The Jacksonville Planning Commission has denied a request from Commander of SCV Kirby-Smith Camp#1209, Calvin Hart to raise a 75-foot flagpole on Moncrief Road in Northwest Jacksonville.
The request was to use a sliver of property at 6785 W. Moncrief Rd, right next to an Interstate 295 overpass, to raise a 75-foot flagpole that would honor Florida’s veterans.
But as soon as the issue came up for discussion, Planning Commission member Abel Harding complained that the flagpole was part of a Sons of Confederate Veterans’ statewide campaign to raise large Confederate flags near interstate highways.
“Do you hold the rank of commander with the Kirby Smith Camp 1209, which is associated with the Sons of Confederate Veterans?” Harding asked.
Commissioners then specifically asked Hart what type of flags he would raise. He said he’d start with an American flag, but he’d also raise a POW/MIA flag and a Confederate flag.
Abel said that he learned about the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ statewide campaign, and “With that, there is absolutely no way I can support this variance.” Effectively conceding that this his objection was not based on zoning, but on his believe that SCV Camp#1209 first amendment rights should be denied.
The vote Thursday might not end the issue.
If the Planning Commission was willing to approve the flagpole if the Confederate issue wasn’t brought up, then it violated Hart’s First Amendment rights, said Eugene Volokh, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and author of the popular blog The Volokh Conspiracy.
“You cannot say, we’ll give you a variance if you display a flag we like, but we won’t give you a variance if you display a flag we don’t like,” he said.
The government can control things done on private property for health and safety and even for aesthetics, but not for controversial content.
Here is a link to a video of the meeting. -> Planning Commision Meeting 4-23-2016
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Credit:The Florida Times Union