AGENDA #5d
to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: Butch Kisiah, Parks and Recreation Director
subject: Response to a Petition Concerning the Earth Action Day Steering Committee’s Request to Fly the Earth Day Flag at Town Hall on a Year–Round Basis.
date: April 14, 2008
The purpose of this report is to present information concerning a March 17, 2008 petition by the Earth Action Day Steering Committee to have the Earth Day Flag flown year-round at Town Hall
The Earth Action Day Festival Steering Committee is made up of a group of citizens working with the Town’s Park and Recreation Department, Festivals and Community Celebrations Division to create the Town’s Earth Day recognition celebration. This group is requesting the Town to allow the Earth Day Flag to be flown year-round at the Town Hall. The Steering Committee would provide an authentic Earth Day Flag.
We understand that the committee desires to recognize the importance of Earth Day every day of the year by displaying an “Earth Day” flag on one of the existing flag poles at Town Hall. However, flag poles at Town Hall are reserved by Town policy for official government flags, specifically the United States flag, the North Carolina State flag and the Town of Chapel Hill flag. To allow these flag poles to be reserved for other purposes could raise First Amendment implications by creating a situation where the flag pole(s) could arguably be considered a public forum that could be reserved for use by other groups and organizations. This could result in a requirement that the Council create a policy to determine procedures for reserving the flag pole(s) in a manner consistent with the First Amendment and that would not restrict the use of the pole or poles based on the content of the message being conveyed. We believe that the flag poles should not be opened up to such use, but should instead be reserved for the official flags of the three levels of government, federal, state and local. We believe there are other opportunities for expressing views at public forums and at special events.
We recommend that the Town Council continue to reserve the use of the Town’s flag poles for official government use and that the Parks and Recreation Director be instructed to work with the Earth Action Day Festival Steering Committee to find a suitable alternative for the use of the Earth Day flag during the Festival, which will be held on April 26, 2008.