RESOLUTION NO. ___-2024
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PORTERVILLE ESTABLISHING A POLICY ON THE
EXHIBITION OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND CITY FLAGS,
AND BANNERS; FROM CITY BUILDINGS AND
FACILITIES – ALL OCCASIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Porterville currently follows applicable Federal and State law concerning the display of the U.S. and State flags, but it does not currently have a policy concerning flags displays on City property;
WHEREAS, the City additionally owns poles that can be utilized for displaying flags or banners for the promotion of City events or programs, and it would be prudent to include banner displays in this policy;
WHEREAS, the City Council also desires to use of banner poles by third parties in conjunction with City-sponsored or City-funded events or programs; and WHEREAS, the City’s flagpoles and banner posts and poles are not intended to convey government speech and are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORTERVILLE DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Policy on the Exhibition of Federal, State, and City Flags, and Banners; from City Buildings and Facilities – All Occasions, attached hereto as Exhibit A, is hereby adopted.
2. The Policy shall go into effect immediately, except that the banner permitting process shall not go into effect until after the setting of the appropriate fees by the City Council.
Resolution No. ___-2024
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 20th day of August 2024. _______________________________
Martha A. Flores, Mayor
ATTEST:
Patrice Hildreth, City Clerk
By: _______________________________
Fernando Gabriel-Moraga,
Acting Chief Deputy City Clerk
1 CITY OF PORTERVILLE
COUNCIL POLICY ON THE EXHIBITION OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND CITY FLAGS; AND BANNERS FROM CITY BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES – ALL OCCASIONS
PURPOSE
To establish guidelines for 1) exhibition of the flag of the United States of America, the California State flag, the Porterville City Flag from City buildings and other City facilities, 2) the display of street flags for parades and holidays, and 3) the display of ceremonial flags.
The City’s flagpoles and Banner posts/poles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.
POLICY
It is the policy of the City of Porterville that flags should be displayed in conformance with Federal and State policies, as stated in the Federal “Our Flag” publication of the Congress, House Document No. 96-144; and the State of California Government Code Section 430 and 437.
In order to establish a policy with respect to the locations and days when the United States of America, California State, and Porterville City flags should be displayed, the following standards should be followed.
The City Manager is responsible for ensuring the proper execution of this policy at all City facilities.
STANDARDS
A. Federal, State and City Flags
1. Outdoor flags will be flown at City facilities in the following order of precedence: 1) the United States flag; 2) the California State flag; 3) the Porterville City flag.
2. Weather permitting, flags should be displayed daily in front of or at a location near City Hall and at any other City facility as designated by the City Manager.
3. Flags should not be displayed in inclement weather. However, all-weather flags may be flown on a 24-hour basis as long as they are illuminated from sunset to sunrise.
4. The Porterville City flag will be flown wherever there are sufficient poles to do so in accordance with #2 above. The City flag may be displayed on the same pole with, and underneath the State flag, whenever the pole is of sufficient height. The Federal, State, and City flags shall not be flown on a single pole of any height.
5. Indoor United States, State of California, and City flags shall be displayed at a minimum in the City Hall Council Chambers.
2 6. On recognized Federal and/or State holidays, and on other special occasions as listed below, flags should be flown from all locations listed in paragraph A-2 above. a) January 1, New Year’s Day
b) January 20, (2001, 2005, 2009, etc., every fourth year) on the day the President of the United States is inaugurated c) Third Monday in January, Martin Luther King’s birthday d) Third Monday in February, Presidents’ Day
e) Second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day
f) Third Saturday in May, Armed Services Day
g) Last Monday in May, Memorial Day. The flags to be flown at half-staff (first raise to top, then slowly lower to half-staff) until noon and at full staff from noon until sunset. NOTE: The United States flag must always be flown by itself when displayed at halfstaff. h) Third Sunday in June, Father’s Day
i) June 14, Flag Day
j) July 4, Independence Day
k) First Monday in September, Labor Day
l) September 9, Admission Day
m) September 17, Constitution Day
n) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of a presidential election year and gubernatorial election days o) November 11, Veteran’s Day
p) Fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day
q) December 25, Christmas Day
r) State holidays
s) Special occasions of Federal, State and local proclamation
7. Flags at all City facilities shall be displayed in accordance with the above standards.
However, the City Manager may order flags to be lowered to half-staff including, but not limited to flags of the United States of America and State of California in honor of the death of a City employee killed in the line of duty. Flags may only be lowered to half-staff in accord with Federal and State regulations, policies, and guidelines.
B. Ceremonial Flags
The City’s flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public. The following flags may be displayed by the City as an expression of the City’s official sentiments:
1. Flags of Governments Recognized by the United States. Flags of governments recognized by the United States may be displayed upon the request of the City Council.
2. Flags of Sister Cities. The flags of official Sister Cities of Porterville may be displayed in conjunction with an event involving the Sister City.
3. Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action (“POW/MIA”) Flag. The nationally 3 recognized POW/MIA may be displayed on appropriate holidays and as determined by the City and pursuant to any applicable federal or state law.
C. Street Flags and Banners
1. Definition: Street flags and/or banners are defined as flags or banners (hereinafter collectively referred to as “banners”) flown directly on City posts or poles, and/or with a guy wire over a city street. The guy wire is generally attached to city-owned streetlights or posts and is oriented perpendicular to the flow of traffic.
2. The City may place banners or flags communicating information regarding public events, events held at public facilities, City programs, information or services, or promotions of amenities of general interest to the community including holidays and seasons.
3. The City may issue a banner permit to an individual or entity, granting permission to temporarily occupy designated banner locations for the purpose of providing notice to residents and visitors about City-sponsored or City-funded special events open to the public, and that are limited to non-commercial, non-political and of a non-religious nature. Banners on City property/poles must be approved, scheduled, and coordinated by the City.
4. The banner permit is subject to an applicable fee as adopted by the City.
5. Banners on City-owned poles are subject to pre-approval by the City, must be appropriately designed and sized for the location as determined by the City, must be made of durable cloth, canvas or vinyl. A completed banner design (including text and graphics) must be submitted to the Parks and Leisure Services Department Office at time of application, along with payment of the fee.
6. Banners promoting specific events cannot be hung more than 14 days prior to the start of the event and must be removed within five (5) days after the completion of the event.
7. Once approved, applicant must arrange for the production of the banners and for a contractor to install and remove the banners, at no cost to the City.
8. Space may be limited, and the City has priority use. Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. City reserves the right to establish appropriate time periods for the duration of the use of its poles and facilities. If multiple applications request that banners be installed at the same location during the same time frame, the City Manager, or designee, will make final approval based on any or all of the following circumstances: number of banner locations requested by each applicant, banner installation history and proximity of banners to event site or venue.
The overall goal is to make reasonable accommodations that are in the best interest of all applicants and the City.
4 9. The City assumes no responsibility for damage to (non-City) banners while they are on display.
10. Procedure: Applications to place banner displays on City-owned property are available for the applicant’s convenience on the City’s website and at the Parks and Leisure Services Department.
a) Applicants submit a competed application (including required attachments) to the Parks and Leisure Services Department Office at least 90 days prior to the requested installation date and remit payment to the Department Office. Applications received less than 90 days prior to the requested installation date are subject to City’s ability to facilitate the request. Banner applicants may apply for banner locations up to 6 months prior to their installation date.
b) Upon approval of the application, the contractor who will hang the banner may proceed with the installation. If City banners are currently hanging on the requested poles, the applicant is responsible for removing and re-hanging the City banners.