Overland Park’s old flag got an ‘F.’ The city’s new design won out of 141 options

After poring through hundreds of options over several months, Overland Park selected its new city flag.

“A flag that has lasting impact will last for hundreds of years,” Communications Director Meg Ralph told committee members during a recent Committee of the Whole meeting.

While it’s unlikely that the flag will last that long, “the idea is we’re making a 50, 100, maybe even longer year-long choice tonight,” she said.

Flag discussions came forward in April as part of the process to establish the city’s brand. When identifying possible flag designs, Overland Park worked with the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) — an international nonprofit organization that focuses on the history of flags and their significance.

The nonprofit often ranks city flags from best to worst – featuring Overland Park’s current flag at the bottom end of the rankings. NAVA also helps cities improve their flags in ways that are meaningful and easy to comprehend.

Over the course of months, the city engaged with community members and worked with NAVA’s experts to get design ideas and feedback. Out of 141 designs, the city narrowed it down to a top six.

The top six went back before the public at several community centers and spaces to garner more feedback before the top three went before the City Council to choose from. During Monday’s meeting, the committee selected an oak tree flag as its top choice to move forward as the new design.

The City Council approved the selected design during its September 8 meeting.

The oak tree

On the flag, a chartreuse oak tree sits on the left side, symbolizing Overland Park’s park-like feel with 84 parks in the city and its Tree City USA designation. The background is made up of dark green, white and chartreuse, sectioned off by chevron or arrow shapes.

The dark green represents the city’s history, stability and natural resources; the white represents clarity and purpose where everyone can find a space for every stage of life; and the chartreuse is supposed to represent its revitalization, energy, growth and innovation.

The chevron or arrow shapes in the background represent Overland Park’s forward-thinking and growth.

“I think it has a message for what we are doing, what we continue to do,” Councilmember Chris Newlin said about this option.

Clock tower design

The other two options included downtown Overland Park’s clock tower and a six-point star, with a background that depicted the historic Santa Fe Trail that runs through the city.

In the clock tower design, the flag includes maroon, white and sky blue color schemes. The clock tower is supposed to showcase the historic downtown district and its collaborative sister-city relationship with Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.

At the top of the flag, the maroon represents warmth and belonging and the rising white band represents community connections, prosperity and belonging, upward momentum, and the connection to the Santa Fe Trail.

A sky blue field sits at the bottom of the flag, which depicts the welcoming spirit and open invitation to belong and connect in Overland Park.

Several council members opted for this flag as their top choice, saying the clock tower is unique to Overland Park and several other Johnson County cities are also proud of their trees. They also appreciated the ties to the Santa Fe Trails, which incorporates more historical meaning into their flag.

The six-point star

The last option — which was the least popular amongst committee members — depicted a dark green, six-point star in the top left corner of the flag. The star represents Overland Park’s six wards and the residents who live there. It also represents the city’s connection to the state of Kansas and the city’s recognition as a “community of excellence.”

A mint and dark green background are divided by a white line that swoops upward – similarly symbolizing the Santa Fe Trails. The mint color field represents Overland Parks flexibility and adaptability while the dark green represents the city’s history and strong foundation. The shape calls to its rolling hills and landscape.

Committee members found this option to be too generic and it didn’t call to Overland Park specific symbols like the other two options did.

Now that the committee selected a flag, the design will go to the City Council, which will have the final vote during its September 8 meeting.

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM.