09-04-2006, 05:13 PM
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#31 (permalink)
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Registered User
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Update: The guy took down the vent.
Quote:
Update: The guy took down the vent.]Link
A homeowner has removed the vent cover that he claimed was abstract art of a cactus and neighbors interpreted as a rude hand gesture pointed their way.
"We're just glad that it's down and over with," said Sharon Easton, who lives up the hill from Darren Wood's house and had a full view of the covering.
The Eastons and Stan Torgersen's family had been in a yearlong dispute with Wood and considered the image a direct message to them.
Wood sent a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday that said his "decision to place the controversial cactus would have made sense to only those involved.
"We as a family are looking forward to seeing this chapter of a third-grade spat come to a close," Wood said, adding that total costs of the construction interruption due to his neighbors' complaints reached $25,000.
Sharon Easton's husband, Mark, said he is trying to organize a meeting with Wood, but had "expressed to him that I am sorry for any discomfort that I have caused his family or him, and that I had no intent to do any harm to him when I called the city with my concern about safety."
The conflict started when the Woods excavated dirt from a hill on which the Eastons' and Torgersens' houses sit. The two families contacted the city, worried about the stability of the hill. Wood said he was forced to push back the timeline for completion of his home to conduct and pay for a soil test.
When Wood raised the frames for his house a few months ago, the Eastons and Torgersens contacted the city, contending its height might violate code. The frames rose higher than most rooftops near Wood's lot and partially obstruct the Eastons' and Torgersens' eastern view of the mountains.
In an earlier statement Wood conceded the house might be over the limit by a little more than a foot. But once the house is finished, and the soil and landscaping laid out, he believes it will be within regulations.
The Eastons said the Torgersens are on vacation this week and aren't aware of the downed cactus.
"I'm sure they will be very happy that it's been removed," Mark Easton said. "And probably relieved."
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