Burger King’s towering sign on Main Avenue has been flouting city code restrictions for a year.
The restaurant received approval for a sign supported by a pole in 2001 but failed to get a permit to put a replacement up last year, according to city documents.
Last September, the city’s Design Review Board instructed restaurant management to replace the sign with one no more than 12 feet tall, supported by a base rather than poles, city Planner Mark Williams said.
Signs on bases made of brick or stone are common along Main Avenue, but signs on poles are not allowed in that area, he said. When a business completes a remodel, it is asked to come into compliance with the new code, he said.
Burger King was also displaying too many signs after it remodeled. It was allowed four but it had 18, counting pictures of food on the windows.
The restaurant staff took the extra signs down, but the large one remains, Williams said.
“I’d say, this is the only time I’ve had a sign issue drag on for a year,” he said.
The city summoned the restaurant manager to municipal court, but the manager was no longer working at the restaurant when the hearing occurred, Williams said.
The city dismissed the case since the restaurant manager has changed, and city staff is working with the Burger King franchisee Ronald Carballo on a resolution, Code Enforcement Officer Steve Barkley said. He expects the issue to be resolved soon.
“We’re being somewhat lenient, trying to work it out with the business owner,” Barkley said.
Carballo did not immediately return a request for comment.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
