UNRESTRICTED FLAG FLYING OK'D RECOMMENDATION A VICTORY FOR GAS STATION OWNER.Byline: Helen Gao Staff WriterGLENDALE - The Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle voted unanimously Monday to lift all regulations governing the display of U.S. flags - a victory for a local businessman whose patriotic display got him into trouble with the city. The commission will forward its recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final decision on changing Glendale's sign ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been to exempt national and religious flags. ``I am ecstatic. I am flying on cloud nine again,'' said Kelly Khoury, the Shell gas station owner whose display sparked the controversy. Last July, Khoury was warned by code enforcement Code Enforcement is the act of enforcing a set of s, principles, or laws (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norms or customs. An authority usually enforces a civil code, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to officers to remove 17 of 20 flags at his station or risk being cited - a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine or six months in jail. In 1986, he was also cited for the same violation and paid a $30 fine. Khoury has said his flags are meant to show patriotism, not advertisement, as the city's officials interpreted them. ``It's something I love to do since I came to this country 26 years ago, something I cherish,'' said Khoury Said Khoury (سعيد الخوري), born in 1923 in Safed in the northern Palestine, is a prominent Greek Orthodox Palestinian Christian entrepreneur. , who sported an American flag pin on his shirt during Monday's hearing. Commissioners agreed that patriotism is not something that ought to be regulated. ``(The American flag) is more than just a banner. It's a symbol of everything we have,'' said Commissioner Nancy Burke. The commission rejected two other proposals that would have restricted the number and size of flags that could be displayed. After Khoury's plight was made public, e-mails and phone calls poured in from around the country to city officials. John Buckley John Buckley may be:
``The American flag doesn't fall under the sign ordinance. It's not a sign. This isn't promoting a business. It's promoting the country,'' Buckley said. Khoury said he spends about $1,500 each year to replace the flags at his Pacific Avenue business to keep them fresh and clean. For the past 18 years, he has flown the same number of flags from July 4 through Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. . In 1992, he won a beautification beau·ti·fy tr. & intr.v. beau·ti·fied, beau·ti·fy·ing, beau·ti·fies To make or become beautiful. beau award for the flag display and flowers at his business. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion