Torrance Flag Flap Leaves Owner Less Than Half a Staff

When the Torrance City Planning Commission voted two months ago to have David Shaw reduce the height of the flagpole in his front yard from 51 feet to 24 feet, Shaw decided to appeal the decision to the City Council.

Now he wishes he had left well enough alone.

After listening to testimony from Shaw’s neighbors in the hilly middle-class Hollywood Riviera neighborhood, the Council voted 5 to 1 Tuesday to make him reduce the pole’s height to 14 feet.

‘Not What I Had in Mind’

“I’m very upset about this,” the 35-year-old contractor said after the decision. Shaw said he would have settled for a 24-foot flagpole, but a 14-foot pole “is just not what I had in mind for a flagpole.”

“I guess I’ll have to get a crane and take down the pole,” he said.

Eight neighbors testified before the council. Four said the flagpole blocks their view of the ocean, and the sound of the flapping flag bothers them. The other four said they support Shaw and think the flagpole adds style to the neighborhood.

The flagpole controversy came before the Planning Commission in May because the pole violates city height limits and because Shaw never applied for the required flag permit.

Councilman Tim Mock said a 24-foot flagpole is not compatible with the surrounding single-family, residential neighborhood. He recommended that the pole be reduced to 14 feet.

Councilman Bill Applegate agreed. He said he supports Shaw’s right to fly the American flag but added: “We should not ignore the people who are affected.”

Councilman Dan Walker, who provided the sole vote in support of Shaw, said he drove around the neighborhood this weekend and did not think the flagpole is too much of an obstruction.

Salvaged From School

Shaw bought the pole last year for $75 from a contractor who salvaged it from an elementary school that was being demolished. He erected the pole in December and promptly decorated it for the Christmas season with 1,500 colored lights, which he said could be seen for miles.

After the lights were taken down, he flew an 8-by-12-foot American flag from the pole.

Shaw said he didn’t know he needed a permit for the flagpole and didn’t think it would be a problem.

But since April, City Hall has received several letters and petitions, both supporting and opposing Shaw’s flagpole. One letter of support said: “GO FLAG! GO USA! GO XMAS!”

‘Very Patriotic’

During testimony at the City Council meeting, Shaw said he bought the flagpole because it “is very important to me. I’m very patriotic and really enjoy getting into Christmas.”

Ruth Weil, a nearby resident on Via Pasqual, said the issue is not patriotism. “A 51-foot pole just has no place in a residential area, I feel,” she said.

Weil said the pole dominates the landscape and blocks her view. She added that she was bothered by the colored lights Shaw put up during the Christmas season because they shone into her house.

Rosalie Woodward, who lives a few doors away from Shaw on Via Mesa Grande, said she opposes the flagpole because it could set a precedent for other neighbors.

One of Shaw’s supporters, Jean Vanderleest, who lives on Via Los Miradores, said: “We love the flag. We don’t know why someone didn’t do this sooner. It’s beautiful.”

But Mayor Katy Geissert sided with the opponents. “I think it’s a fine symbol,” she said, “but it’s in the wrong place.”