Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, May 22, 1976, page 18 (of 28)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
SM merchants vow to fight new sign ordinance
By EDWIN KNIGHT Staff Writer Angry merchants in the City of South Miami, protesting the enforcement of a tough new city sign ordinance, planned to face the city's council in a block last Tuesday night, May 18. But they found instead that there weren't enough council members present for a quorum. According to the city's charter, four council members must be present to conduct business. Mayor Jack Block told the gathering, composed of many businessmen in the city, that Councilwoman Mrs. Jean Willis would not be there and that Councilman Leroy Gibson, in West Palm Beach, would be late. The mayor waited 45 minutes, until 8:15, before telling the audience that the meeting was being called off. The same agenda will be taken up by the council at a special meeting Tuesday, May 25. The mayor did say, however, that legislation will be presented which will give merchants the relief they are seeking from the sign code which will affect some 50 per cent of the signs in the city. "We may extend the enforcement of the sign ordinance for two to three years, or we could put in a grandfather clause," the mayor explained to the audience. During the 45-minute wait for Councilman Gibson, attorneys for several prominent businesses in the city, including the First National Bank of South Miami, threatened the city with a suit if it persists in the enforcement of the ordinance. "You can't give a man a permit for a sign in 1975 and then make him take it down in 1976," pointed out attorney Robert Rutledge, representing the city's first and largest bank. "It's unconstitutional." City Manager Jack Present reported that about 60 notices went out to merchants telling them that their signs were non-conforming and would have to be removed by May 23. This brought a flood of calls to city hall from the bewildered merchants. Many wondered what the city was trying to pull. "We must have gotten 30 to 40 phone calls," the city manager added. "The phone was ringing off the hook." One merchant representing Banner Tire Co., 5930 South Dixie Highway, said that without their rooftop sign, they may as well close shop and do business elsewhere. "Besides," he reported, "I couldn't even get a sign company to remove the sign in that short a time. No way." The sign ordinance, passed in May, 1975, gave merchants a year to remove or alter signs which became non-conforming as of May 6. The ordinance reduces the number and the size of the signs a merchant may have. It reduces the height and square footage of signs and virtually eliminates rooftop signs, which are prominent along South Dixie Highway. But it didn't include a grandfather clause, which would have allowed signs already in place to remain. Although many merchants didn't even know last year that the council had passed the new sign code, the council was well aware that the enforcement would bring an outcry from city businessmen. "The council knew what it was doing," said Councilwoman Mrs. Cathy McCann, a strong proponent of the sign code. "And I think that the council should stand by the ordinance as a means of beautifying the city." Mrs. McCann did concede, however, that she would go along with an extension of actual enforcement for several years. But she was against the inclusion of a grandfather clause, fearing that many of the present non-conforming signs would remain for many years to come.
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY MAY 23-30 UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH
Riviera and Segovia Drive 448-4425 Where there is something for all ages and needs! • 3 Sunday Worship Services — 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 7:00 p.m. • 6:30 p.m., May 29 — World Peremier of Youth Choirs, "FREEDOM IS." • Plenty of other programs and activities "Laboratory of Learning, Growth & Christian Fellowship."
MIAMI CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
The Board of Trustees, the Principal and the Faculty praise God and take pleasure in announcing that Miami Christian School has been accepted for membership in and is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools this date, May the Eleventh, Nineteen hundred and Seventy-Six. KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL 200 N.W. 109 Ave., Miami, Fla. 33172
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