Flags (or are they signs?) are still flying at Arby's at Forest Lakes as the stand-off between Albemarle County and Arby's owner Tom Dulaney Slonaker continues.

A quick re-cap of the origins of this controversy:

In August2002, the County cited Slonaker for three violations of its zoning ordinance involving signage. On his flagpole outside the fast food establishment, Slonaker had been flying an American flag and an Arby's flag. He'd also been parking a van with a large Arby's logo in front of the restaurant and had placed Arby's ads on the restaurant's windows. All these, according to the zoning office, violated the County's commercial signage ordinances. At first, Slonaker refused to take down the flag and was issued a "warrant in debt" (essentially a fine) for $100 for each of the three counts. A court hearing on the warrant was set for January 27. Slonaker eventually took down the flag and the court hearing was postponed until March 24. In the meantime, Slonaker rallied anti-sign ordinance businessmen and citizens and obtained the services of the Rutherford Institute to defend him.

After Slonaker's lawyers told the court they were prepared to argue the constitutionality of the ordinance--and needed a full day for their case to be heard--the County decided to step back, at least temporarily. In early February, the County's attorneys indefinitely suspended the March 24 court date, withdrew the warrant in debt without prejudice (meaning they could refile it at any time) and announced plans to form a committee to review the sign ordinance, inviting Slonaker to have a representative on the committee.

According to Slonaker, nothing has happened since then. He claims that the County has continued to pursue the same sign issues--and block the erection of certain signs--with other merchants, including a store called "Dips and Sips" which wanted a rather large ice cream cone to announce its presence. He says the ordinance review committee has, to his knowledge, never been formed.

"The County is not changing its anti-business attitude," says Slonaker. "Every citizen is paying a price for that." He says that Hightech Signs, an early backer of his sign cause, has considered a suit against the County to force it to abolish or change its ordinance.

But according to Amelia McCulley, the County's Zoning Administrator, things are moving forward, albeit slowly, with the review committee. Last week the Board of Supervisors finalized membership on the committee, according to McCulley, and this week letters are going out to nine or ten organizations, including the Rutherford Institute, asking them to name representatives to the committee. The committee is designed to focus specifically on four topics:
· The use of commercial flags as signage
· The use of advertising vehicles as signage as opposed to transportation
· Window advertising
· The use of exposed neon in signage

McCulley says she hopes the committee will hold its first meeting within the next month. But she notes that the County staff, and not the committee, is responsible for making the final recommendation on a new sign ordinance. "The committee will serve as a focus group sounding board for input and feedback," she says. Its consensus recommendation will not serve as the staff recommendation, although "their consensus will be clearly communicated to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors."

Ben Foster, owner of Hightech Signs, sees the sign problem as stemming from the County's Architectural Review Board (ARB) which, faced with vague guidelines, has been enforcing the ordinance arbitrarily and capriciously. "The ARB has absolute power," says Foster. "Mostly, my concern is that, by enforcing the ordinances the way they are, they are not achieving what they are supposed to be achieving in terms of the appearance of the County." Furthermore, he notes, there are conflicts between the City and the County on how to create a good appearance on the entrance corridors to historic Charlottesville. What the City allows is often prohibited by the County, he contends.

Meanwhile, the Arby's flag is intermittently back up (when flying, something on the menu is free!). Slonaker is also flying a variety of other flags at his establishment, including ones for UVA and POW/MIA's, as well as the "Gadsden Flag" - the one that says "Don't Tread on Me."

- Jim Heilman, April 24, 2003