After lengthy debate over precedent, Stratford approves relocation of longstanding Stratton Industries sign

The Stratford Zoning Commission approved a special-case application allowing OutFront Media and Stratton Industries to relocate a previously nonconforming commercial advertising sign from inside a manufacturing facility at 180 Surf Avenue to another location on the same property.

Attorney Barry Knott, representing OutFront and Stratton, said the sign predated the zoning regulation that now bans new commercial billboards and that Connecticut law allows moving a legally-existing nonconforming sign to another location on the same parcel. Knott told the commission the sign had been moved inside the building when the company expanded and that operational needs now justify placing it outside. "It's the same sign. It's the same size," Knott told commissioners, arguing relocation does not create a new billboard.

Commissioners probed precedent and the risk that an external relocation could be treated as a new sign—particularly if the face were converted to a digital/electronic display. Jay Hovanska, planning staff, signaled a "gray area" if the work amounted to building a brand-new sign with a digital face rather than reusing the existing structure. Chair Harold Watson and multiple commissioners expressed unease about opening the door to additional sign relocations townwide, citing the plan of conservation and development’s long-standing policy against new billboards.

Knott and Stratton representatives said they had coordinated with the town’s FEMA coordinator and conservation administrator and that neither raised objections to the proposed footing and location. The commission ultimately approved the relocation with standard site and construction conditions; the motion passed on the record.