Panel: Confederate flag along I-64 can't stay
LOUISA, VA (WWBT) - Louisa County officials say a flag seen flying more than 100 feet in the air from Interstate 64 is violating county rules.
"They're saying the flag pole is too high, and based off the county ordinances, that's not what we believe," said Barry Isenhour with the Virginia Flaggers.
Isenhour says they spoke with county officials before raising the 30' X 50' flag on a 120' flag pole. It is the 27th flag they have installed and raised in the Commonwealth.
"We've done this before, so we always do our due diligence, and we believe we did our due diligence in this situation," he explained. "The county told us, actually a few times, several times, that there was no height restrictions. After one inspection, they said it was fine, so I don't understand why all of a sudden it's not."
Isenhour says the 4-3 vote denying the VA Flaggers appeal to leave the flag at 120 feet was closer than they expected. The board of zoning appeals says the flag pole exceeds a 60-foot maximum for for certain buildings and structures.
"The Flaggers also point out that this project was months in the making. One would think, given all that planning, the property owner and the Flaggers would have thoroughly researched zoning ordinances," said community activist Tammy Purcell. "They did not."
Purcell spoke before the Board of Zoning Appeals during a public comment period, expressing her concerns about the height of the flag and what she says is a need for the VA Flaggers to follow the county's rules.
"In their defiance, the Flaggers believe that the rules of our community do not apply to them," she said. "In fact, a 120-foot pole was prohibited to fly on this property under old and new ordinances, thus the Flaggers are free to fly their flag on a significantly shorter pole."
Isenhour says they plan to file an appeal in Circuit Court, while the flag remains in place.
The VA Flaggers released the following statement Friday about the flag:
After several hours of public testimony, arguments from the Louisa County Planning Commission and the Va Flaggers, and questions from the board, members voted 4-3 to deny our appeal of the alleged zoning violation at the Charlottesville I-64 Spirit of Defiance Battle Flag site.
In our presentation, our attorney presented evidence that both the landowner and a representative from the Va Flaggers had done due diligence in calling the proper office for zoning and building permit information. In its presentation, Louisa County officials claimed that we were lying about our contacts and that we had willfully and intentionally ignored zoning laws. Testimony by the landowner and our representatives, in combination with the presentation of a confirmation email sent by our folks, was compelling and hard to dismiss.
Stressing our experience in having raised 27 flags in the Commonwealth, we effectively argued that we would not spend the $14,500 it cost to raise this flag, without getting proper confirmation of county requirements, nor would we attempt to knowingly and willfully violate county laws and regulations, as county officials and some speakers claimed.
We also presented evidence of irregularities in the application of exemptions in the zoning ordinance and were able to effectively defend and dismiss the claims made by county officials and the county attorney.
The little public testimony against the flag was largely emotionally charged and hysterical, based on false narratives and SPLC talking points. Several neighbors of the landowner spoke of how they enjoyed the view of the flag, and a Louisa county resident and descendant of Richard Proffitt, the veteran buried at the site, spoke eloquently about the fact that the site was clearly a veterans' memorial and should be treated as such.
We believe that of the four that voted against us, two did so strictly based on their own personal bias, and the other two just wanted to pass the whole issue on to the Circuit Court so they did not have to be on record in the matter.
Representatives from the county did their best to insist that the hearing had nothing to do with the fact that it was a Confederate flag flying, but it was obvious to everyone else in attendance that the ONLY reason we were meeting in that building was because of what kind of flag was flying and the First Amendment implications in this case have been well established.
We were prepared for this ruling, but we expected it to be unanimous based on the fact that these kinds of boards usually side with county findings. The fact that the denial was passed by such a slim margin gives us increased confidence heading to Circuit Court, which would be our next level of appeal. We will be meeting with our attorney this week to discuss our options and will keep you all posted as we have new information.
We have 30 days to file our appeal.
In the meantime, we will be installing a new 4'x8' sign at the site this week...
...the flag is still flying, and we are receiving inquiries from outraged Louisa residents about the possibility of installing more flags in the county.
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