The Gilroy City Council approved a new flag-flying policy for City Hall on Feb. 7 that is intended to limit the amount of city funds and staff time to implement.
In May, the council adopted a policy that allows commemorative flags on the city’s flag poles to be approved at the discretion of the council. The policy was considered shortly after the council approved a request to fly a flag at City Hall in recognition of the LGBTQ community in June.
As part of the unanimous Feb. 7 decision, that policy was rescinded, and replaced with one that requires applicants to collect 150 signatures of registered voters in Gilroy, with only one flag allowed to be flown at a time for a month.
Applications will be accepted from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 for the following year, and the council will consider the proposals in December.
While proponents would have to apply each year, the 150 signatures are valid for two years, according to the new policy.
An application fee is also proposed to cover administrative costs, which will be finalized when the council considers updating various user fees later this year.
City Administrator Jimmy Forbis said the city needs to be cautious when establishing the fee so it does not discourage residents from applying.
“This is not something we’re looking to make money off of,” he said.
Councilmember Fred Tovar suggested the LGBTQ Pride flag be grandfathered into the policy, since it was approved by the council before the policy was adopted.
However, Councilmember Dion Bracco said such a proposal would be “making different rules for different groups.”
“It would look really bad saying one group gets special circumstances, while another one has to go out and gather signatures,” he said. “It would seem you are trying to limit who gets to fly a flag at City Hall.”
Mayor Marie Blankley motioned for the Pride flag to be grandfathered in for this year in June and have to go through the process next year, which was approved by the council.
Cat Tucker of Gilroy cautioned that the city may have many flag proposals vying for a certain month, noting that it may need to consider multiple locations. She suggested the flags be flown over somewhere more visible than City Hall, such as the downtown paseo.
Gilroy resident Kim Sullivan said the flag policy shows favoritism toward specific groups, adding that only the United States, California and Gilroy flags should be flown over City Hall.
“I believe all three of these flags are inclusive to all genders, ethnic groups and religions,” she said.
