Southampton Builder Paints American Flag On His House To Exercise Property Rights

A flag flying in front of a house expresses patriotism. But painted 10 feet high, on both stories of the front of a house?

That’s exactly what Southampton Village resident Michael White did last week—and he meant it as an act of protest, a demonstration of his belief in a landowner’s right to do whatever he pleases with his property. And there may be nothing the village can do to stop him.

Mr. White, founder and president of Southampton-based Georgica Builders, painted the Stars and Stripes onto his home at 81 Wooley Street on Tuesday, July 14. Mr. White currently has a proposal before the Southampton Village Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review to construct a new house on the site after he tears the current one down, and he already has approval for the demolition.

But at an ARB meeting the night before, Mr. White’s application for the new house was scrutinized by both the board and residents who commented on it.

That drove him, he said, to paint the front of the brown house in gaudier colors: red, white and blue.

“I’m a builder, and it’s my own house, and I know what I’m doing, and I don’t need their feedback,” he said in an interview last week, referring mostly to the community members who attended the meeting. “I figured if they want something to complain about, I’ll give them something to complain about. They can’t make me take down the American flag.”

Members of the ARB had told Mr. White that he included too many different window styles in the plan for his new home, and that the house looked like four different structures in one. They also expressed concerns about the age of the existing home set to be demolished, as it is about 100 years old, thus making it historic, even though it is located outside the village’s historic district.

Both the board and residents also suggested that the proposed new house was set too close to the sidewalk, as most homes on Wooley Street are about 50 feet from the sidewalk. The proposed setback for the new house is about 25 feet.

Mr. White did not take the criticism lightly.

“This board doesn’t have the jurisdiction to tell me where to put my house,” he told the board. “If I did move it back, I wouldn’t have a backyard. My pool is 15 by 15. That’s my house. It’s not your house.”

ARB Chairman Curtis Highsmith agreed—to an extent. “That’s right, it’s not our house—but we have the responsibilities, aesthetically, to determine what we find fit for the community,” he told Mr. White. “We have a greater responsibility than just your home. It’s a five-person panel for that reason.

“This is the first time we’re seeing your application,” he added. “We’re not saying no.”

Mr. White also has been critical of the village recently for its efforts to change the zoning code. He has been before the Village Board several times to argue that local governments cannot tell people what they can do with their houses, specifically citing two proposed laws that would restrict the height of houses based on lot size, and that would regulate off-street parking.

The builder has also argued that the village should not be taking suggestions from the Southampton Association, a local civic group, which village officials had allowed to comment on the two laws when they were drafted. “These people, they have nothing better to do,” Mr. White said of the association. “They can’t mind their own business. I’m tired of it.”

While Mr. White may feel he took a patriotic stand for what he believes in, some believe that his actions were not tasteful.

Mackie Finnerty, who lives across from the star-spangled house, said she sees the flag every time she looks out her window now, and that it has become a public spectacle, with people driving down the street to take photos. Ms. Finnerty was one neighbor who spoke against Mr. White’s proposal at the ARB meeting. “We’re in a state of shock. To me, it seems like graffiti,” she said.

The Wooley Street resident added that she understands times are changing, and so are the styles of homes, but that Mr. White should respect the character of the neighborhood, or put his new house somewhere else. Property rights, she argued, are limited.

“I guess the flag is that same idea, that somehow that he thinks the Constitution gave him the right to have a house and do that to it,” she said. “It’s very disturbing.”

Village Mayor Mark Epley acknowledged that many builders probably disagree with the proposed zoning changes, but said that most have come forward with their concerns in a more acceptable way. He noted that Mr. White has previously been creative in expressing his dissatisfaction over village rulings, one time ripping up a concrete sidewalk in front of a house and replacing it with cobblestones.

“I think it hurts him on his current application, and I think it hurts him on future applications,” the mayor said. “I think his behaviors like that actually make the job in the Building Department more difficult, and it increases the number of complaints that come into village hall.”

Mr. Epley added that even though he thinks Mr. White’s stunt was “probably one of the most immature acts I’ve seen in the village, ever,” there is nothing in the village code prohibiting residents from painting their homes in such a way.

“What can you do?” he said. “He just created problems for himself.”