When Barrett Webb opened the Goo-Goo Express Wash at the intersection of Clark and Memorial Boulevards, the last thing he wanted to do was kick up any dust.

But when he erected an 80-foot tall pole displaying a 730-square-foot U.S. flag, there was a problem.

“When it came time for final inspections [of the business], they said the flag was in violation, the pole was too tall and the flag was too big,” Webb explained.

The city only allowed flag poles as high as 35 feet and flags as large as 32 square feet. Since the incident took place, the city has changed that to allow poles that are 50 feet tall and flags that are 150 square feet.

Still, that is considerably less than 730 square feet.

Webb said the flag was taken down “as soon as [the city] told us no way, no how.” The pole was removed Tuesday, Sept. 11.

“It’s a tricky area,” explained Dr. Larry Burriss, professor in the school of journalism at MTSU. “The American flag is not an ad, and the ordinance was designed for ads, for aesthetic purposes.”

Burriss added that if the flag were conveying a message, it is considered an advertisement, like the flags one would see outside a car dealership. But courts have decided in the past that patriotic flags are not sending any message.

“I think they could arrange the ordinance in a way that would allow an exception for flags above a certain height,” Burriss added.

Webb agrees. “It is not a sign, it is not something that says ‘Come get your car washed here.’ It is not something that says ‘This is Goo-Goo Express Wash.'”

While this flag had to come down, others, such as the one flying over Dodge’s Chicken on Broad Street, which is over 600 square feet, can remain flying.

“It was grandfathered in,” said Chris Shoffner of Murfreesboro’s legal department. “It was there before the new ordinance went into effect [in 1992].”

Kirby Gossem, general manager of Dodge’s Chicken, the flag has been there since 1978.

“I think these guys have bigger problems than taking down flags,” Gossem said. “We’re in the middle of a war and their telling us to take down flags.”

Webb said in his hometown of Huntsville, Ala., “there are about five or six flags that size in the city . . . If you want an American flag on your property, you put it up and you have the flag. Nobody has to go apply for a permit.”

Among those five or six flags, Webb said a Goo-Goo Express Wash in Huntsville was one of the locations. “That’s how we found about the car wash in the first place,” he added. “We saw that and thought it looked good.”

The local incident has caused a variety of reactions throughout the city, including protesters outside the car wash demanding the flag be allowed to hang as well as voices of dissent at the planning commission meetings.

The opinions, however, can be mixed.

“I don’t think the American flag should be included in the ordinance,” said Murfreesboro resident Phil Pagel. “I could understand if the flag was hitting power lines or blocking other businesses signs, but I think he should be able to fly it if he wants. I do think [a flag that size] is tacky, though.”

Many agree with Pagel that the American flag should be exempt from the size regulation, but others see the situation differently.

“The thing is that it’s freedom of speech,” said Larry Gooch. “But in the interest of being fair, if it was a rebel flag, we would have a problem with it.”

“They should follow the codes,” said Jessica Doyle. “They are there for a reason. What if someone put up another nation’s flag?”

Doyle brings up an interesting point—if Webb is being patriotic displaying his American flag, could an immigrant business owner from another country put up, say, a Mexican flag of the same magnitude?

“Then we would have to ask what is the purpose of the flag,” said Burriss said. “Is it patriotic, or is it for attention. If it was for attention, then it would have to come down. Of course, you could always turn around and say the American flag was for attention too.”

Overall, Webb seems to feel caught in the middle of something he did not intend.

“It all just got blown out of proportion,” Webb said. “I know it is a sensitive issue and a lot of people have deep feelings about it, almost as if the city is going against our rights. We’re not trying to go behind the city. It’s not like we’re rebels without a cause or anything. We’re just trying to do what we’re supposed to do.”