Boca Raton will not make any changes to its policy that allows "personal expression" installations at a City park.
Controversy was stirred last holiday season when a "Satanic" pentagram was erected at Sanborn Park next to a Nativity Scene and a Menorah.
The city council considered adopting an ordinance that would have barred “free speech” installations from Sanborn Square, at Federal Highway and Palmetto Park Road.
But at the council meeting Tuesday, residents argued the protection of all first amendment rights.
The ban would have halted any future installations of the pentagram, but would also prevent the church and synagogue from placing a creche and menorah -- symbols that have been installed during the holiday season since 1990.
Following the pentagram fiasco in December, the city received approximately 30 applications for public displays at Sanborn Square. Boca has no system for filtering the permit applications, aside from “first come, first serve,” said city attorney Diane Frieser during the council meeting.
No one spoke in favor of the ban, and city council members squashed the ordinance.
Last holiday season, the pentagram was adorned with the words “In Satan We Trust.”