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Concord, California (U.S)

Contra Costa County

image by Michael Smuda

Flag Description
Detail of Council Deliberations
Previous Flag

See also:

Contra Costa County
Municipal flags of California (index page)
California
United States of America

Description of the flag

A white flag, with the word Concord below a blue mountain horizon, and behind the mountain a golden sunrise.

The website at www.cityofconcord.org contains the minutes of the city council meeting for 11 July 2000 that state "Flag depicting the City logo adopted as the official City of Concord flag, and Policy and Procedure No. 4 amended, establishing guidelines for the use and display of the City flag as recommended. Staff directed to order appropriate number of flags for display at City Hall and to present one to Sandra Mercado in recognition of her efforts in support of an official City flag."
Source: http://www.ci.concord.ca.us/citygov/agendas/council/annotated/2000/ann7-11.pdf
"Policy and Procedure No. 4" is at http://www.ci.concord.ca.us/citygov/agendas/council/2000/reports07-11-00/rpt07-11-00-6-attachb.pdf
Neither page gives much of a clue about the design of the flag, other than making clear that it is a seal on a plain field. A report to the council submitted for the meeting that adopted the flag is at http://www.ci.concord.ca.us/citygov/agendas/council/2000/reports07-11-00/rpt07-11-00-6.pdf adds that there was an earlier flag that seems to have had the usual over-cluttered symbology and that had fallen into disuse.
Joe McMillan, 11 August 2004

"Concord (formerly, Drunken Indian and Todos Santos) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA, and the 192nd largest in the U.S. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 126,742. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months. The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area, and is located just 31 miles (50 km) east of San Francisco." - from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_California.
Valentin Poposki, 7 November 2010

Detail of Council Deliberations

Concord
REPORT TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL:

DATE: July 11, 2000

SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF OFFICIAL CITY FLAG AND FLAG POLICY

Report in Brief

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the adoption of an official City of Concord flag. The Council Committee on Recreation and Cultural Affairs considered the matter at its meeting on December 8, 1999. The Committee recommended that the current City logo be used as the design for the City flag, and recommended that the City Council formally adopt it as the official City of Concord flag.

Background
Adoption of an official City of Concord flag has been discussed periodically over the past several years. At its meeting of August 11, 1969, the City Council was presented with a proposed City flag developed as the result of a community flag competition. The minutes of that City Council meeting indicate that no formal action was taken to adopt it as the official City flag (Attachment A). The flag presented to the City in 1969 (displaying a freely rendered interpretation of a City seal on a blue background as well as a wagon wheel, a BART train, a stage coach and Mount Diablo) does not meet current flag design guidelines, and its design origin and purpose are unclear. In addition, the flag is not readily identifiable with the City of Concord.

On December 8, 1999 the Council Committee on Recreation and Cultural Affairs considered the matter of an official City flag. The Council Committee recommended utilizing the City's logo, consisting of the silhouette of Mount Diablo with a sunburst and the word "Concord" in the foreground. The Committee unanimously approved of this proposal and directed staff to create a prototype.

Discussion
Staff has developed a prototype indoor City flag using the City logo. If approved, outdoor flags may be ordered and flown at the Police Headquarters building and the Civic Center entry plaza, as well as various indoor locations in City Hall.

At the same time, staff recommends adoption of guidelines establishing the use and distribution of the official City flag. Several other cities were surveyed to determine what restrictions, if any, were placed on the use of their City flag. Most of the cities had no formal policy, although some cities make copies of their flag available for sale with certain restrictions and stipulations regarding its use and display. The City currently has a banner displaying the City logo, which is occasionally loaned out to local groups for community events.

In anticipation of ongoing community interest in a City flag, and requests to use it, staff recommends that the attached Policy and Procedure be adopted (Attachment B). The policy addresses requests to purchase a flag and establishes restrictions for its use. Staff also recommends that the banner continue to be made available for use by local groups with the same restrictions.

Fiscal Impact

The initial cost to purchase indoor and outdoor flags will be absorbed by the existing Maintenance Services budget. Requests to purchase City flags will be handled internally, with the cost charged by the manufacturer being passed on to the purchaser.

Public Contact

Posting of the Council agenda. A copy of this Report to Council and the agenda have been mailed to the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, the Contra Costa Convention and Visitors' Bureau, the Concord Historical Society, and to interested members of the community.

Council Committee Recommendation
The Council Committee on Recreation and Cultural Affairs considered the matter of an official City flag at its meeting on December 8, 1999. The Committee directed staff to create a prototype flag using the current City logo, and recommended that the City Council adopt it as the official City of Concord flag.

Recommendation for Action
Adopt the flag depicting the City logo as the official City of Concord flag, and amend Policy and Procedure No. 4, establishing guidelines for the use and display of the City flag.

Prepared by: Mardie Traver,
Interim Director
Department of City Management
Edward R. James
City Manager
Attachment A: Minutes of City Council meeting, August 11, 1969*
Attachment B: Proposed Policy and Procedure No. 4
*Not available electronically

Submitted by Colin Dobson, 13 August 2004

Previous Flag

image located by Valentin Poposki, 7 November 2010
based on www.flickr.com/photos/21307729@N07/4001001464/

The only difference between the flag in the picture and the flag description of the 1969 flag (which was never adopted as the official flag) is that is has a two color background as opposed to the blue background in the document. The city seal is represented by the words and the flower in the center. Mount Diablo is above the center bar of the seal, the BART train to our right of the flower, the stage coach to the left and the wagon wheel showing below the work "California". The wagon wheel can be seen in the lower half of the seal too.
While the picture may have been taken in 2009, it was taken in Kitakami City Hall and not Concord.
Michael P. Smuda, 8 November 2010