Nov. 18--CARY -- David Bowden didn't bother to read the latest letter from the town.
"They are a bunch of deductive, intellectual, rigid noggins," he said.
But read or unread, Bowden can't ignore what the letter said: Do something or pay the price.
On Thursday, the town delivered a zoning violation to Bowden's home. It gave Bowden seven days to remove or tone down a racy sign on the front of his house or face some hefty fines -- $100 for the first day, $250 for the second and $500 for every day thereafter.
On July 31, Bowden had "Screwed By The Town of Cary" painted in fluorescent orange letters on the front of his house. He says his home at 305 SW Maynard Road was damaged by runoff caused by town road construction.
Cary served Bowden a zoning violation the same day, saying the sign violated the town's appearance ordinances. The town didn't originally initiate the fines, opting to mediate.
But Bowden wasn't budging. "I [told] them several times what it's going to take," he said. "It isn't going to change."
Bowden sticks by his original ultimatum: The only way he'll remove the sign is if the town buys his house for $250,000 -- its tax value, plus $80,000 for "aggravation." He said it's been so damaged by water coming into his garage and crawlspace that he can't sell it for what he owes on the mortgage.
"Probably all it'd be worth is the lot," he said.
The town countered with offers to put in drains re-routing the water.
Bowden said no.
They offered third-party mediation.
Bowden declined.
The town waited at least three months for him to change his mind.
As summer turned into fall, there it stood -- still brightly chastising the town, drawing honks of approval from some cars that pass on the busy road every day, and complaints from others.
"We continue to get a handful of calls every week or so," said Susan Moran, Cary's spokeswoman. Most of them, she said, are from parents driving their children, who don't appreciate the vulgar word screaming from Bowden's doorway.
Some of Bowden's neighbors complained too.
"One of the neighbors came over and said my sign was hurting the value of everyone's houses," Bowden said. "I said, 'now what would you do if it was your house?' "Bowden said he plans to appeal to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has already weighed in on the debate. In August, Katherine Lewis Parker, the legal director for the ACLU of North Carolina, sent a letter to Cary Town Attorney Christine B. Simpson outlining their position that several provisions of Cary's signage ordinance violate the First Amendment of the Constitution.
But Cary's zoning violation letter makes it clear that they don't dispute the content of Bowden's sign -- just the size and color.
"We're not asking him to change what he's saying," Moran said. "We're just asking him to change the size and color."
Bowden can paint a new sign on the front of his house if it doesn't exceed two square feet, and he doesn't use fluorescent paint. Alternatively, the letter outlined, he can put up to two ground signs that don't exceed five square feet and 42 inches in height.
They can all say the same thing.
"The citizens of Cary value the right to free speech," the zoning violation letter to Bowden read. "[But] Cary citizens also value an attractive, safe community, and they count on their government to preserve and protect these values as well."
Bowden said he's going to have the ACLU communicate with the town. Representatives of the ACLU did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Meanwhile, the sign will stay until Cary buys his house.
The town's only recourse is to ask the courts to intercede.
vickie.dehamer@nando.com or 919-460-2608
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