A new housing development in Gastonia, North Carolina, has drawn attention for reportedly requiring residents who move in to fly the American flag on their front porch in a show of patriotism.
The 1776 Gastonia project, which is being built 30 minutes from Charlotte, hopes to create residences for 55-and-overs who want a community that blends "patriotism, the American dream, and the founding ideals of the United States"—but has raised questions about its unique tenancy commitment.
Developer Brock Fankhauser does not expect to fight the flag rule in court, telling Newsweek that the stars-and-stripes stipulation is not something that will be enforced, but rather a "parchment promise" to fellow neighbors.
"The American flag is being treated as an architectural element or a fixture of the home—it's part of our architectural plans, our blueprints; it's on the plans," Fankhauser, the founder of Great American Homes said.
"As such, we will install the American flag on every house we build, and at the time we are ready to transfer [the] title to a buyer...that flag will be flying in accordance with the architectural plans. From that point forward, the homeowners' association has jurisdiction over the maintenance and the flying of that flag."
The development, which opened lots for sale in March, will be comprised of 43 new homes aimed at retirees, one of which the company has pledged to donate to a disabled veteran. Great American Homes told Newsweek that it had already received over 500 responses from interested parties.
"It started with a profound respect, admiration—love—that I have for this country; it's been good to me," Fankhauser said. "We're not at what I would call peak patriotism in our country and I'd like to do something about it."
He added: "The goal, ultimately, is to turn up the flame of patriotism just a little bit more because, really, if we were to distill commonalities that all of us who reside here have, that's probably the biggest one."
While there is no denying the patriotic intention of the new housing development—the name itself a reference to the year the U.S. declared its independence—the one element that has piqued the most interest is the apparent condition that residents must tote their stars and stripes for all to see.
It is easy to see why people may have reached that conclusion: according to a press release by the company in February, "the only visible standard homeowners must follow is flying the American flag on their front porch throughout the year."
This begs questions as to whether people might be denied property if they refused to fly the American flag, or even evicted if something were to happen to it. But Fankhauser said that no such repercussions await potential tenants, citing his belief in freedom—despite describing a mix of flags as potentially "garish" in one interview.
"There is no enforcement remedy for someone who chooses not to [fly the flag]," he said, "and therefore nobody could ever be evicted, asked to leave the neighborhood. That type of enforcement is not addressed in our documents on purpose."
Instead of a legal requirement, the community will have a founding charter that urges residents to keep the stars and stripes up on their front porches.
When the properties are handed over, a homeowners' association will have "oversight" on the issue—but while residents may have to convince neighbors of an alteration to the patriotic architectural feature, there will be nothing stopping them from doing so.
"The best way to describe it is it is a parchment promise," Fankhauser said. "They then are promising to their neighbors that the flag will continue to fly. It doesn't occur to us at this point that there would be people who would choose not to do that, not to honor their covenant to one another."
But questions have still been raised as to whether it could face a legal challenge. While many free speech lawsuits tend to focus on what people are not allowed to say, 1776 Gastonia presents a peculiar case study of asking people to express something in particular.
"I've never seen anything that has said affirmatively, you have to make a particular type of speech," Harmony Taylor, a partner at Law Firm Carolinas who specializes in community association law, told local public radio station WFAE earlier this month.
"In today's political climate, I think you may have some individuals who would see a requirement that you exhibit your patriotism in a particular way would be unusual and potentially raise some question about the enforceability of those covenants," she added.
Asked about this concern, Fankhauser said: "I'm a builder and a visionary developer. I rely on smart legal counsel to make sure that in their best judgment, we're compliant with all laws—local, state and federal—and I believe we are."
He added: "The fact that the homeowners' association has no enforcement remedies available to it, I think that settles the broader question and the challenges that could come."
Despite being a Trump contributor in 2020, Fankhauser is keen to stress that the development will not be political. He described patriotism as the "broadest common denominator" among Americans, adding:
"Patriotism is having a respect for where you come from, where you are, and where you're going collectively with people around you. I don't think that patriotism by any means is monolithic; it means different things to different people. It's beautiful in that respect."
Aside from the flags, the development will have other, potentially more permanent signs of a patriotic bent. Streets will carry names such as Constitution Lane, Betsy Ross Court (after the woman credited with creating the first American flag) and Paul Revere Drive.
Fankhauser said that, for him, patriotism "compels us to give back."
"America is great right now because of the individual contributions of countless people for hundreds of years," he said.
Though 1776 Gastonia will be a relatively small settlement, Great American Homes has broader hopes of inspiring other developments like it across the United States.
"It would be a dream of mine to have this build into something that continues beyond just the zip codes that I have an influence and into other zip codes," Fankhauser said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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