Historic District Commission Juggles Church Signs, Windows, and a Wandering Cross

A wooden memorial cross needs a home. A church signpost leans to one side. And 41 windows wait for replacement. Welcome to the October 21, 2025 meeting of Farmington’s Historic District Commission, where four members tackled five applications after Cliff Max resigned and left them a person short. 📋

This article is brought to you by Farmington Storage at 155 Scott Swamp Road (860.777.4001). After watching commissioners debate cross placement for 20 minutes, you realize everyone needs more storage. Even churches. Call them.

The Leaning Post Gets Relief

Biff Sheckinger knows his signposts. The landscape architect representing First Church of Christ 1652 pointed out their current sign structure “lists to one side because of the two to one sign ratio.” The solution? Add a fourth sign for their new tenant, the Farmington Valley Chorale.

The choir ditched Torrington after discovering most members lived here anyway. Now they practice Tuesday through Thursday evenings, and Sheckinger says you can hear them if you sit in the church’s Adirondack chairs. 🎵

The sign matches three others exactly: black wood frame, dye-bond aluminum, vinyl letters, just under 10 square feet. Chair Jay Bambara and members Jim Calciano, Joanne Lawson, and Michelle Phelan approved without questions. The post can finally stand straight.

Fence Company Ghosts

Superior Fence and Rail wanted 119 feet of fencing at 6 Carrington Lane. They also wanted to skip the meeting. The commission opened the hearing, then immediately continued it to November. Next. 🤷‍♂️

St. James Parish Wants Hands to Hold

Pastor George Roberts needs handrails. His congregation skews older, and the 7-8 inch step at each church entrance creates problems Sunday mornings. Building Official Bob DeCrescenzo already blessed the black iron rails with shepherd’s crook tops.

The commission blessed them too. Unanimously.

Then came the windows.

Chris Martina presented plans to replace 41 windows with Harvey Tribute series. What followed was a masterclass in municipal minutiae. Ted Sanford wanted to know about muntins. Martina wasn’t sure about specifications. The room dove deep into “true divided lights” versus “simulated divided lights.”

Translation: The windows will have 7/8-inch grilles between glass panes, creating the appearance of separate panes without actually having them. Sanford pushed for “ogee” profiles (rounded edges) to match history. Martina agreed. Michelle Phelan worried about preserving the church’s restored exterior.

They got their windows. With conditions. ⛪

Clark Builds Like It’s 1890

William Clark gets it. His proposed garage at 14 Mountain Road won’t just store cars—it’ll look like it time-traveled from when his house was built in the 1890s.

The specs: 22 by 30 feet, two cars, 355-square-foot loft. Red cedar shingles matching the house. Composite roof. Double-hung windows (8-over-8 pattern). Carriage doors. A cupola with copper roof. Victorian trim throughout.

Clark started with three-car plans, scaled down to two, moved it 15 feet from the property line. The existing shed “is not in great shape,” he said, understating what photos showed clearly.

“I love old homes, been restoring them my whole life,” Clark said. “Once this structure goes up, you’re going to think it was built the same time the house was.”

Unanimous approval. No drama.

The Cross Without a Home

Here’s where things got weird. A 20-year-old wooden cross sits in St. James’s basement. It stands 7 feet tall (9 with underground support), comes with a granite monument listing names, and needs somewhere to go.

The question: Can people see it from Mountain Road?

If yes, they need permission. If no, they don’t.

George Roberts wants to put it temporarily by a rhododendron, then move it behind the church later. He swears it’ll be “mostly obscured” with visibility “from just one little angle.”

Ted Sanford called BS: “I think you’re being generous with 20 feet of visibility.”

The debate ping-ponged. Property lines. Sight angles. Which way the cross faces. Whether temporary means anything when you’re digging holes and pouring cement.

Town Planner Shannon Rutherford cut through it: Come back in November. Vote then. The cross waits. 🌳

Business Nobody Cares About (But We Must Report)

The commission approved their 2026 meeting schedule. Bambara’s warning: “Make sure you get those on your calendars, no excuses.”

September 16 minutes passed.

Lisa Johnson from Unionville already took UConn’s oral history training. Dr. Fiona Vernal runs it online now.

Meeting adjourned.

Jack Beckett
Senior Writer, The Farmington Mercury
Running on dark roast and democracy ☕

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This article, “Historic District Commission Juggles Church Signs, Windows, and a Wandering Cross,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.