Business

‘The Impact Is Staggering’: Downtown Merchants Make Case for Controlled Sandwich Board Allowance

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Chris Kilbane, owner of downtown mainstay New Canaan Toy Store, first placed a sandwich board outside his Park Street shop after earning “Best Toy Store” honors from Moffly Media. The main idea, Kilbane told town planning officials Tuesday night, was to promote the Best of the Gold Coast designation. What he quickly discovered, however, was that the sandwich board helped steer foot traffic into New Canaan Toy Store—something that’s become increasingly important and more difficult for mom-and-pop retailers. “It seems so small, but the impact is staggering,” Kilbane told the Planning & Zoning Commission at the group’s regular meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “You have to understand how it is to run a business in New Canaan at this point, or any brick and mortar store.

Business

Though Prohibited, Sandwich Boards Proliferate Downtown; P&Z to Open Discussion

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Though local zoning regulations explicitly prohibit them, sandwich boards are appearing in front of an increasing number of businesses downtown, prompting planning officials to open a public discussion on the matter. Under Section 6.3.F.7 of the New Canaan Zoning Regulations (page 118 here), “sandwich board and easel type signs” are prohibited. Yet members of the Planning & Zoning Commission “clearly have noticed a dramatic increase in sandwich boards in the past year or so” and will take up the issue at its Feb. 24 meeting, Chairman John Goodwin said. “It is something that we [P&Z members] have said we need to discuss, and personally I do not have a clear view yet of whether my view would be, ‘Look it is an ordinance and we’ve got to prohibit them’ because, on the other hand, we want to do everything possible in town to help businesses, and I am a very strong advocate of that.”

It isn’t clear whether Goodwin and P&Z will seek wider public input on sandwich boards during the group’s regular meeting.