Владельцы магазина в Нью-Лондоне требуют пересмотра правил оформления витрин

New London business owners push for clarity on window vinyl rules NEW LONDON, Wis. (WBAY) - A New London business is pushing for clearer rules after a planned storefront upgrade raised questions about the city’s sign ordinance. The owners of FML Discount Grocery, Felicia and Matt Larsen, say they spent more than $3,200 on perforated window vinyl the city approved of, only to learn the design does not meet current rules. The Larsens have owned FML Discount Grocery for about two and a half years, before moving the store to its current location about six months ago. They wanted to add the vinyl to the front windows to advertise the business and help with the sun coming into the store. “People are saying we can’t find you, and they’re calling me and say, ‘Hey, you know, we think you’re in your, we’re in your parking lot, but we can’t find you,’” Matt Larsen, owner of FML Discount Grocery, said. “We can’t have any signs or visualization out by the road, so we can make this known that it’s here,” Felicia Larsen, owner of FML Discount Grocery, said. Matt Larsen said the vinyl would also help protect merchandise from sun exposure. “The amount of stuff that is just getting wrecked in the sun up here is... I can only put certain things in the front half of my store,” Matt Larsen said. Approval, then a reversal The Larsens say they received façade-grant approval and spent more than $3,200 on the project. Felicia Larsen said the banner was originally priced at about $200 before it was enlarged to about $700, and the window vinyl was priced at about $2,100. But city staff later told them the window design does not meet the current sign ordinance. “I was just kind of surprised that we couldn’t do it,” Felicia Larsen said. Under the city’s zoning ordinance, window signs cannot cover more than 20% of an individual window or more than 20% of the total window area on a building façade. The ordinance defines a window as the total area within a window frame, which may be divided by muntins or mullions. City staff says the Larsens’ design would cover nearly all of the front windows, and counts the white background as part of the sign, not just the words and logos. The ordinance defines sign area as the entire face of a sign, including any material or color that forms part of the background of the display. However, the ordinance’s definition of a window sign describes a sign that is “painted onto a window, attached to the inside face of an exterior window, or located inside a building within 3 feet of a window.” Felicia says their vinyl would be installed on the outside of the window. “That’s why we’re very confused with the entire thing, because we don’t fall into the ordinance that they’re stating,” Felicia Larsen said. Felicia also said city staff told them the covering needed to allow enough visibility for law enforcement to see inside the store. Not asking for an exception The Larsens say they are not asking for a special exception, just a clear rule that applies to every business. “It’d be very beneficial, and it’s not even just about our business. It’s about all the other businesses,” Matt Larsen said. Matt Larsen said he has seen similar window coverings installed on other New London storefronts in recent days. Action 2 News reached out to the city for clarification. The city declined an on-camera interview but emailed written responses to our questions. - The city’s current interpretation of “window coverage” and why perforated vinyl is treated the same as opaque signage. - When viewing window signs from an outside location, most perforated vinyl signage has a similar look and effect as solid, opaque signage in terms of limiting the ability to see into the window. The City’s current zoning code does not differentiate between different levels of opacity for window signage. The zoning code also defines the overall measurement of a sign to include the sign “copy” (the words, figures, logos, etc. contained in the sign) as well as the sign background. Therefore, the sign copy and background together make up the overall size of the sign, which is what is evaluated when determining “window coverage.” This has also raised questions about temporarily painting windows for special events (for example, school homecoming events). Window art that does not advertise for a business is not considered a sign and is not regulated under the sign zoning code. - The public safety concerns (visibility for law enforcement) - Ultimately, the intent of the signage code is to find a balance between supporting businesses to advertise, maintain an attractive appearance for the City’s commercial districts and promote public safety. Without speaking on behalf of any law enforcement or emergency response agency, there can be a benefit when emergency personnel (or even members of the public) are able to see into a building as they approach and recognize a situation during an emergency. Or, for example, in the event of a fire that occurs after business hours, the ability for a bystander to see into a building and recognize a fire could potentially result in emergency services being dispatched more quickly. That said, the City recognizes that a business or property owner has every right to place window shades or other coverings over their windows that could create the same effect as a fully covered window sign. Therefore, the consideration of full window coverage does not stem solely from public safety concerns. It also relates to the amount of additional signage that can be placed on a building façade. Again, the City’s signage regulations are intended to balance supporting businesses in promoting themselves while also maintaining the integrity and character of the City’s commercial buildings. For example, without some type of signage regulation, a property owner could potentially place signage over 50% to 100% of their front windows and entire façade. This could negatively affect the overall appearance of that building and neighboring properties, particularly in historic downtown districts. - The potential ordinance amendment options being presented to the Commission. - The concerns regarding the City’s signage code expressed by FML Grocery are fairly recent. As a result, City staff is currently researching options and looking at how other communities regulate window signage for comparison. The intention at the upcoming Plan Commission meeting is to allow the public to provide comment on the concerns and provide the Plan Commission with an initial opportunity to become informed about the requests. - How the city handles businesses that were in the process of development when the new code was adopted in February. - Any business that has an approved building or zoning permit (or had legal developments/improvements completed) prior to any new code adoption, would normally be “grandfathered” in and considered a legal non-conforming use. The business would be allowed to continue their development/improvements as indicated on their approved permit. - Was there another change made to the ordinance after February 2026, when it was adopted? - No other changes have been made to date to the City’s Zoning code that was adopted in February of 2026. However, like any new zoning codification process, we wanted to take the opportunity to use it for some time and see if there is anything that the city would like to modify based on the needs and feedback of the community. The sign code would be our first element to review to see if there are modifications that the Plan Commission and Common Council would like to consider. The city’s Plan Commission will meet at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at the New London Municipal Building Plan_8-27-2026_Attach.pdfto possibly discuss changing the ordinance. Copyright 2026 WBAY. All rights reserved.