This staff report to Asheville City Council from August 2007 explains a change in the city’s sign ordinance that requires businesses to follow federal guidelines when flying the American flag.
On July Fourth 2006, TNT Fireworks was cited for flying flags over two temporarily erected tents. Although the city’s sign ordinance already prohibited using flags as promotional devices — as does the nonbinding U.S. Flag Code — the incident caused an uproar in the community. That prompted city staff to propose that flags flown in accordance with the federal code be exempted from the city’s ordinance, but that those violating the code would be considered advertisements rather than patriotic displays.
Click here to download a PDF of the document.
