Mc Donalds Controvercy

People in this unsullied resort village on Lake Michigan are doing all they can to keep a quaint old cafe that serves homemade muffins and zucchini soup from becoming a fast-food place that sells Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets. Residents have come up with all sorts of reasons why McDonald's should not come to Saugatuck. A national chain does not fit in with the village's carefully honed quaintness, they say. Its customers may take up parking spaces that other stores' customers could use. But mainly, they just don't like the idea. More than 3,500 people from four states signed a petition to keep McDonald's away, and, in recent weeks, residents have been packing public hearings on the matter, most to show their disapproval. Last week the village's planning commission rejected McDonald's proposal 6 to 3, and said that the site of the cafe, Ida Red's, would need at least three extra parking spaces to meet a town ordinance. McDonald's filed an appeal with the village's Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday. But Saugatuck officials say they doubt that the issue can be settled this way and they expect to see McDonald's in court. Quaint Towns Under Pressure Many quaint towns on the Great Lakes and elsewhere are under pressure to permit wider roads, higher buildings or more shops, and fast-food outlets have often become symbols of the pressure. In Freeport, Me., an old house was converted into a McDonald's two years ago only after repeated presentations to meet town opposition. And when McDonald's wanted to add a drive-in window, the town fathers ''juggled the zoning laws'' to prohibit drive-ins in that district, said Fred Reeder, the town code enforcement officer. Stephanie Skurdy, director of communications for the McDonald's Corporation, said of the Saugatuck opposition: ''We usually try to work with the town to explain what we represent there. This is a very rare case.'' Earlier this year in Lancaster, Pa., residents started a petition and wrote to McDonald's headquarters in Oakbrook, Ill., after they heard that the company wanted to demolish a historic building unprotected by town ordinances and erect a new restaurant. Town officials delayed the demolition permit and McDonald's filed suit against the town, charging that officials were illegally withholding the permits. The suit was withdrawn after McDonald's and Lancaster officials agreed on an alternative design. But some officials are displeased with a gazebo McDonald's wants to add. ''It looks like a bus terminal,'' said Greg Scott, president of the Lancaster City Council. A Midwest Martha's Vineyard About eight years ago McDonald's tried to start a restaurant on Martha's Vineyard. ''There was a huge hue and cry and many letters to the editor,'' said William Boerth, executive secretary of Tisbury, the island's largest village. McDonald's did not build there, officials said, because the site did not have the needed sewerage. Mr. Boerth said , ''We think the public outcry helped them come to that decision.'' Saugatuck considers itself the Martha's Vineyard of the Midwest. On a clear day yachts can be seen cruising up from Chicago and slowing as they get to the Kalamazoo River, where Saugatuck begins. Other people drive from as far as St. Louis and Cincinnati to shop for antiques, plow their Jeeps through pink sand dunes, and swim in the ''shining big sea water.'' Saugatuck was once a thriving lumber village. But ever since 1873 when, according to a book on Saugatuck history, ''a strange couple appeared,'' being ''recognized at once as city people by their clothes,'' the village has been a mecca for Midwestern city types. In 1892, The Grand Rapids Democrat observed that Saugatuck was becoming ''a summer resort for people who are tired of the world.'' That is precisely where McDonald's does not fit in, residents say. This is a place where some people are still sick about the twirling time-and-temperature clock at the bank and where people would rather drive halfway around the river to get to the beach than disfigure the landscape with a bridge. Not Why They Come Here The problem with McDonald's, said Fred Hellman, a local businessman, is that ''people can see McDonald's anywhere - they don't come to Saugatuck for fast food.'' Others have more practical concerns. ''I'm worried about delivery trucks unloading buns and frozen french fries and tying up traffic,'' said Art Daane, who owns several clothing boutiques here. Now residents are afraid that if McDonald's moves in, Wendy's and Burger King cannot be far behind. Already some property owners have been approached by interested chains, and, when a restaurant recently went on the market, a group of local businessmen bought it ''so it wouldn't be vulnerable'' said Mr. Hellman. No Arches, Company Says McDonald's officials say panic is unwarranted. The company says it will take care of its own litter, will bring deliveries at off-peak hours and intends to keep the the old-fangled charm of the building it wants to buy. ''We have no intention of knocking down the building or putting up a typical McDonald's sign or erecting golden arches,'' said James Flaum, McDonald's district manager for outstate Michigan. Still, some people see the coming of McDonald's as a metaphor for progress gone berserk. ''It's the Howard Johnson's, the McDonald's, the malls of the world that we're fighting against,'' said Susan Louis, owner of Saugatuck's Wickwood Inn. ''You can go to a mall and not know what state you're in. We're a relief from all that.'' Some merchants say the fight against McDonald's is not over. Some say they have retained lawyers and are looking for any way they can to keep McDonald's from coming in. ''McDonald's could buy the town if they wanted to,'' Mrs. Louis said. ''And they may have to.'' A version of this article appears in print on July 19, 1987, Section 1, Page 16 of the National edition with the headline: Midwest Village, Slow-Paced, Fights Plan for Fast-Food Outlet. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/19/us/midwest-village-slow-paced-fights-plan-for-fast-food-outlet.html