Manassas Park council amends city flag-flying policy, removes 60-day petition requirement

The governing body of the City of Manassas Park voted March 17 to amend its 2021 flag-flying resolution, removing a 60-day petition requirement and other cumbersome provisions while keeping a policy in place the city attorney said reduces legal risk.

The city attorney told the council that the existing policy required petitioning the governing body "at least 60 days prior to the desired date for flying flags," but that another provision — that the governing body adopt a resolution or issue a proclamation supporting a cause before a flag is flown — already serves as a prerequisite. "Putting a date on it doesn't seem to be necessary," the city attorney said, recommending targeted edits rather than outright repeal.

Mayor Mensing brought the item forward and council members debated whether the city should simply match federal observances. One council member raised concerns that mirroring federal proclamations could force the city to consider petitions from groups with opposing views. "Anybody who just suggest group and it's subjective what's appealing to hate and oppose that and want a flag put up," a council member said, expressing the difficulty of relying solely on federal recognition.

The city attorney responded that many localities maintain their own standards and "simply relying on a federal default, you may leave out events, issues, causes that you may want to honor that are not recognized federally." He advised retaining a local policy so "you could deny an application" that does not meet the governing body's criteria.

After discussion the council approved amendments to Resolution 21-1000-2138 and the issuance of a corrective resolution effective immediately, "subject to final city attorney approval," the mayor said. The motion carried.

The revisions remove the explicit 60-day filing requirement and clarify that a proclamation or resolution by the governing body is the controlling authorization for flying flags on city poles. The city attorney cautioned against repealing the policy entirely, saying doing so could expose the city to legal risk.

The council's action leaves in place a review mechanism for flag requests and instructs city staff and the attorney to finalize the corrective resolution; the item was approved without recorded dissent.