Dollhouse” and “The Door in the Floor.”
Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at 33, Amanda defied her illness for more than a decade, living fully and serving as an example to friends and family. She later joined the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS) in CA and the Norfield Children’s Center in CT.
In 2016, Amanda married Ben Neumann. Their son Andrew was the true love of Amanda’s life.
Amanda is survived by her husband Ben, son Andrew, parents Dr. Amy Newburger and Dr. Lawrence Posner of Westport, and her brother Dr. Russell Posner (Dr. Melissa Posner_ of Darien.
A celebration of Amanda’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on September 14 at Norfield Church in Weston. To honor Amanda’s lasting impact, her family is establishing an endowed professorship in the Division of General Pediatrics at UCSF.
Dr. Amanda Posner
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As summer wanes, Tomoko Meth caught this colorful “Westport … Naturally” scene at Mark Yurkiw and Wendy Van Wie’s beautiful Cross Highway home.
(Photo/Tomoko Meth)
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And finally … once you saw the “signs” story, you knew this was coming:
(All the signs point this way: to the donation page for “06880.” Hey, this stuff doesn’t post itself. We need our readers — aka “your” — help. Thanks for tossing a few bucks our way!)
Regarding those yard signs in Westport that advertise some upcoming event and that proliferate every corner / intersection in our town and are visual pollution at it’s worst, PLEASE WHOSOEVER PLACED THEM, REMOVE THEM AFTER THE EVENT !!
I cannot tell you how many of these yard signs (it’s literally hundreds) I’ve picked over the last several years after they’ve been knocked over, thrown in the woods or thrown in the street after their expiration date.
Come on, people ! Let’s keep Westport clean and litter free !
I agree 100% with the sentiment, but removing yard signs, or likely anything else, from property not yours is theft. Perhaps some sort of hall-of-shame column similar to the entitled-parking one Dan occasionally features could be an approach.
Ken: Thanks for the support and I like the hall-of-shame idea 🙂
I actually never remove them from anyone’s yard. I pick them up off the street or pick them up in the woods (if I see that they’ve been discarded there) and have even gone into the muddy Saugutuck near downtown (at low tide of course) to retrieve them when I see them there.
Regarding the commercial-sandwich-board rules, some well-meaning Westport zoner must have spent significant time on our dime crafting all eight of these rules with no thought given to enforcement, never mind sanctions. These can be added to the pantheon headed by Leaf-Blower-Ordinance.
If an event has been over for 48 hours, the sign is garbage.
Just don’t forget that the metal stanchions are recyclable, at the transfer station, in the ‘metal’ section to the left of the actual dump.
That transfer station is almost my second home with the amount of garbage I pick up that has been irresponsibly discarded around town. Am not kidding.