Vermont Man Barred From Building on His Own Property Flips Off Government With Giant Middle Finger Statue

Joe Setyon

Frequent Reason readers probably know that zoning regulations can be a bit...let's just say cumbersome. Over the years, we've covered countless stories about the government getting in the way of citizens building what they want on their own private property. But most citizens don't respond the way Ted Pelkey of Vermont did. First, a bit of background. Pelkey runs a monofilament recycling and truck repair business with his son. For years, he says he's been trying to move his business from Swanton, Vermont, to Westford. To do that, he needs a permit to build an 8,000-square foot garage on his property in Westford. But the town has been giving him issues. "We've been trying to put a business there for the past 10 years," Pelkey told the Burlington Free Press. "It's just never-ending. They're railroading us really good," he added, explaining that his business is "a low-impact thing" with "such little traffic you'd wonder if we were open."...Pelkey isn't buying it, instead claiming the town review board is biased against him. "The strain (with local officials) has been there for 10 years," he told the New Haven Register. "They don't like us." Eventually, Pelkey decided to take action. "I was sitting at a bar and said to my wife, 'Hey, I want to get a statue made of a middle finger, and I'm going to put it up on the lawn,'" he told Boston.com. So that's exactly what he did. Pelkey commissioned a Vermont artist to carve a 700-pound, wooden sculpture of the middle finger. On November 30, he had it installed in his yard, complete with two floodlights so that it's visible 24/7. All told, the project cost about $4,000. "If you don't want to look at the building, look at this," he told Boston.com. Here's the kicker: The town may be able to stop him from building his garage, but there's not a single thing officials can do to force him to get rid of the middle finger statue. While the state of Vermont doesn't allow "off-premise" billboards, the sculpture isn't actually advertising anything. Instead, it's considered public art, which is protected under the First Amendment. Pelkey is not breaking a state law, and according to Westford Selectboard Chair Allison Hope, he's not in violation of any local regulations either. "The Pelkeys can do what they like to exercise their free speech within the laws and regulations," Hope told the Burlington Free Press...MORE