LAGUNA BEACH : Store Owner Gets Reprieve on Flag

A painting of a U.S. flag on a local storefront targeted for removal by the Laguna Beach Design Review Board has been granted a one-year reprieve by the City Council.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow James T. LaFave, owner of Galaxy Sports Inc., to keep the stars and stripes on a wooden awning above his sporting goods business. LaFave had painted the flag for the Fourth of July holiday last year, then decided to leave it up.

While the Design Review Board called it “garish and out of character with the neighborhood,” the council chose to compromise with LaFave, who says business has picked up at the store since the flag was painted.

Mayor Ann Christoph said LaFave will be allowed to keep the sign until he can come up with some kind of proposal next year.

Christoph said, however, that to allow such signs to proliferate would “cheapen the image” of the city.

The flag, which LaFave estimated to be 40 by 8 feet, is too large to be approved under the guidelines for city signs, she said.

LaFave, whose store is located at 1045 S. Coast Highway, said Wednesday that he was pleased and surprised by the council’s decision. Previously, he had chided the city for “somewhat crippling” local merchants with its regulations.

“It seems to me they’re going to be more cooperative with the businesses in this community as they realize a lot of the small retailers are having a hard time,” he said. “So that’s very exciting to me to see.”

LaFave said he has no idea what proposal he will present to the city a year from now.