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Residents press Lancaster council on street safety and feathered-flag ban; mayor defends policy
Summary
During public comment residents raised pedestrian and road safety concerns and offered support for the city's ban on feathered flags; Mayor McDaniel told council the ban arose from months of zoning review and cited driver distraction and enforcement burdens as reasons to retain it.
Several residents used the council's public-comment period to raise safety concerns and defend a local ban on feathered flags.
Lancaster resident Bryan Everitt urged council to address road safety and pedestrian-safety issues in the city. Melody Bobbitt, also a Lancaster resident, spoke specifically about the city's prohibition on feathered flags and outlined safety reasons for supporting the ban.
Mayor McDaniel responded during committee updates, saying the ban emerged from "an intense, months-long zoning code review" that included community members and council input. The mayor told council the restriction was intended to reduce driver distraction and vision obstruction and said the city's two-person zoning enforcement team could be overburdened if temporary permits were required. He also said there has been "virtually no public outcry" for the flags' return since the ban was enacted roughly three years ago.
What happened next: Council did not take an immediate policy vote to reverse or amend the ban during the April 6 meeting. The comments were recorded during the public-comment and committee-update portions of the agenda; Mayor McDaniel framed the administration's continuing position.
