City Council Agenda
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Memo to: |
Manteca City Council |
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From: |
Riana Daniel, Interim City Attorney |
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Date: |
December 2, 2025 |
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Subject: |
Approve Revised Flag Policy |
Recommendation:
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Approve the City of Manteca’s revised Flag Policy regarding the display of flags on City property and leased properties.
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Background:
On June 21, 2022, the City of Manteca approved a flag policy to conform with the First Amendment and interpreting case law. The policy aimed to protect the City’s ability to regulate flags on City-owned flagpoles by treating the display of commemorative flags as government speech and formally declaring that said flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public. The policy was updated in Fall 2023.
At the June 17, 2025, meeting, the City Council discussed the flag policy further, including the potential for amending it and directed staff to come back with options. At the October 21, 2025, meeting, staff provided a presentation with the legal framework and additional options to revise the Flag Policy for the City Council’s consideration.
At the October 19, 2025, meeting the majority of the Council provided consensus that the Flag Policy should be revised so that only Governmental Flags will be displayed on City flagpoles. City-owned properties that are leased to a third party will be treated as a private leasehold interest of the third party, and therefore those properties are not limited to only flying Governmental Flags.
Fiscal Impact:
None.
Documents Attached:
Attachment 1 - Revised Flag Policy