Flag might fly in Post Falls

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Chad Fox is one step closer to being able to fly his 375-square-foot American flag at his business in Post Falls.

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night unanimously recommended to the City Council that the city's zoning code be changed so such flags of up to 400 square feet can be flown in non-residential areas. The recommendation increases the maximum flag size in those areas from the current 135-square-foot limit.

"I'm very pleased with the recommendation," the owner of Fox Trailers said after the meeting. "I thought it would go smoothly. It's not like I'm trying to fly a Fox Trailers sign that big. All I want is to fly the flag that I currently have at my Stateline property in Post Falls."

The recommendation also increases the maximum size of flag poles in commercial and industrial areas from 45 feet to up to 25 feet above the height of the adjacent building.

Fox said he had his site engineered for the larger pole at the city's request only to be later be informed that the zoning code would need changed before the flag could be erected

He said the recommended increases will allow him to fly the flag properly at half mast.

A public hearing on the zone change proposal will also be held on a date to be determined before the City Council, which will make the final decision on flag and flagpole sizes.

Planning Commission members said they want to keep the flag size limit in residential areas at 60 square feet with 30-foot-maximum poles.

Engineer Scott McArthur, who represents the Fox family, said the flag request has been an "emotional dealing" for his clients.

"The conversation they had in December 2016 was that the only requirement was to have an engineered flag pole," he said. "My big question is, 'Why does the American flag need to be a part of the sign code?'"

McArthur said oversized flags are flown in commercial areas in other neighboring cities including Coeur d'Alene and Spokane Valley and there wasn't a regulation issue with those.

"I feel bad for the Fox family, that it had to come to this and turn into a debacle of more than what was expected, but we're here to address that," McArthur said.

He praised city staff for making a similar recommendation to the board of what he proposed for Fox.

"The flag promotes patriotism, and it won't be a detriment to the health, safety and welfare (of the community)," McArthur said.

Fox estimates he will have spent about $7,000 to fly the flag at his new Post Falls location on Pleasant View Road, including for engineering, equipment and the cost to apply for the zone change.

Post Falls Planning Manager Jon Manley said the circumstance with the large flag really isn't unusual as new situations can arise from time to time that require a review or tweaking of the zoning code.

"There's no true science to the (size) numbers," Manley said. "It's all up for debate and discussion."

Manley said the city's zoning code pertaining to signage was changed in 2011 to be content-neutral and, with the flag being content-neutral, it was added to signage codes.

A Post Falls man who identified himself as a retired developer and commercial contractor said he doesn't know the Fox family but wanted to attend the meeting to speak in support of the zoning code change.

"There always has to be exceptions to the hard and fast rules," he said. "That is what this hearing is about."

Fox said he believes that if the code is changed to allow for larger flags in non-residential areas, that will likely lead to other businesses in Post Falls commercial corridors desiring to fly large versions of Old Glory.