Hollywood and businesses are poles apart on flags along State Road 7

Display of Stars and Stripes along S.R. 7 a visual blight, officials say

By Ihosvani Rodriguez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
March 22, 2008

From small tire shops to major car dealerships, it seems nearly every business on the busy roadway has its own sizable supply of Stars and Stripes flapping away.

City commissioners are considering regulating the mass displays of American pride, calling it a visual blight. During a recent city meeting, Mayor Peter Bober called for a citywide limit on the number of flags allowed at a business, especially along State Road 7, also known as U.S. 441.

But business owners, most of them car dealers, say the use of the flags is a patriotic way to draw attention, and a law against them is, well, un-American.

"If it's not parking, it's the sign, or it's the grass. And now the flags!" said Lior Avidan, of 441 Motors. "They want to regulate us out of business."

Bober's measure is part of a larger effort by the new City Commission to clean up the corridor, which many say has long been ignored.

"I've heard many concerns over the years that commercial enterprises are not using the flags for patriotic purposes but to catch your eye. But if everybody does it, it doesn't catch your eye at all," said Bober, who has a large American flag outside his home. "I think it really brings down the area. The sheer number of them is staggering."

Bober and others say they want to reduce the numbers of flags in proportion to the geographical size of the business, although no parameters have been set.

While such a rule is only in the preliminary discussion phase, city officials said Friday that a draft has been drawn, modeled after other cities. No date has been set to debate it.

Oded Haims, owner of Haims Motors, has flags hoisted on the roof of every used car. He said Friday that beauty is in the eye of the flag-waver.

"It think it makes the place looks really nice," said Haims. "It shows American pride and catches people's attention."

Gimena Sanchez, owner of American Car Outlet, incorporated an American flag into her dealership's logo. Sanchez also has a dealership in Miami Gardens, where the city regulates the use of flags at businesses.

"Advertising is really expensive. How else will people know there's a dealership here?" asked Sanchez.

Commissioner Heidi O'Sheehan, a retired Army captain who spent a year in Kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said the patriotic argument doesn't fly with her.

She said there are already laws and protocols regulating the use of the American flag and the city needs to educate owners about them.

"The flag is something that is very dear to my heart," she said. "I do think they are out of control [on 441]. It looks tacky."

Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at ijrodriguez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7908.

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