9 flagpoles now legit for Elks after action by Bloomington board of zoning appeals
Nine new flagpoles in front of Elks Lodge #446, which were installed early this year at the corner of Walnut and 8th Streets, got an official approval from Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) last Thursday.
Normally, a variance is requested before the work is actually done. So the BZA’s action served to make the flagpoles legitimate after-the-fact.
The flagpoles had drawn interest from the city of Bloomington because they did not meet zoning regulations for flagpoles. The city’s unified development ordinance (UDO) says that flagpoles can’t be closer than 12 feet to the front property line.
Four of the nine flag poles that were installed do not not meet the 12-foot setback requirement—they’re located 5 feet, 7 feet, 10 feet, and 11 feet from the front property line.
After the Elks Lodge received notification of a zoning violation, the lodge applied for a variance from the requirement, which the BZA unanimously approved on Thursday.
Appearing on Thursday in front of the BZA on behalf of the Elks was lodge member Stuart Baggerly.
Baggerly told the BZA he doesn’t think anyone has a problem with the message that the flag sends—it’s just that the poles are too close to the property line. The lodge had left the issue to the contractor, who had indicated no site plan was required for the work.
If a building had been proposed at the location, Beggerly said, he could understand why blocking sightlines might have been a problem. But as a collection of flagpoles, he said, “We think it’s a compliment to the downtown and it’s a nice landmark.”
The staff recommendation, which came from senior zoning planner Eric Greulich, was to approve the variance, based on the idea that the flagpoles did not interfere with the sightlines at the intersection.
In zoning terms, the finding proposed by Greulich was phrased like this: “The location of the flagpoles within the required setback will not have any impact on the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the community as they do not present a vision clearance triangle issue.”
The nine flags that were flying on Sunday, May 26, 2024 were: the American flag; the Indiana state flag; the U.S. Army flag; the U.S. Marine Corps flag; the POW/MIA flag; U.S. Navy; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Space Force; and the U.S. Coast Guard flag.
The Elks Lodge is closed for the Memorial Day weekend.
