Oregon Business Owner Ordered to Remove American Flag Mural on Private Property

Impressive. It looks to be from a different perspective than the traditional one.

Another punishment for living in Oregon.

It all comes down to three things: 1) What the City’s Municipal Code defines as a sign, 2) If a “permit” is necessary to paint a building, and 3) The process for appealing any actions of the bureaucrat signing the notice of violation, which will be spelled out in the Muni Code. Been down this road more than a few times. If it does not meet the City Code definition of a sign, and if no permit is otherwise necessary to paint the building, it comes down to whether or not the paining is obscene; many, many warped people today would find it so. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

RE: Wait, they burned and looted Target, then Target puts George Floyd’s picture on what’s left of the building? Too funny..

Here is a story on the “historic” mural /S

https://thefederalist.com/2021/04/27/target-honors-violent-minneapolis-riots-with-mural-of-burning-building/

You merely paint a large picture on a wall.

I have received two responses to my email. If he goes the path of public art, then I would imagine seeing many testifying that the depiction of the Star-Spangled Banner is racist and the flag raising on Iwo Jima is disturbing and controversial because it glorifies war. If he goes the route of the sign code, then he would be turned down because it is too large even though it is the proper size for the wall. As with Portland, and Eugene where I lived, Salem should justify the most negative posts to this article.

From: Virginia Stapleton Sent: Sunday, January 2, 2022 9:41 PM To: rtn.sat.cong@outlook.com Subject: Re: Contact Virginia Stapleton

Thank you for your feedback Mr. Retain Mike, I've been trying to get this fixed for the past 6 months and will continue to do so.

Virginia Stapleton (She/Her) City Councilor - Ward 1 City of Salem|Mayor/City Manager’s Office 555 Liberty Street SE, Room 220 Salem, Oregon 97301 vstapleton@cityofsalem.net|503-779-5344

From: Vanessa Nordyke Sent: Monday, January 3, 2022 5:42 PM To: rtn.sat.cong@outlook.com Subject: Re: Contact Vanessa Nordyke

Mr. Retain Mike, No one is asking for the mural’s removal. The city is simply ask them to either get the permit that is required for murals or have it declared public art. The private owner gets to decide which path to take.

No one is putting down the military. I have veterans in my family. I was deeply concerned when I first heard about this and went straight to the City Manager to demand an explanation.

I have now heard back from city staff and here is their response, which I am copying and pasting verbatim in quotation marks.

A few key takeaways: The property owner has not been fined. The owner just needs to get a permit, or have it declared public art. City staff have been working with the property owner since mid-November and has explained their options are to either get the permit or have it declared public art.

There’s no indication that the City is forcing the owner to take down the mural; the City expects the owner to follow the rules like everybody else. There are several others haven’t gotten the requisite permit and the City is working with them, too, so no one is being singled out here.

This has nothing to do with punishing a business for a patriotic mural. It’s about following the rules for wall signage. Murals count as wall signs under the city code.

Here’s the City’s official response:

“This mural is a beautiful way to honor and recognize this significant moment in our history, and the sacrifices made by our veterans and their families.

We appreciate the quality of the work and its meaning for many in our community. The City’s rules for public art murals and signs do not consider the content or the craftsmanship of public art or signage.

In short, sign code is concerned with the size, location, and construction of signage, not what the sign says or how it is portrayed. The public mural code addresses public art and follows a public process, through the Salem Public Art Commission with a public hearing, as the work is considered for inclusion in the City’s Public Art Collection.

Unless a mural has gone through the public art process and included in the City’s Public Art Collection, it falls under the City’s sign code.

Because this is an unpermitted wall sign, we have an active code enforcement case. A Code Compliance Officer has been in contact with the property owner since mid-November, working with them on a path to compliance.

A correction notice was issued to the owner in the middle of December. No other enforcement action has occurred at this time. No fines have been imposed. Staff are continuing conversations with the property owner. We remain open to extending the enforcement deadline of December 29, 2021 as they weigh options.

A review of the property’s history by Salem’s Planning Division has shown that neither a sign or mural permit application has been submitted or approved.

As of today, the Valley Roofing wall sign exceeds the size allowed for signage on a building. We actively work with property owners and businesses to navigate Salem’s rules and regulations, encompassed in Salem Revised Code. There are two paths forward to achieve compliance with Salem rules and regulations: (1) sign (Chapter 900) or (2) public art (Chapter 15).

At this time, we are working with several other property owners and businesses who also have unpermitted wall signs on their buildings. In each case, we are helping the property owners navigate the best route forward through the sign code or public mural process, based on the size of other signage which is currently in violation of Salem Revised Code.”

Vanessa Nordyke Salem City Council, Ward 7 City phone: (971) 707-3732

Blah, blah, blah. Too many stupid rules. Of course, someone will say that a person could put up an obscene (by most standards) mural, if there are no rules. But at some point this just gets ridiculous.

Assuming Salem is like Eugene, putting up the mural without permission was the only way it would happen. Permits and hearings would go on for years until he gave up.

Here are a couple examples from Eugene. There used to be a Veterans’ Day parade in Eugene, but the city bureaucracies combined efforts to eventually drive it away. Luckily Springfield is just across the I-5 freeway and welcomed it. When the US went into Kuwait in 1991, a motel put out flags as it did for holidays on the parking strip, but it had to remove them because it was “an illegal display of the American flag”.