Zoning commission unanimously approves freestanding sign for Ensign Bickford building

The Simsbury Zoning Commission unanimously approved application ZC-25-23 to permit a freestanding, approximately 20-square-foot, halo-lit sign for Ensign Bickford Aerospace Division at 100 West Mill Road, the commission heard at its regular meeting. The approval came after staff and the Design Review Board recommended the sign as submitted and after the applicant provided a landscaping plan that removed an earlier condition staff had included in the draft motion. Commission members discussed that the proposed sign matches an existing SignPro design used at the company’s Hot Meadow Street location and that it meets the town’s sign requirements. A motion to approve the application, moved by Commissioner Tucker and seconded by Commissioner Kate, passed unanimously. Commission staff described the sign as a freestanding, halo-lit sign of about 20 square feet and said the applicant had provided a nighttime rendering and site schematics. Staff also told commissioners that the building at the Hundred Grist Mill (a recently renovated, roughly 40,000-square-foot property) had been repurchased by Ensign Bickford and rehabilitated with more than $1 million of renovations to house design, research and some manufacturing operations. The Design Review Board (DRB) recommended approval; because the landscaping plan was submitted after the initial draft materials were circulated, staff removed a Landscaping-condition from the motion. The commission’s motion specified that the project be developed according to the sign plan titled “Ensign Bickford Aerospace” dated Aug. 19, 2025, prepared by SignPro. No public opposition or substantive debate was recorded during the item; commissioners asked only routine clarifying questions about the landscaping plan and design review history. With the commission’s vote, the permit application was approved and the applicant may proceed under the terms set out in the approved sign plan. The commission’s approval does not alter any other permits or approvals associated with the property; any future changes to sign size, location or lighting would require further review under town regulations.