February 03, 2003 By: Chris Youngquist      The "give Peace a Chance Not War" sign that trial lawyer Spencer Aronfeld hung outside his Coral Gables law practice late last week was not his first political statement at the Ponce de Leon Boulevard building.    Aronfeld has alternately hung POW/MIA, University of Miami, gay pride and U.S. Flags outside his office, but the professionally produced "Give Peace a Chance" sign was the first to elicit the threat of a $250 per day fine for violating the city's zoning code.   "As an American citizen and an attorney and a property owner in Coral Gables, I have a right to express myself," Aronfeld said of the sign, which was printed on the stiff poster-like material used by attorneys for legal exhibits. "We are on a path for war without taking a breath and looking for an opportunity for a peaceful solution."    The "civil violation warning notice" Aronfeld found on his door Monday cited the violation of chapter 18, section 21 of the city zoning code, which bans pennants, banners, streamers and attention-attracting advertising devices such as blinking and flashing lights. The warning said $250 per day fine would be imposed if the violation was not remedied in 24 hours.    In a letter to city officials responding to the warning, he argued the appropriate portion of the zoning code is that on temporary signage, which allows up to two temporary paper signs to be posted at a business but they must be less than 250 square inch limit but said a similar "Coming soon"-type sign of identical size has been used twice at the site without any reaction from the city.    "The content of the flag was what they were troubled about," he said Wednesday afternoon. At that time, he had not spoken to anyone at the city about the warning or received any response to his letter. He said he had not received any civil citations as threatened in the warning notice earlier.    City attorney Elizabeth Hernandez declined to discuss Aronfeld's situation without reviewing his case, but said that U.S. law protects political expression more than commercial or other forms of speech.    "We try to respect the political signage," she said, noting that size, location and getting the necessary permits are among the restrictions the zoning code places on signs within the city. "As long as he follows the procedure, on one is going to cite him."