Golden arches downsized?

March 29, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - The golden age of giant McDonald's arches, in Palmer, has likely come to an end. The fatal blow came Sunday night, March 20, when high winds tore the largest McDonald's sign in the city from its post, causing it to smash onto a parked van and then crash into the store's drive-through area.

No one was injured in the incident, but according to a 1994 Palmer city ordinance, McDonald's will not be allowed to replace the sign with one of equal size. The ordinance regulates the size of signs inside city limits. The McDonald's sign was one of a handful that were grandfathered in.

David Meneses, Palmer's building inspector, said the city adopted the sign ordinance for both aesthetic and safety reasons.

"They didn't want the city to become a sunset strip like Las Vegas, where you have huge lighted signs," he said. "If you go to the Lower 48 you can see signs from three-quarters of a mile away. They didn't want that to happen here."

In the 11 years since the ordinance was adopted, Meneses said most of the old signs that were grandfathered in are now compliant or have been destroyed by high wind. The ordinance states that if a noncompliant sign suffers damage or deterioration of 50 percent of the replacement value of the sign, it cannot be replaced or restored.

Meneses said the McDonald's sign received minor damage over the years but never to the point that it had to be replaced. The Subway sign in Palmer is now one of the last remaining signs that was grandfathered in.

The night McDonald's sign fell, Meneses paid the restaurant a visit.

"We noticed the sign was down and we went and visited the manager to find out what was going to happen and suggest to them that they need to bring the sign into compliance," Meneses said.

According to the ordinance, if a person or business does not comply, the city or an aggrieved person can bring civil action against the offenders. In addition, a penalty of up to $300 may be imposed for each day the violation continues.

"In the beginning we want to encourage [compliance]," he said. "From our position it warrants a public safety issue."

Meneses said exceptions to the ordinance are rare.

"They're hard to come by," he said. "The city did that on purpose so that it would be fair across the board."

Meneses said the issue is not totally resolved and the city is continuing "friendly discussions" with McDonald's to strongly encourage the company to come into compliance with city code. Multiple phone calls to McDonald's corporate headquarters regarding this issue were not returned to the Frontiersman as of press time.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.