CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A 60-foot (18.3-meter) tall flagpole put up in a backyard in Charleston must either be shortened or taken down, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals has ruled.
David Abdo’s lawyer argued before the board this week that the pole and the American flag on it was a monument to the military service of his father-in-law and brother-in-law and was exempt from the zoning limiting structures in the area to no taller than 35 feet (10.7 meters), The Post and Courier of Charleston reported .
But the board disagreed, saying a flagpole isn’t a monument.
The city’s height rules have specific exemptions that include church spires, domes, water towers and transmission towers, Board of Zoning Appeals Chairman Leonard Krawcheck said.
“It doesn’t say flagpoles,” Krawcheck said. “If the exception said ’flagpoles,’ we wouldn’t be here.”
Abdo can appeal the ruling in Circuit Court.
No neighbors of Abdo appeared at the hearing, but the board did consider an email written by someone who lives near his Charleston home by the Intracoastal Waterway.
“The extra large flag flapping in the breeze and halyard banging against the metal pole are audible problems as well,” the email said. “On some days, the halyard and pole sounds like someone constantly ringing a bell - we can actually hear it in our house with the windows and doors closed!”
Abdo can appeal the ruling in Circuit Court.
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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com
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