During the Christmas season, David Shaw decorated...

During the Christmas season, David Shaw decorated the 51-foot flagpole in his front yard with colored lights. The rest of the year he flies a 8-by-12-foot American flag from it.

The 35-year-old Torrance contractor said he bought the pole five months ago for $75; it came from an elementary school that was being demolished. “I got it because it’s just something I’ve always wanted,” he said. “I think it’s cool.”

However, many of Shaw’s neighbors in the hilly, middle-class Hollywood Riviera neighborhood don’t think the flagpole is all that cool.

Residents near Shaw’s house on Via Mesa Grande described the flagpole as “an eyesore,” “bothersome” and “obtrusive.” They say the noise from the flapping of the flag is a nuisance and they complain that the pole obstructs the view of the ocean.

“If you want to have a flag, that’s fine, but not that high,” said an elderly woman who lives across the street.

But not everyone opposes Shaw’s flagpole.

One neighbor, Gene Gregory, said he would like to see Shaw put up four more. Last Christmas, Gregory demonstrated his support for Shaw by erecting a 25-foot-tall wooden star covered with colored lights.

Over at City Hall, officials are not keen about Shaw’s flagpole. Monte McElroy, the city’s environmental quality administrator, said that the flagpole violates city height limits and that Shaw never applied for the required flagpole permit.

When the great flagpole dispute came before the city Planning Commission this week, the commission ordered Shaw to lower the height to 24 feet.

Shaw said the only way to do that is to take it down and put up a shorter pole. He plans to appeal the decision to the City Council.

“I never thought this would be a problem,” he said. “I don’t see why it is.”

Shaw said he’s surprised by the opposition because neighbors have never complained to him. He says the pole only slightly obstructs the view of a few neighbors and he even takes the flag down when strong winds cause it to flap loudly.

“I personally love the sound of a flag flapping,” he said.

Shaw said his neighbors oppose his flagpole because it makes his house stand out.

“People just don’t want anything different,” he said. “They just want to keep it like it was in the ‘50s.”