Andre “Frenchy” Rheault must either take down all but one of his American flags from outside his business on Dallas Drive or get a permit for “wind devices” to occasionally keep them flying.
Rheault received a citation Thursday from the city’s Community Improvement Services Division about the flags — among the first things a northbound traveler sees entering central Denton from Interstate 35E.
Rheault parks his Frenchy’s Lawn and Tree Service vans in a storage yard he rents in the 1000 block of Dallas Drive next to On The Cuff Embroidery. He has a dozen poles with U.S. flags mounted to the security fence at the front of the yard. Old Glory also flies on a pole high above the embroidery shop, its roof painted with the stars and stripes, too.
“We fly flags,” said Rheault, a Vietnam War veteran. “It’s what we do.”
City spokeswoman Alison Ream said an inspector visited Frenchy’s yard on Dallas Drive after receiving a complaint. The city issued two notices of violation after the inspector’s investigation.
Rheault doesn’t have a certificate of occupancy for the storage yard he has rented for decades, according to city documents. He said he is working with the city and the property owner, who lives in California, to set up a meeting to get that settled. He wonders whether removing the flags will be a condition of fixing the problem with the certificate.
This isn’t the first time Rheault and his business have gotten crosswise with the city’s Community Improvement Services Division. Frenchy’s big orange vans with their blue moveable-letter signs had been a fixture around the city, promoting events and congratulating local residents on their accomplishments for many years.
Last year, some people complained about uneven enforcement of the city’s sign ordinance, pointing to Frenchy’s vans parked around the city as evidence of uneven treatment. The city investigated and eventually wrote Rheault a citation for parking his vans at two events.
He fought the ticket in municipal court but lost. He had to scale back the mobile public service announcements he offers on his orange vans. These days, drivers have to travel past the yard on Dallas Drive to see who might be celebrating a birthday, whether the animal shelter is full or what charity event is coming up.
This latest dust-up with the city isn’t sitting well with some residents who appreciate the role Rheault and his business play in the community. People have been tagging Rheault with posts of support on Facebook, and a Change.org petition received 1,700 signatures in 36 hours.
Scott Campbell took up the cause on his blog, Dentoning.com, writing that the city is following up on the “constant and petty” complaints of one person.
“Should the complaints of one Denton citizen overrule the fondness for Frenchy of the majority of Dentonites?” Campbell wrote.
The Frenchy’s business reflects its owner’s eccentricities and character, Campbell said.
“Denton has a reputation for being ‘different,’” Campbell wrote. “‘North of Ordinary’ is not just a slogan.”
Rheault has the option to get a “wind devices” permit to be able to keep flying flags, Ream said.
“It would allow him to have the flags 90 days out of the year,” Ream said.
A company can fly a U.S., Texas and corporate flag on its grounds without a special permit. But more flags are considered “wind devices,” similar to banners, pennants, streamers, balloons, sky tubes and similar devices used in outdoor promotions, Ream said.
A business can apply for up to three 30-day permits each year, Ream said.
Rheault said he heard that another exception might be in the works for certain holidays. In that case, he and others, such as the American Legion or Rotary Club, can fly more than one flag for up to 72 hours over that holiday.
