What did Coral Springs officials prohibit the McDonald’s Corporation from building in 1975?
The answer is the famous golden arches outside one of the fast-food empire’s restaurants at 7751 Sample Road, according to the popular game of Trivial Pursuit.
The game question exemplifies the city’s stringent sign code. The code has its share of advocates and critics.
City officials don’t like to bend the sign code too often.
“This is the toughest sign code I’ve ever experienced,” said Dennis Foltz, director of Coral Springs’ planning department. “It’s very effective.”
Foltz said in addition to being one of the few cities in the 1970s to block the golden arches, the Kentucky Fried Chicken at 10395 W. Sample Road may be the only one without a cupola. Coral Springs officials did not permit the dome on top of the restaurant.
The city’s sign code prohibits just about any type of “garish” sign, Foltz said.
There are no billboards, no neon or pole signs allowed.
Ground signs are only permitted on large buildings and cannot be over 6 feet high. The sign code even governs how many letters and colors can be used in a sign.
Restaurants like McDonald’s have to settle for a sign across the top of the restaurant. Scaled-down golden arches are only allowed on the side of the building.
Larry DeVries, district manager for McDonald’s in Boca Raton, said the corporation has become more creative to appease municipalities.
“We do our best to keep our identity,” DeVries said.
In Boca Raton, McDonald’s officials got around the sign ordinance by building a sign with the traditional arches etched in glass.
Coral Springs has been the toughest on the golden arches, DeVries said.
“It is one municipality that sticks to its guns,” he said. “They want a clean city. You have to hand it to them.”
Because Coral Springs is neighborhood-oriented, a large sign is not needed. Residents drive by the restaurant every day, DeVries said.
Some merchants said they want revisions in the code and deed restrictions for more flexibility to advertise. They have submitted a petition to the Sawgrass Chamber of Commerce.
“Some exceptions should be made so they can better exist,” said Sandy Cugno, executive vice president of the Sawgrass Chamber of Commerce.
Cugno said merchants should be able to put cardboard signs in their windows and banners, advertising sales and grand openings.
“I don’t think the city wants to restrict anyone’s right to do business,” said Sam Stevens, director of the city’s building department, which approves permits for signs. “There’s a compromise.”
Foltz, however, says the sign code works in Coral Springs because the community is not tourist-oriented, like Fort Lauderdale or Pompano Beach.
“Coral Springs is a bedroom community,” Foltz said. “It’s not a destination community.”
