By John Schwing

WESTPORT — When an application to erect a sign for a Post Road West medical office building came before a town board earlier this year, the diagnosis was dire.

Six months later, an application for another sign on the same property got a clean bill of health during its initial review.

In January, a representative for Connecticut Children’s Specialty Care Center at 191 Post Road West, in essence, was sent packing by the Zoning Board of Appeals for seeking approval for a large, illuminated sign that was installed without the required permission.

After being harshly criticized by ZBA members for the improper installation, the center’s sign representative, Lawrin Rosen of Artfx, was advised to rectify the violation by having the “Connecticut Children’s” sign re-installed in conformance with town regulations so it would not require a waiver.

It might have been a hard pill to swallow, but the center’s representatives filed a revised application with the Planning and Zoning Department, and the following month a permit was granted to install the sign at a lower level on the building. A ZBA waiver was no longer required because, this time, the revised application complied with regulations.

Last week, Rosen received a much more congenial reception when he appeared before the Architectural Review Board seeking approval of another Connecticut Children’s sign — a smaller, free-standing sign proposed near the front of its Post Road West location.

Permission to install the new roadside sign is sought to help identify the center’s location, which sits up a slope from a bend in Post Road West.

The sign, featuring a logo and the words, “Connecticut’s Children’s,” is similar in design to the sign that landed the center in the ZBA’s hot seat in January.

The size is smaller, however. The illuminated, free-standing sign measures just under 15 square feet on both sides, according to Rosen.

Facing the “alligators” again

ARTfx representatives, however, will have to go back to the ZBA to receive waivers for the roadside sign, which would sit within the setback from an abutting property and is on a lot that lacks the required 100 feet of frontage along the street.

Unmentioned during the ARB session was the rocky reception Rosen received during the ZBA’s meeting on the center’s prior application, which at one point he had described as facing “a group of alligators.”

The new application is scheduled to be reviewed by the ZBA at its next meeting, which will take place online at 6 p.m. July 11.

After ascertaining that the free-standing sign still requires ZBA waivers, ARB members had only a few questions for Rosen about the application.

Vesna Herman said it appeared to be “a fine sign,” and said she understands why the roadside sign is needed because of the building’s location. Manuel Castedo felt likewise, calling it “a nice sign.”

And Chairman Ward French made the board’s positive verdict unanimous, sending the application along to the ZBA.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.