DRAPER — A Utah homeowners association will be breaking a federal law — or at least the spirit of the law — if it doesn't allow a Draper veteran to continue flying the American flag on the front of his home, a congressional spokeswoman said.

Lisa Wright, press secretary for Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., said the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 was written to ensure that Americans such as Draper's Kevin Capito are able to fly the flag at their homes.

The legislation was sponsored by Bartlett, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on July 24, 2006.

Capito said he believes that law is being violated by the Village Townhomes homeowners' association, which, through a property-management company, has ordered him to remove the flag mounted at a 45-degree angle above his front door.

Community Management, which manages the townhomes, notified Capito that the external mounting is in violation of the HOA's covenants, conditions and restrictions because it was not an approved exterior improvement.

Wright said it's those types of restrictions that Bartlett was trying to put a stop to with the legislation.

"I think (the HOA) will find themselves having promulgated unreasonable restrictions that amount to a prohibition that violates the federal law, and certainly the intent," she said in a telephone interview Friday.

According to a Community Management employee, the HOA owns the exterior of the townhouses and for that reason regulates any architectural improvements to them. Satellite dishes placed on the homes must be pre-approved by the HOA board, the employee said, and the same restrictions apply to the American flag.

Capito, who spent four years in the Air Force, said he wasn't aware of the restrictions when he installed the flag holder about two weeks ago. Because the right to display the flag is protected by federal law, he said he didn't think that permission would be required.

Capito said he plans to submit the proper paperwork and address the HOA board at its meeting Tuesday.

"I hope we can resolve it," he said Friday. "I didn't want this to end in any kind of litigation or anything like that. I just wanted (the HOA) to be more amenable to letting people show their patriotism."

Under the law, the size of the flag and the manner in which it is displayed are subject to negotiation between the property owner and association, but a property owner can't be prohibited from displaying the flag in a proper manner, Wright said.

A standard-size flag mounted on the front of a building, as Capito's is, adheres to federal flag etiquette, she said.

"Flagpoles have been a frequent source of contention (with HOAs and other real-estate management associations)," she said. "I've never heard of anyone having trouble with an external display like this one. I think they've crossed the line there."

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