Charla True didn’t need a band, a sheet of music or even a pitch pipe to prompt her into belting out “The Star-Spangled Banner” before more than 50 people Monday morning at the Douglas County Courthouse.

A regulatory threat to turn out the lights on her church’s giant U.S. flag was enough.

“This is far more than a decision whether or not to fly the American flag,” True told commissioners before her a capella rendition of the national anthem. “It is the little decisions in small rooms like this — such as where the U.S. Constitution was framed — that will … impact the entire United States. …

“It is not an issue about lighting, and it is not an issue about patriotism. It is an issue about our freedoms as Americans.”

And on the issue at hand — whether to let Heritage Baptist Church continue flooding its 600-square-foot flag with six beams of light — a divided commission sided with dozens of church members, military veterans and others who crammed into commission chambers to fight for Old Glory.

The flag, commissioners decided, could stay. The decision came nearly three months after county inspectors told the church to unplug its display because a proper site plan wasn’t on file.

“The reality of the situation is, it wasn’t about lighting,” said Bob Johnson, commission chairman. “It became an emotional issue because it involved the flag, motherhood and apple pie. But would we feel the same way if it was a wrecked car up on a 100-foot-tall pole, advertising the location of a salvage yard? Would we feel the same way then? The answer is no, we wouldn’t. And therein lies the future.”

A glaring concern?

The debate started in May, when Heritage leaders spent $10,000 to raise the flag atop an 80-foot pole at the church’s new complex at 1781 E. 800 Road, about a mile northwest of the Kansas Turnpike’s Lecompton interchange.

A few people called county officials to complain: How could the church put up a flag that big without a permit? And what about those bright lights blazing into the sky?

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Keith Dabney, the county’s director of Zoning and Codes, reviewed the county’s rules and decided the church needed a proper site plan to put up such a display. And the plan on file did not include a flag.

He told them to turn off the lights.

The church said no.

After a few weeks of talks between county officials and the church’s attorney, a potential solution emerged: The church would amend its site plan to include the flag and its lights, even though its attorney maintained churches were not subject to the county’s rules for site plans.

Either way, the county has no rules governing the illumination of flags, outside of rules that lights cannot be directed into another person’s residence, said Craig Weinaug, county administrator.

And the church’s lights shine only toward the heavens.

“It didn’t make sense, but all things work together for good, so it was good for our church,” said Rev. Scott Hanks, the church’s pastor. “It caused everybody to have a deeper appreciation for the flag.”

It also brought out more than 50 people to support the amended site plan Monday morning. Teenagers wore American flag ties. A woman wore a red, white and blue vest. Veterans wore their American Legion hats.

Nobody showed up to voice dissent.

“This is pure nonsense,” said Bob Brooks, commander of American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 in Lawrence. “I don’t know how it could bother anybody. We want to thank the church for having the flag up there. God bless you.”

Commissioner plugs in

But Commissioner Charles Jones spoke for the absent opposition.

While emphasizing that the flag is a “magnificent” symbol of America and one worthy of protection, Jones said, there are other values worth fighting for. Among them: the beauty of the night sky, one free from the “light pollution” that obscures the stars and dark calmness from view in the city.

He voted against the church’s site plan, saying that to do so would improperly endorse an unwelcome light source in a rural area.

“We need to view the night sky as something that benefits everybody in the county,” said Jones, who did not attend Monday’s meeting but participated by speakerphone. “It’s one we ought to protect, like clean water.”

While Jones’ fellow commissioners disagreed with his vote on the church’s plan, they did agree that they should review the county’s absence of lighting standards. Johnson said a study session likely would be scheduled in the coming months to discuss the topic.