Public Outcry Forces Del Mar to Back Down From Plan to Remove Flagpoles

Under pressure from angry residents and veterans, Del Mar city officials backed down Friday from a plan to remove three flagpoles from a seaside park.

City Manager Kay Jimno, after conferring with Mayor John Gillies, announced that she had rescinded a previous order to have workers remove the poles Monday from Seagrove Park.

The council had voted 4 to 1 Monday night to have the poles taken down until the city’s Design Review Board can pick a new location for them.

A Political Nightmare

What began as just another municipal matter soon became a political nightmare as council members were greeted with a scalding commentary by KGTV-Channel 10 anchorman Mike Tuck, followed by many phone calls from veterans and others, and a rumor that civil disobedience might be employed to prevent the poles’ removal.

The flagpoles became an issue earlier this month when officials realized that there is no valid permit for them.

Council members also reported receiving complaints that the poles and flags block the ocean view down 15th Street, a major “view corridor.”

Councilwoman Brooke Eisenberg blamed “choreographed agitation” for the anger directed at council members who voted to take down the flagpoles.

“People left words on my (answering machine) comparing me to Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden,” Eisenberg said. “That’s very unfortunate. There is not a person on that council who is not patriotic. I’m really upset at the amount of disturbance this has caused.”

Eisenberg stressed that council members are unanimous in wanting the flagpoles somewhere on public property--although not necessarily in Seagrove Park. She said she supports taking down the flagpoles temporarily as a way to spur the Design Review Board to make its decision.

But Wally Stevens, an Oceanside truck driver and former Marine, said veterans are afraid that, once the flags come down, they will never go back up. Stevens had rallied members of veterans’ groups to besiege City Hall with phone calls.

“Once those flags were down, they were going to be buried,” Stevens said. “We have no doubt about that. We’ve won one skirmish, but there is still the battle ahead.”

Former Mayor Lew Hopkins, a retired Navy rear admiral, had been among those residents pleading with council members to let the poles remain while a final decision is made.

He said he thought the council had underestimated the public’s emotional attachment to flags, particularly the American flag.

“I’m biased,” Hopkins said. “I served that flag for 34 years, and it means a lot to me. I can’t imagine anything more beautiful to look at than that flag.

“I think the flags are in exactly the right location: very prominent and visible,” he said. “There are plenty of other places to look at the ocean.”

Permit Expired

After a private fund-raising effort, the poles were erected at the foot of 15th Street in a small park overlooking the ocean in 1985--apparently without an official permit because of a City Hall mix-up. An 18-month permit that was issued later has expired.

The tallest of the three flagpoles flies the American flag. On the two others are the California flag and the Del Mar flag; the last has a design employing trees, the sun and crashing waves.

As it stands now, the flagpoles will stand, the flags will wave and the Design Review Board will take up the issue in September.