RULE MAY EXEMPT OLD GLORY GLENDALE SEEKS WAY TO ALLOW MAN TO FLY FLAGS.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Looking for a way to settle a patriotism vs. advertisement controversy, the City Council on Tuesday asked staffers to research exempting American flags from an ordinance limiting banners, signs and pennants.

That gave a Glendale businessman reason to hope that he can continuing flying 20 flags from July 4 through Labor Day at his Pacific Avenue gas station.

``It's a victory so far,'' said Kelly Khoury, whose Old Glories parlayed patriotism into a citywide debate in July.

As a show of appreciation for the city's willingness to consider changing the ordinance, he will take down the flags today. He had kept them up in protest of the warning.

The council rejected a recommendation from the city staff that businesses be allowed to display no more than three flags in front of a business, six where a corner business has two fronts.

For Khoury, who has been flying his 20 flags between holidays at his Shell station for 18 years, that would have meant he could only have six.

Mayor Dave Weaver said it is too difficult to try to determine whether flying the flag is an advertisement covered by the ordinance or a show of American pride.

``I don't like the term 'advertisement,' '' he said, ``I want it taken out.''

Councilman Gus Gomez disagreed entirely with the staff's recommendation, questioning whether the city really has the authority to decide what number or size of flags equates to advertising.

``We are not in a position to read people's minds,'' he said. Other cities, like Pasadena, Gomez said, have the right idea in exempting government flags from sign ordinances.

On July 26, officials from the city's Community Developing and Housing Department warned Khoury that he had to remove 17 of the flags under the city's sign ordinance, or he would be cited.

The ordinance, which dates to the 1920s, forbids any business from flying or posting more than six signs, pennants or banners without first obtaining a permit. Signs, flags and banners are all ways of advertising a business, the code says.

Under federal law, the U.S. flag cannot be used to advertise.

Khoury and the American Civil Liberties Union contended that the city was violating his right to free speech under the First Amendment.

The staff's recommendation had said that limiting the number of permanent flag displays, flag size and pole height ``appears to be reasonable.''

``If a number of businesses next to each other all put out a large permanent display of flags, it could bring back the visual clutter that Glendale has worked hard over the last 30 years to remove,'' John McKenna, director of planning, said in a written report.

Also, the flapping of large flags in the wind and the clanging of ropes against flagpoles have raised noise issues, the report says.