Property owner wants to display permanent sign
Keith Walker/News & Messenger
Gaudencio Fernandez wants to display a sign of protest permanently at 9500 Liberty St. in Manassas.
Like it or not, former Manassas property owner Gaudencio Fernandez is planning on submitting a special use permit application for a much larger, more permanent sign to replace his controversial structure at 9500 Liberty St.
In January, Fernandez came to the city offices for what officials thought would be a building permit application for the existing structure. However, Fernandez instead presented plans for a 220-foot long, 16-foot-high L-shaped structure that would display murals “expressing the community’s ideas.”
“We wanted more room to display the great history of our country and show that it doesn’t just belong to white Americans, it belongs to us,” Fernandez said.
According to Manassas Community Development Director Elizabeth Via, the city denied a building permit for the proposed structure on Jan. 3 because what he was proposing would have necessitated a special use permit. On Wednesday, Fernandez said he would be applying for the special use permit by the middle of April.
Because of the reinforcements that were done last fall on the second version of the sign, the city had requested that Fernandez get a building permit because the city began to consider the once temporary structure permanent. Fernandez never applied for that permit and the case has been passed along to the city attorney’s office for possible litigation, Via said.
City code requires that a written application must be submitted and approved before a structure can be constructed, enlarged, altered or demolished.
If built, the new structure would replace a third version of the sign Fernandez recently placed on the site. It contains the angriest rhetoric yet since cloth was first draped across the remaining wall of the demolished house last summer.
The current sign calls Manassas and Prince William “the national capital of intolerance” and is littered with statements like “the actions of Prince William County and Manassas City Council are similar to the collaboration between local governments and the KKK in the 1900s.”
Fernandez said as long as the city and county back the newly instituted Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) program, he will not take the current sign down.
“As we long as we have not seen any changes, we will not remove our message,” Fernandez said.
The same week the building permit was denied in January, Fernandez and Montclair architect Don Little presented their case for rezoning the Liberty Street property to commercial to allow for a mixed-use building.
Via said a special use permit would require a public hearing and the city’s Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board would each have to review the issue before sending it to the city council.
A recommendation by the ARB would be necessary because the structure is located in the historic district. The property is zoned residential and would not have to be re-zoned to conform with what Fernandez is proposing, Via said.
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Reader Reactions
Jmolina illegal immigrants are so important to the economy that they cost legal citizens $9000 per person last year or $346 billion to be exact according to the Hudson Institute by way of a ESR research report. Mr. Molina i respect legal immigrants because they are following the rules and laws by being legal. My mom is a recent legal immigrant and is up to date in paying her fees, all i ask is why can’t illegals pay up. My mom isn’t rich and nor am i. She had to work for everything she has earned as do i. How can you condescend to say that i don’t understand the issue? I say freeloaders go home, and those who follow the rules and laws are more than welcome to stay. We should all post signs in our yards saying how we feel about illegal immigration, then you will see a mass exodus of illegals from the county the likes of what you have never seen before. Hopefully the economic downturn is hitting the illegal community hard. Chris Cummings.
25Yresident - you jus’ foolin’ with me arn’t ya? You don’t REALLY know the laws of all them itty bitty countries and how they police signage do ya? Dis is mo’ like you throwin’ fuel on the fire here to watch the flames ain’t it? Y’all just hate it one someone has a legal leg to stand on and you don’t. Buy your own investment property and place your own sign on it, saying whatever it is you want to say.
If you put up a similar sign in Mexico or Central America, you would likely be in jail, or dead. And that would be after the officials beat you, and made you take the sign down. Hey, City Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board, does this give you any ideas?
illegal immigrants come from many countries, non of which qualify them as native americans. I doubt Mr Hernandz’s Great granparents are from Va. In fact, if he is from Mexico, then his roots would diversely trace back to Spain, Unless he is a full blood Maya Indian in which case his roots wouldn’t be in the US again. Crying race issues is just a diversion to the base subject matter which is about legal residence and obeying the law. I’m not sure where the History of our Country belongs to the spanish. I dont remember their involvement in the American revolution, The Civil war etc. The Spanish Conquered Mexico in the 1500’s. We did fight the Spanish in 1846 after their troops attacked Ours on the southern Texas border. ( troops on the border, hmmm ) Fighting ended in Sept 1847 in Mexico City. At the end of the war we let them keep the country of Mexico, including Mexico City.
Mr. Criss Cummings, your comments are just garbage as well, you don’t have the correct information to be giving figures on illegal immigration, I would sugest you make a good research and then post it here so everyone can see how important immigrants are to the economy, legal or illegal, their contribution will be paying for your retirement ‘cause as of right, now the government has spent every penny of it.
we don’t need to “save Manassas or PWC county” WE need to be saved from bad politicians!
Drive through this small city and look at the trashed houses, full of cock roaches with tires and beds laying in the yards, junked cars and garbage. Yet they want respect and support? Isn’t that something that is earned? I lived here before they moved in and took over, when it was clean and pretty, and that was only 5 years ago.
Have I missed something…when were hispanic’s known as Native Americans? Keep up the good work P.W. County and they City of Manassas….you’re cleaning our city back up.
I just don’t get how Gaudencio Fernandez want’s to make this a race thing… You’re going to tell White America something? Listen buddy… we already know.
Tying immigration to race is a red herring. Prince William County residents love its legal Latino community. I personally shop regularly in a Latino market because it’s convenient, and the family that runs it is nice.
Most of us aren’t even threatened with the American jobs the illegal’s take away. What we want is respect for our laws. We have immigration laws for a reason. Immigration laws act as the flood control gates for our country, allowing us to accept and absorb immigrants in a controlled way, ensuring everyone’s needs are taken care of, the workers are not exploited and they receive benefits for their labor in the United States.
When immigration laws are ignored, the flood control fails, and those protections and benefits can’t be given. The federal government has failed miserably, which has sent mixed messages of tolerance to the illegal community, and for this I am empathetic. I understand these people just want to work, and to be fair, Prince William County Police are only targeting those involved in other crimes… crimes that legal Prince William Country residents should not have to tolerate.
The sign is antagonistic and a blight. It should be removed.
The big irony is that Gaudencio Fernandez has put up a fence to keep people off of his property.
The concept of keeping “illegals” off of his property seems to be OK with him. If you truly believe your own sign, then Mr Fernandez, take down your fence and let people stroll through and camp out on your property. When you do that and then provide them food, water, bathroom facilities, and health care…we will know you are serious about your convictions.
Your sign does a disservice to your community you claim to serve. Also, it is disrespectful to the historical community you live in. It doesn’t take courage to hang up a sign. It does take courage to get out into the community you support and encourage following the existing regulations. So work to promote education, speaking English, and setting the standard higher than minimum wage jobs.
Legal immigrants are the ones standing up to illegal immigrants, you can’t call all of us racists we are your brothers and sisters and since we are all immigrants to the Americas. It kind of makes the we were here first routine moot. We are all immigrants to the Americas. The cradle of civilization is Northeast Africa and the Middle East. So stand in line, pay up like the legal immigrants or leave. Chris Cummings
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