Fairfax County’s planning commission has voted against a flag ordinance proposal, first brought to the board in February by the Zoning Ordinance Modernization committee (zMOD).

The ordinance had proposed new guidelines to restrict the size, height and number of flags a resident or business could display. On a single-family lot, the proposal would limit flagpole height to 25 feet. For business lots, the maximum height would be 60 feet.

Regarding the size of flags on lots designed for single-family homes, the maximum size would be 24 square feet. On other lots, the flag size would be limited to 96 square feet.

In the weeks since the announcement of the proposed changes, public outcry has been strong. The proposal struck up controversy among many Great Falls residents concerned by the regulation of their right to fly American flags.

Planning Commission Vice Chairman John Ulfelder spoke up about the proposal during the meeting, saying “I felt that it was a solution looking for a problem and I suspect, based on a lot of the comments we’ve received, that a lot of other people perceived it the same way, that if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. So I will hardily support the motion to recommend denial for this proposal,”

The commission voted unanimously to deny the application, and recommend the Board of Supervisors not impose new restrictions on flags and flagpoles.