How tall the golden arches should be allowed to stand in Annandale was the topic of some debate at the Annandale Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, Sept. 4. In the end, a compromise was reached and it was scheduled to go before the Annandale City Council for final approval at its Monday, Sept. 10, meeting.
Citing safety concerns, McDonald’s owner Pete Kormanik applied for a variance to permit him to erect a 30-foot sign instead of the 15-foot maximum allowed in Annandale. The restriction exists, according to commissioner Eric Schwarzkopf, to encourage installation of signs in the city that would be more of a monument style.
However, Kormanik explained that the height requirement poses several concerns because first, it would be at a similar height and color as the nearby stoplight at the corner of Highway 55 and County Road 5 and the McDonald’s sign is to be located in close proximity to the adjacent lights.
"We want a higher sign at that location for safety of the public," Kormanik said. "There’s a lot going on at that intersection and we don’t want our yellow and red sign to interfere with the traffic lights and cause confusion. There also is a possibility of the other two businesses (in the retail complex) to add signs to that pole and the 15 feet doesn’t give us enough room to work with."
Another reason for the variance request cited by Kormanik’s wife Ros, who also attended the meeting, is that a monument height puts the sign at risk of being buried or damaged by snow plows in the winter.
After hearing from the Kormaniks, commissioners who attended the meeting – Tom Gay, Eric Schwarzkopf, Robert Lewison and Tony Geldert – discussed the issues raised.
"I don’t see it as a safety issue, because with the (10-foot) setback, it’s not interfering with the lights," Lewison said. "Holiday’s sign is 24-foot so even if we went with that 24-foot height, is your franchise negotiable on this?"
Kormanik replied, "That is what McDonalds prefers but if we have to have signs at the same height as other businesses in the area, we can work with that also."
Lewison said, "So this is not going to be the make or break it thing with McDonald’s if it has to go back to a 15-foot height."
Schwarzkopf said his primary concern was the potential for multiple signs if the other retailers on that property are not able to attach their displays onto the same pole as McDonald’s. There is enough frontage to allow up to three signs, according to Annandale City Administrator Kelly Hinnenkamp. However, Hinnenkamp added that she has not yet received a full signage plan for the other retailers on the property so their intentions remain unknown at this time.
Opposition expressed
When the commissioners opened the meeting for public discussion, several residents and business owners voiced their opposition to the 30-foot height request which had been amended prior to the meeting to 26.5 feet. President and CEO of Star Bank Harry Wahlquist spoke first. He said that while his home address is Edina, he and his family have been seasonal Annandale residents for more than 50 years and his business has been a corporate citizen for eight years.
"In planning a new building we built in 2004 and 2005, we met with (former administrator) Mark Casey repeatedly and was told that there is nothing taller than 15 feet allowed for a sign," Wahlquist said. "Mr. Casey told us that it had to be in accordance with other signs in that area, so we took his answer and we’ve lived with it for the past eight years. If a new variance is allowed from a new business coming to town like McDonald’s, then we would like the same considerations for a business like ours that has been here for the last eight years."
Others who spoke included Snooty Fox owner Laura Hood-Beckman, Jill Bishop, Elizabeth Cabalka and Anchor Dock and Lift owner Jefferson Bishop. It was also mentioned that several other residents and business owners sent letters opposing the variance request to Hinnenkamp prior to the meeting.
"It’s exciting to have more businesses coming into the community but I think there are ways to handle this so that it remains aesthetically pleasing," Hood- Beckman said. "Decision time was mentioned. Two of the most recognizable signs are traffic lights and the golden arches. I have no doubt that people will figure that out."
Bishop said, "By and large my information comes from the Advocate, and when I read that one of the reasons for the request was longer decision time, that’s a very different issue than safety, so needless to say the issues I’ve raised are due to the sign, not McDonald’s."
She continued by saying she was happy to see McDonald’s was coming to the community and she offered several positive comments about the resulting jobs that will be created with flexible schedules, the fact that McDonald’s has a reputation for being a "good corporate citizen" which provides local scholarships and encourages a strong work ethic.
"I am glad you are here," she said to the Kormaniks. "I just don’t want a big bright sign right there."
Cabalka expressed similar sentiments and then Jefferson Bishop offered another business perspective.
"As a business owner, I am a big proponent of signs," Jefferson said. "I don’t think my signs are sufficient but the ordinance is there for a reason. If this variance is granted, I will understand it, but I can promise you I’ll be coming in for one as well."
Kormanik tried to clarify the "decision time" wording that was used in his variance request.
"If people are coming from the east they may not notice the sign in time to make the turn safely," Kormanik said. "We need the visibility."
The exception
City council member Dewey Gunnarson also attended the meeting and offered insight about one of the few exceptions to the sign ordinance in Annandale – Marketplace.
"You have one parcel and multiple businesses. When it comes to clutter, it’s the number of signs, not the height of the sign that makes it look bad. Three signs right there will be cluttered," he said. "That is the same exact reason the Marketplace sign is taller because there were multiple businesses in that location, so you would be consistent with what other previous planning commissions and councils have done before."
Hinnenkamp added that Marketplace was also an exception because of where it was in relation to the other signs along that stretch.
"I don’t know the history of that – the decision to encourage monument signs," Hinnenkamp said. "I can tell you if you did a study about highway signage height, the standard is about 25 feet. Years ago – whoever those people were – they decided 15 feet was what it needed to be to encourage that monument sign height that they wanted."
Lewison agreed that one 25-foot sign would be preferrable to three, 15-foot signs in that area. "It’s a lot right on that corner," he said.
Compromise reached
Gay asked if there were other size options for the McDonald’s sign and Kormanik said there were smaller size choices available through the franchise.
"If 30-foot is not an option, a 24-foot is workable," Kormanik said. "I want to mention that our digital sign is used for more than advertising our product. Today in Litchfield, it says ‘School is open, drive safely. We are open Monday through Thursday until 11 p.m. and until midnight on the weekends. The sign goes off at close."
Schwartzkopf said that if a smaller sign option is available to McDonald’s then part of the compromise for the variance would be to stipulate that the other two retailers use the same pole as McDonald’s for their displays.
"It’s just so we could get it down to one sign," Schwarzkopf said.
In response to the concern raised by other business owners who said they would like variances for taller signs if McDonald’s request was granted Schwartzkopf said, "This case is a little different because it does have the potential for three signs but as far as others coming in and wanting higher signs too, it’s not based on precedent, it’s all on a case by case basis."
Most of the estimated seven citizens who attended the meeting indicated that reducing the height from the original request would be acceptable to them as well.
"If it’s a compromise to balance it, than I would be comfortable with that," Cabalka said.
Geldert was the one hold-out among the commissioners because he favors the monument sign requirement. When it came time to finalize the vote for recommending the height variance portion of the request to the city council, Geldert voted against it but it passed with yes votes from Gay, Schwartzkopf and Lewison.
The other portion of Kormanik’s request was to increase the maximum square footage of the sign from 80 feet to 105 feet but commissioners voted against that part because they said it was not necessary if McDonald’s had the option of a smaller sign than the original size requested.