May 12- Friday Funny - Yard Art

This week’s Friday Funny is a local story that went national. A homeowner within our township wanted to erect a six-foot privacy fence in their backyard. Their house sits on a corner lot so they needed a zoning variance. They were unfortunately denied. To protest they erected a series of commodes. These are also known as toilets or indoor plumbing for those from Michigan.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, “15 toilets sprouting with plastic flowers; dozens of purple, green, brown and white toilet brushes poking up from the lawn, and a host of multicolored pinwheels whirling in the breeze. There's also a plastic human skeleton sitting on one of the toilets and another one riding a plastic horse.”

Township zoning rules require the couple's fence to be at least 45 feet from the street. The couple says that almost all their neighbors - and the township development staff - supported their request for an exception. But the board of zoning appeals refused to budge.

Paul Drury, Anderson Township's assistant director of development services, said he gets occasional calls about the yard display. "Most of them are inquiries about why they're allowed to do that," he said. "We haven't found any zoning violations."

Somehow, it's okay to put 15 toilets in your yard, but not to erect a cedar fence. The homeowners have erected a web site for their cause.

I'm EXTREMELY happy to hear that there are no zoning restrictions about yard displays. Every year MY December secular yard display gets larger (picture below, right). This year it included:

An Alien
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Future
A Cyborg Pig
2 Reindeer (one was severely injured)
Holiday Shrek
Brutus Buckeye
Santa Claus in a Sleigh
A Giraffe
2 Flamingos



If you are scoring along at home:

Trailer Park Art – 1, Township Zoning - 0