Fred Meyer sign stirs controversy

PALMER -- Some local citizens are upset about two signposts erected at the West Evergreen entrance to the Fred Meyer store, saying company officials reneged on a promise to install a low monument-style sign.

"Another tall sign along West Evergreen is more than an eyesore, it encourages a traffic snarl as vehicles attempt left turns into the store and will become a safety hazard," said Chris Whittington-Evans, president of Friends of Mat-Su. "It is bad enough that the city granted Fred Meyer an entrance along the busiest and already backed up street in town.

"But now motorists and pedestrians face the additional traffic that will be lured into the store by Fred Meyer's tall sign. This is not going to be what they assured the people of Palmer."

Whittington-Evans said Fred Meyer representative Tom Gibbons promised monument signage during meetings with the public last summer.

Besides creating more traffic, Whittington-Evans said tall signs are a hazard because of high winds that often rip through Palmer. He recalled an incident in which a Chevron sign at the corner of West Evergreen and Glenn Highway toppled over and hit a Palmer Fire Department truck going to a fire, injuring a firefighter.

"Subsequently the new Chevron sign is more in line with the area's weather," Whittington-Evans said.

Palmer Community Development Director Sara Jansen acknowledged that Fred Meyer had promised monument signs. She said they planned to put in signage similar to that at the now-closed Palmer Burger King.

Jansen said city officials have heard from "quite a few people" who are upset about the change. However, she said the taller sign meets city code so there's nothing that can be done to block it.

Aesthetics aside, Jansen said, "the sign that Fred Meyer is putting up is legal."

Fred Meyer's sign won't come close to being the highest in the immediate area. Just across the street, Subway's sign rises significantly higher than the one Fred Meyer is building. The Subway sign is grandfathered because it was put up before the city ordinance regulating signage existed.

Tom Gibbons of Fred Meyer's real estate division in Portland, Ore., did not return calls from the Frontiersman.