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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg city council member is expected to propose alternate city flags supporting the LGBTQ+ community and Black History Month at a council meeting this week.

An item called “City flag variations” appears on the city council meeting agenda for Thursday, Oct. 9, and was proposed by Council Member Gina Driscoll.

“Municipal flags are significant symbols of a city’s identity, unifying residents and serving as a visual representation of a city’s values,” Driscoll wrote. “The Harmony and History flags have been specially designed to represent St. Petersburg as a welcoming city for all and one that recognizes the role of history in its identity.”

The flags were designed by St. Petersburg artist Andrea Pawlisz, who also led the design for the Pride street mural in the Grand Central District, Driscoll said.

Attached to the resolution are two mockups of city flag variations. One shows the traditional seal of St. Pete overlayed on a Pride flag, and the other shows the seal over a red, yellow, green and black flag typically associated with Black History Month. Driscoll named them the “Harmony” and “History” flags, respectively.

In the past, St. Petersburg would typically raise the Pride flag and Black history flag during the associated months, but there has been mounting opposition across the state to the raising of flags that critics say represent a “political viewpoint.”

Driscoll said the resolution was inspired by a similar move in Salt Lake City, where city councilors recently adopted three alternative city flags celebrating Juneteenth, the LGBTQ+ community, and transgender visibility.

Recently, state leadership in Florida ordered all street murals and art to be removed from public roads, which included a number of Pride and Black history-related projects. In St. Petersburg, a large “Black History Matters” mural was removed from the road outside the Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

The order was met with fierce opposition from local activists and elected officials. St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said at a press conference that it was an attempt by state leaders to “mandate what our values should be.”

“When I saw the emotional reaction to the erasure of our street murals, I knew it was time to put this idea into action,” Driscoll told 8 On Your Side. “These flags represent the harmony and history that help define our identity as a city.”

Welch, at the August press conference, also said that the city would comply with the order to maintain state funding for transportation projects, but that it wouldn’t be the end of it.

“Our response will be strategic, not reactionary,” the mayor said.

Driscoll is expected to ask the council to vote on the resolution at the Thursday meeting, which begins at 3 p.m. If it passes, it would go into effect immediately.