The Common Law

I own property in Austin, and I'm frustrated and pissed off at a lot of things related to the government. Can I exercise my First Amendment rights by flying protest flags? Or does the city have some control on flags?

Lots of change in the world these days. And there are lots of good reasons to express frustration. Flags have always been a way to express certain viewpoints (think Texas history and the famous "Come and Take It" flag). So, as an Austin property owner, can you keep Austin weird by flying flags that express your personal viewpoints without any city oversight?

Unfortunately, no. The Austin Land Development Code (§ 25-10-101) governs general on-premise signs, which includes oversight over flags. The City Code primarily regulates the size of the flag and how many flags can be displayed at one time. The rules differ somewhat based on the "sign district" where your property is located and whether you intend to fly the flag(s) in front of your Austin home or your commercial business.

City ordinances are strict for residential homes. Flags are limited to a small size within a single-family zoning district – the maximum area of a flag must not exceed 15 square feet. The maximum number of flags on the property must not exceed three per acre, rounded up to the nearest whole acre. So, for example, if you own a typical-sized city residential lot (say .05-.25 acres), you would be allowed to fly no more than three flags, each limited to only 15 square feet.

The City Code allows slightly larger flags of up to 25 square feet to be flown on non-single-family zoning district properties (§ 25-10-101, Subsection D, Paragraph 2(a)(ii)). The maximum number of flags you can fly on commercial property can vary depending on the sign district where the property is located. The general rule is that the maximum number of flags may not exceed two flags per 25 feet of roadway frontage up to a maximum of eight flags per premises. But the rules may be slightly different for property located in other sign districts. For example, only one flag for each curb cut is permitted in expressway (§ 25-10-123), Downtown (§ 25-10-129), commercial (§ 25-10-130), or neighborhood commercial (§ 25-10-128) sign districts. Review the City Code (§ 25-10-81) for the definition of the various sign districts.

The City Code gives city officials broad latitude to enforce the code regarding display of flags, even going so far as allowing them to institute legal proceedings for injunctive relief to ensure code compliance. It's important to note that the rules governing flags may be different if the property is located outside of Austin city limits.