Supersized Flag Denied in Libertyville

A local business owner’s request to fly an oversize flag in Libertyville was denied at a recent village board meeting.

Roch Tranel, president of The Tranel Financial Group, 1509 N. Milwaukee Ave., has approached the board several times requesting the village raise its 45-foot tall flagpole limitation in business districts.

Trustees Todd Gaines, Jay Justice and Richard Moras voted for Tranel’s request. Trustees Drew Cullum, Nick Proepper and Mayor-pro-tem Donna Johnson voted against changing the ordinance to allow for the 70-foot flagpole as requested by Tranel. Four positive votes were required to pass the text amendment request.

“At this point I’m going to stand firm on and I feel best about supporting the 45-foot flagpole. I’ve heard the comments from everyone, but there’s nothing in my mind that would undercut the petitioners ability to do what he wants on his property at 45 feet,” Johnson said during the board meeting. “[Several residents] felt that going 70 feet was going above and beyond. Some even thought that, and I’m not suggesting that this is accurate, but that this could be a means to attract people to your business as opposed to making a patriotic statement.”

Cullum told the petitioner that he was concerned the request for an 70-feet flagpole would be required by the U.S. flag code rules for larger flag then requested.

“Mr. Tranel are you intended to use the U.S. flag code rules and regulations for the flag size? Because if that’s the case, my understanding of it is, it’s a different proportion than 20 by 30,” Cullum said during the board meeting. “I have not yet heard positive responses from people I’ve solicited. The constituents I’ve spoken to haven’t said a 600-square-foot flagpole is reasonable.”

Tranel told board members that he has already shown his willingness to compromise by decreasing his flagpole request from 80 feet to 70 feet.

“You asked us to compromise and compromise and that’s what we’ve done,” Tranel told the board.

Tranel’s attorney Jim Babowice argued that the flag at Harris Bank, 354 N. Milwaukee Ave., exceeds the village’s flag pole limit, and it would be unfair to allow one property and regulate another.

John Spoden, director of community development, told board members that the estimated 65-feet flagpole at Harris Bank is grandfathered in because it was most likely installed before the village code was written.

Originally, a decision on the flagpole was deferred until May, because Tranel wanted village trustees to see the flag with trees in full bloom. He’d previously told board members that an 80-foot flagpole was required for the flag to be visible above the tree line.