Tire Dealer: Don’t Tread on Me : Ordinance: Two business owners who want to fly 18 flags say they will ignore city limit of three Old Glories.

Oh, say, can you see, four American flags waving on a single property here?

Probably not. It’s against the municipal code, as two local businessmen discovered this week.

Mike Altman and Ryan Christensen, who describe themselves as patriots, proposed hoisting Old Glory aloft on 18 flagpoles at their new tire store on West Lincoln Avenue.

But officials shot down their plans, citing a 27-year-old sign and banner ordinance that includes a provision forbidding the display of more than three American flags on a lot at one time.

“I was flabbergasted,” said Christensen, 33, a former Eagle Scout who continues to work for the Boy Scouts of America and co-owns the tire franchise with Altman. “I can’t fathom a city putting a restriction on the (number) of American flags you can put on display. It’s just a joke.”

City officials explained that the code is designed to reduce visual clutter, not to discourage enthusiasm for the national emblem.

“It’s really for aesthetics,” city planner Greg Hastings said. “Sure, there’s a limit. I think it’s just a matter of being reasonable. I don’t think the intent is to not be patriotic.”

Altman and Christensen, however, intend to ignore the ordinance and vow that next week the 18 American flags will proudly salute anyone who drives by their store.

“We are going to do it no matter what,” said Altman, 32, who served in the Navy. “I’m a U.S. citizen, pal.

“I want to surround my property with as many flags as I can,” he said.

But the pair could face a fine of as much as $1,000 and up to six months in jail if cited for the misdemeanor violation, city authorities said.

“It would be time and money well spent,” said Christensen, an Anaheim resident. “If that’s what it takes.”

Altman and Christensen contend that three flags just won’t instill the sense of national pride that 18 flags would convey.

“We did it down in San Diego,” Christensen said of a tire store he managed there. “There were people that weren’t even customers who would come in and compliment us on how many flags we were flying. It heightens patriotism.”

But city officials respond that three banners are plenty, pointing to City Hall, where the U.S., state and city flags fly. Officials suggest business owners who want to raise more may have an additional motive--profit.

“You’ve got to be reasonable,” said Hastings. “If someone wants to put up 25 flags to attract customers off the freeway for their tire sale, that’s just excessive.”

Altman and Christensen say the American flags are in keeping with the advertisements of their company, Big O Tires, which emphasizes that its products are made in America.

“I could see if they didn’t want us to put up Big O flags,” Christensen said. “But how can you squawk about putting up American flags? To me, it just doesn’t sound right.”