"God Bless America."

A strong sign of public sentiment

or an illegal sign?

In Fayetteville, it's

both - at least temporarily - after a citation was issued this

week against Crumpton's Furniture, which has displayed those words

on a 90-foot banner since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The

store violated the city's sign ordinance because banners are only

allowed for a maximum of 60 days a year, officials said.

A possible solution is in the

works, however, as city officials determined Thursday afternoon that Crumpton's

does not have the two permanent signs it is allowed under the city ordinance.

"They do not have a ground

sign," said Fayetteville City Manager Joe Morton. "He is entitled

to two signs."

Morton suggested a variance

could be used to allow the "God Bless America" sign to stay

up. Although that decision would be left up to the City Council, city

staff will research the issue and make a formal recommendation, Morton

added.

"We certainly will look

at it," Morton said.

Crumpton said he was very pleased

with his meeting with Morton.

"He said, 'We want

to work it out to where it's good for the City of Fayetteville and

Crumpton's furniture,'" Crumpton said late Thursday afternoon.

"That is a star in Fayetteville's

cap," Crumpton said. "I knew that all along."

Crumpton admitted he lost sight

of that comfort zone when he got the citation earlier this week with a

court date of March 15 at 11 a.m.; according to city ordinances, he could

face a fine of up to $1,000 a day or, perhaps, jail time.

Morton said the city is bound

regulate the content of signs.

"We have to be basically

oblivious to that," Morton said, referring to the spiritual and patriotic

message on the sign. "The only thing we can do is regulate the size

and number of signs. ... The Supreme Court decision was that it (the

city's sign ordinance) had to be content-neutral.

"We don't tell anybody

what you can or cannot put on a sign," Morton added.

So roughly two years ago, "we

stripped everything out" of the city's sign ordinance that referred

to content, Morton added.

"We have gone to great

strides with our sign ordinance," Morton said. "Our sign ordinance

is probably one of the model ordinances in the Atlanta area."

The city allows the use of

banners as temporary signs, which can be permitted for up to 60 days in

one year, Morton said.

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