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A soon-to-open Caraluzzi's Danbury Market on Mill Plain Road, Danbury, Conn. Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

A rendering of Caraluzzi’s Danbury Market on Mill Plain Road in Danbury.

DANBURY — A soon-to-open Caraluzzi’s Market was considering trimming plans to build one of Danbury’s largest free-standing LED advertising signs after opposition from the City Council, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Mill Plain Road neighborhood.

“The thought of having a 200-square-foot bright glowing billboard sign flashing deals on shrimp and beer in my face when I’m driving my kids home from a late evening practice or when I am leaving the area at 4 a.m. to catch a business flight is unappealing at best,” said neighboring resident Jason Bresnick during a hearing last week about two sign variances Caraluzzi’s seeks. “None of the competitors in the area have anything even beginning to approach the size and visual disruption of this proposed sign. These variances are a garish opportunity for in-your-face promotion and adverting.”

Bresnick was referring to two variances Caraluzzi’s seeks to build an LED display sign with alternating advertisements every 10 seconds that would be nearly three times the 75-square-foot size limit for Mill Plain Road.

The reason: the newest Caraluzzi’s location is set back 370 feet from Mill Plain Road. The family-owned grocery chain only wants a large sign variance that the city has granted to similarly sized retail enterprises such Stew Leonard’s, an attorney said.

“Why do we want this type of sign — again visibility and of course advertising,” said Caraluzzi’s attorney Thomas Beecher during a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on Thursday. “This sign is nicely framed and landscaped and it is horizontal, so it does not look like a giant scoreboard.”

The problem, in addition to the sign’s 211-square-foot size, is that Danbury zoning does not allow signs that flash, rotate, pulsate, move or are animated. Danbury zoning also does not define what constitutes flashing. So Beecher argued that changing content does not qualify as flashing, since the digital sign at Danbury City Hall changes content every four-to-10 seconds.

“Obviously I haven’t been distracted and I haven’t noticed any other drivers at the light (by City Hall) being distracted or mesmerized by the sign to the point where they fail to go forward on a green light,” Beecher said. “We are just asking for a minimal interval time that is the same as the longest interval on the city’s very own sign.”

City leaders disagreed, prompting Beecher to ask for time to discuss potential sign modifications with president and CEO Mark Caraluzzi.

“You could have advertisement for eggplant in dark purple and switch to an advertisement for orange juice…that would be a quick change — a sharp, abrupt transition from one sign to the next, which sort of smacks of animation to me,” said ZBA member Rodney Moore. “The intensity of the light … could change quickly.”

A City Council member agreed.

“If someone takes your picture with a camera it’s a flash; it doesn’t have to be every second, 30 times a second. One change can be a flash. It’s distracting,” said Paul Rotello, during Thursday’s ZBA hearing. “I ask you to deny this application and welcome Caraluzzi’s with a regular sign.”

Caraluzzi’s plan to come back to the Zoning Board of Appeals with potential modifications next week is the latest development for a 4.5-acre project at 102 Mill Plain Road — in a commercial zone which continues to lead Danbury in new business development.

The 45,000-square-foot market and liquor store is due to open as soon as May.

Last week, ZBA chairman Joseph Hanna wasted no words asking Caraluzzi’s to “trim down” the size of the sign and “push up” the message change interval from 10 seconds to “30 or 40 seconds.”

“Can we trim it down? I suppose we could look at that,” Beecher said. “Can we have a little bit longer interval - I guess we could.”

“Is wine and beer going to be displayed on the sign as well?” asked Hanna.

“I presume so,” Beecher said.

“We don’t want to see the liquor display emphasized on that changing sign,” said Hanna. “Is there a way you can keep the liquor out?”

“Yes, we could,” Beecher said.

“I would like to see a little bit more time delay between messages,” Hanna said. “Can you look at that?”

“I could look at everything you said,” Beecher said.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342

Rob Ryser is a career journalist with a rare flair for storytelling. He specializes in City Hall coverage and general assignment features.