At the October 12, 2021 City Council Meeting, Council voted to approve the hosting of a City Flag Design Contest. The Flag Design Contest was initiated by then Mayor Brian Johsz with the intention that the contest winners could inspire a new City flag design. At the recommendation of the City Council, a Flag Design Contest Committee (Committee) was formed and included two City Council Members; one Commissioner from the Parks and Recreation Commission, Public Works Commission, and the Planning Commission; and a member of the Chino Hills Arts Committee (chARTS) of the Chino Hills Community Foundation. Four City Staff members were asked to assist based on their graphic design knowledge and experience.
 
The contest encouraged Chino Hills residents to submit a new City Flag design with a corresponding narrative that describes the symbolism of their flag design. A total of 49 contest entries were received, and the Committee selected 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Those corresponding winners of attached designs one, two, and three went through a series of revisions as recommended by the Committee. Once the Committee was happy with all revisions, they were asked to vote for the design they felt most reflected a design that they would like to see adopted as the new City Flag design. The voting was close and only one vote separated all three designs. However, the Committee selected Design #2 as the recommended design. 
 
Of the 6 Committee members and 4 City Staff, nine supported the selection of a new City Flag design as long as the designs included three key elements; 1) hills, 2) an oak tree, and 3) a red-tailed hawk as was depicted in the original and first City logo. Only one stated they did not have a preference on adopting a new flag or keeping the existing flag. Although the Committee was asked to provide a clear recommendation to the City Council all stated they liked all three flag designs and would be happy with any choice that the City Council made. 
 
All winning and revised designs were kept in line with the basic principles of good flag design as recommended by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), an international, non-profit, scholarly organization dedicated to the study of flags. Those design principles are: 1) Keep it simple, 2) Use meaningful symbolism, 3) Use no more than two or three basic colors which contrast well and come from the standard color set, 4) Avoid lettering or seals, and 5) Be distinctive or be related. Many country and state flags follow these basic design principles and depict flags that are simple, yet recognizable. 
 
If the City Council decides to select and approve a new City flag, staff will bring back a resolution to officially adopt the new City Flag. It is the recommendation of the Committee that the first original City logo remain on the official City tile, and if a new flag design is chosen, the first City Flag be placed on display in City Hall in a place of honor.  It is the intent of City staff to allow residents to purchase the City Flag in the future, if a new design is selected.

This proposed action is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq., "CEQA") and CEQA Guidelines (Title 14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq.), because it does not involve any commitment to a specific project which could result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment; and constitutes an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Accordingly, this action does not constitute a "project" that requires environmental review (see specifically 14 CCR § 15378(b)(4-5)).

Total funding of $5,100 for this contest was approved in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget. The funding covers the cost of contest prizes, art revisions, and the purchase of indoor and outdoor flags for City facilities.