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Sec. 167-1. – Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to assure the prompt identification and location of all structures and units within structures by public safety officials responding to an emergency.

Sec. 167-2. – Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words or terms shall have the following meanings:

Principal building(s). The dominant building or buildings on a parcel of land. Principal buildings shall not include accessory structures such as sheds, cabanas or garages (provided that said garage is not used in part or in whole for residential purposes).

Street. Shall include any and all roads, drives, avenues, streets and other highways in the City of Stamford whether public, private, accepted or unaccepted.

Sec. 167-3. – Display of numbers.

  • A. Display required. Principal buildings used or to be used for residential, mixed occupancy, commercial, industrial or storage purposes shall bear or display at least one set of assigned street numbers. Such number(s) shall be Arabic, block or script in design.
  • B. Location.
  1. If the principal building is visible from the street, then street numbers shall be mounted in a secure fashion to the building’s front wall or to a porch or other fixed appurtenance in front of the building in the vicinity of the main entryway or main path of travel leading to the main entrance from a street or otherwise separately mounted upon the face of a wall or as a sign upon a post in the front yard of the premises, or as is provided in Subsection B(2) below.
  2. If the principal building is not visible from the street, then a sign, visible from both directions, displaying the number(s) shall identify the driveway access to the principal building. Numbered mailboxes are acceptable for identification, provided that the mailbox unambiguously identifies the driveway access.
  3. If multiple principal buildings share a common driveway access, then:
  • (a) A sign or signs shall indicate all the street numbers served from the common driveway access. Such signs shall be visible from vehicles on the street from both directions of travel. It is permissible to indicate a range of even numbers or odd numbers accessed from a common driveway, provided that the range does not include any other even or odd street numbers, as appropriate, that are inaccessible from that common driveway. Groups of mailboxes that include the numbers of all principle buildings served by the common driveway shall be acceptable.
  • (b) If the common driveway forks such that multiple principal buildings are accessed from any fork, then any such fork shall be signed as in Subsection B(3)(a) above.
  • (c) The individual principal buildings shall be numbered, either as in Subsection B(1), above, or Subsection B(2), as appropriate, so that principal building units served by a common driveway shall be unambiguously identified.
  • C. Visibility.
  1. Street numbers shall be legible, with contrasting background, arrangement, spacing, size and uniformity of the whole, so that the numbers may be read with ease during daylight hours. Street numbers shall be reflective or illuminative during nighttime hours. The minimum stroke height shall be two and one-half inches for any sign that is within 100 feet of the center line of the street, and shall be three and one-half inches for any sign that is more than 100 feet from the center line of the street.
  2. Trees, shrubs or other obstructions shall not block the street numbers. Street numbers or signs shall be placed in a manner that they are not commonly blocked by snow or snow left after normal snowplowing activities.

Sec. 167-4. – Apartment/office unit number.

  • A. In addition to the street number identification signs, it shall be the responsibility of each property owner to provide and display numbers identifying apartments/office units at the exterior access to such locations and at the doors of the units themselves.
  • B. Building signs listing commercial tenants by unit or apartment number shall be displayed in the primary entry area of the building.
  • C. Directional signs indicating location of apartment units shall be placed on each floor at the primary point of ingress and egress, for example, at the elevator or main stairwell.

Sec. 167-5. – Violations.

The absence of house and/or unit numbers as described above, the absence of all or any part of a number, the use of any number not assigned to the principal building by the City of Stamford, or the failure of a number to meet the visibility requirements, shall be a violation of this chapter by the property owner. It is also a violation to remove or damage any numbers or sign that is in compliance with this chapter without the permission of the property owner.

Sec. 167-6. – Enforcement.

  • A. The Stamford Fire Chief, Volunteer Fire Chiefs, Fire Marshals and Volunteer Fire Marshals of the City of Stamford, within their respective fire districts, may serve notice and orders on the owners of premises found to be inaccurately numbered or renumbered or found with numbers insufficiently legible or otherwise in violation of this chapter. Such notice and orders shall require the placing of assigned numbers or removal of numbers in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
  • B. The Stamford Fire Chief, Volunteer Fire Chiefs, Fire Marshals and Volunteer Fire Marshals of the City of Stamford, within their respective fire districts, shall have the authority pursuant to Section 7-148 of the Connecticut General Statutes and the Code of the City of Stamford, to designate themselves and their subordinates as citation enforcement officers who shall have the authority to issue citations in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

Sec. 167-7. – Violations and penalties. [633] 2

  • A. Once an order to comply with the provisions of this chapter has been issued, the owner of the property shall have 60 days to comply with the order. If the owner does not comply on or before the 60th day, then a citation for $50 may be issued to said owner. If the owner has not complied on or before the 30th day after the citation was issued to said owner, then further citations of $50 for every additional 30 days may be issued to said owner. Each additional thirty-day period shall be considered a separate violation. However the total fine shall never exceed $250.
  • B.  If any one other than the owner removes or damages any numbers or sign that is in compliance with this chapter without the permission of the property owner, then said person shall be issued a citation in the amount of $90.
  • C.  Collection of penalty(s) shall be through the Alarm Appeals Board.

Sec. 167-8. – Appeals.

Citations issued pursuant to this chapter shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of Section 7-152c of the Connecticut General Statutes. The Fire Alarm Appeals Board shall have jurisdiction over all appeals relating to civil citations issued under the provisions of this chapter. Furthermore, all appeals from the Fire Alarm Appeals Board concerning this chapter shall be in accordance with Section 7-152c of the Connecticut General Statutes.