CHELMSFORD, Mass. (WSVN) – Town officials in Massachusetts are telling one business to take down its patriotic flag display because they find it to be “excessive.”
“Excessive flags? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Jon Crandall said. “We had about 200 out. My wife, my daughter and I put them out the day before Memorial Day.”
LAER Realty Partners puts the flags out on a lawn each year to commemorate Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
But the town of Chelmsford sent the business a notice letting them know that they were only allowed to display a “reasonable amount” of flags.
“What’s a reasonable amount?” Crandall asked. “They didn’t define that.”
The assistant town manager said the building commissioner doesn’t have any bias against the American flag but said in a statement that the “Town of Chelmsford’s zoning bylaw prohibits the excessive use of flags when displayed in connection with the commercial promotion. The Building Commissioner did not issue an order to remove all flags from the site. The Town was seeking to have a dialogue with the business operator regarding this situation.”
Crandall went on to stress that the display is “about the veterans.”
“It’s not about us. This is not a LAER Realty thing,” Crandall said. “This is about supporting people who have died in action, the deceased veterans. It’s what Memorial Day is about.”
In response to the notice, Crandall said the business has decided to double down and put out even more flags.
The owner purchased more flags and residents have been stopping by to add to the display.
“We’ve read the bylaw and we don’t consider it a commercial application,” Crandall said. “That’s the American flag. That’s not a LAER flag.”
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