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
warisnec, The Letiecq blog has been around for months and supposedly is one that supposedly has the highest number of hits. I’m sure you have accessed it. (There is not an anti Letiecq blog now). Moreover, there were no comments. You just avoided my qyestion that if the sign promotes hatred, whas does Letiecq’s blog site do. For that matter, what does HSM do? You anti-illegals are all alike - can’t answer any questions. Is it lack of education? Ignorance usually goes hand in hand with that.
Equality, I have been asking for Cobra to layout his plan to deport everyone. Time frame, funding for ICE, staffing, training, holding facilities, over- sight, transportation back, sealing the border in the future AND the negative economic impact nationwide on a sudden exodus of 12 million people. I thought by the way he promotes the HSM plan it would be ready to share quite quickly.
Cobra, we are not being “invaded.” Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Is illegal immigration an issue? Yes. Does something need to be done? Yes. But you take it to the extreme.
Traitors? Why is anyone who suggests a solution that doesn’t involve deporting “every last one of them” a traitor? There are many ways to solve a problem, and usually the best one lies somewhere in the middle of both extremes.
And your in terrorem arguments about this “illegal” that committed this crime and that “illegal” that committed that crime doesn’t impress me. Take a survey of any large population and you can pull out horror stories. As with all people, the majority of these people are not bad. There are bad eggs among them, however.
So does that mean that the good ones should get a free ride? No. But we also don’t need to run out and grab the pitch forks and torches. Finding a solution is going to require that we do more.
There is a program that allows an immigrant to serve in our Armed Forces for a 2 or 4 year tour and at the end come out as a naturalized citizen. Not many take advantage of it, but the program is available.
Cobra - you rant and rave again but fail to answer the questions I posted. Did you miss the comments or are have you not be told by your Jedi Master Greg on how to respond?
I am very happy to post them again if indeed they were gone before you checked in. In the future, you can check the “notify me” box when posting a comment and all future comments will be sent to you via email. Again, PLEASE, no more rants and raves until you provide your financial plan on how to implement your HSM Simplistic Program.
What is the big controversy here regarding immigration? What don’t you get about the word ILLEGAL?!! It is not racist to want something done about people who are not here LEGALLY!! If someone broke into your house without your permission, is that not illegal and wouldn’t you want something done about it? So why is it wrong to want something done about breaking into our borders?
Back? I never went anywhere Tranquility. The good citizens of the community can count on me each day to counter the Traitors who appose our efforts to rid the community of illegal immigrants. Many of those Traitors sit on Capital Hill each day and do nothing as the nation is invaded. I will let you know the court date of the illegal SOB who hit Officer Harrover two weeks ago and left him on the side of the road so that he can have his supporters there. I hope they dont deport him as we dont want to appear to be mean spirited for spitting up families. Will also advise when the illegal rapist goes to court for his assault on a 4 year old child. Check out this website and get back to me. www.immigrationshumancost.org.
Phdee – a blog is a short-lived event with a small audience and I never even saw those comments so can’t really comment any further on it. A sign, on the other hand, is a daily reminder of the hatred and has a more lasting negative impact on the local community.
The Israel Army has a three year mandatory (two years for women) term of service. So, this would not be an unfair policy; unless you have something against the Israeli Army too. Additionally, you jumped to conclusions that I assumed the work would be manual labor. The military needs and employs a lot of engineers, intelligence officers, technicians, etc. It is actually the Army Corps of “Engineers” that is working on the New Orleans levies. And I was only giving examples of how they can help make America great and contribute to a better society. I’m sure everyone is aware of the multitude of jobs available in the military and didn’t think I needed to point them out. It is ironic that you jumped to the conclusion that these jobs were all manual labor. Thanks for pointing out your prejudice thoughts. Maybe you should look in the mirror and figure out what your beliefs really are.
Hey everyone look, Cobra’s back. Let’s hear what he has to say:
“Illegals are bad, bad, bad!”
“Anyone who says otherwise is an appeaser, a traitor, or an elitist!”
“Oh, and here, let me butcher a Winston Churchill quote to make top it off.”
You know, Cobra, if you your arguments were less us-versus-them, and more like what it seems you’re capable, of more people would probably take you seriously (I mean besides your super-fans on this board).
Cobra seems to be the only person with a clear mind here. People, as a naturalized citizen, we have to give the following oath:
Oath of Naturalized Citizens
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
And that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;
So help me God.
In acknowledgment whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.
Do you all think that an oath like this is given lightly???? Gosh, I guess it doesn’t mean anything anymore to give your word.
And I comment warisnec for insightful idea. I don’t think it’s bad (however, I believe in fair pay) and unless you have a better idea, phdee, just hush…
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