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Palm Beach Cites Trump for American Flag

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 November 2006, 00:00 CST

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Donald Trump's display of patriotism is apparently too flamboyant for this chic oceanside town. Palm Beach officials cited Trump for hoisting a large American flag atop an 80-foot pole at his lavish Mar-a-Lago estate and club.

Town officials said the real estate mogul has violated zoning codes with a flagpole taller than 42 feet and for erecting it without a building permit and permission from the landmarks board. Trump has until Nov. 27 to apply for approvals or face a Dec. 21 code enforcement hearing that could result in $250-a-day fines.

"You don't need a permit to put up the American flag," Trump said Tuesday. "The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country."

Lee Hanley, vice chairman of the town's landmarks commission, previously said the 15-by-25-foot flag makes the town look like "we have an Okeechobee car dealer," referring to a strip of auto dealerships along Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

Trump responded in a letter last week saying that "anyone who objects should not, in my opinion, hold a public office of any kind - at least not in this country."

The flag appeared outside the estate Oct. 3.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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