Arroyo Grande could start flying rainbow flag at city hall during Pride Month
A rainbow Pride flag could start flying in front of Arroyo Grande City Hall next month if the City Council approves a new policy on commemorative flags at its meeting Tuesday.
According to a staff report released Friday, the Arroyo Grande City Council is considering adopting a policy that would allow the city to fly commemorative flags at City Hall and Heritage Square Park, including the rainbow flag also known as the Pride flag.
Traditionally the city has flown only the U.S. flag, the California state flag and the Arroyo Grande city flag, according to the staff report.
But at a recent council meeting, City Council member Kristen Barneich asked staff if it would be possible for the council to acknowledge Pride Month, which recognizes the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community, by flying the Pride flag at City Hall throughout June, according to the report.
When reached for comment by The Tribune, Barneich said she thought flying the Pride flag “was an idea very worthy of a discussion.”
“One of our top Council goals is to encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion in our city, and at City Hall,” she said. “If approved by Council, flying the Pride flag is a perfect place to start ... Our LGBTQ residents are part of our community, and I want to make sure every resident feels accepted, welcome and celebrated in our town.”
Because Arroyo Grande does not have an existing policy regarding commemorative flags on city property, staff suggested forming one before approving the request.
The new policy would require City Council approval for any commemorative flags displayed at the two city city properties. A City Council member would have to propose the specific flag to the council, and requests would not be taken by third parties.
“The city’s flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public,” read the staff report. “Rather, the city’s flagpoles are to be used exclusively by the city, where the City Council may display a commemorative flag as a form of government expression.”
According to the report, the Government Speech Doctrine allows government organizations like cities to “advance its own expression without requiring viewpoint neutrality ... so long as its expression does not show religious preference or encourage a certain vote in an election.”
When reached for further comment Friday, Arroyo Grande city manager Whitney McDonald told The Tribune the city is not aware of other local jurisdictions that have similar flag policies. However, she noted that the city of Grover Beach flew a Pride Flag in 2020 during Pride Month.
Grover Beach City Manager Matt Bronson told The Tribune that Grover Beach does not have a commemorative flag policy, but this year is expected to approve flying the Pride flag in a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month.
“We don’t have a formal Council policy on flying a commemorative flag as it can be done by council direction which has been the case with the Pride flag,” Bronson said.
McDonald said Arroyo Grande does not yet have any other commemorative flags it would plan to fly, though the policy “would allow us to consider such other flags if requested by our council in the future.”
The city will consider the new policy Tuesday night, as well as the specific request to fly the Pride flag.
This story was originally published May 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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