Posted on 03/06/2012 6:13:25 AM PST by JoeProBono
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., A California man who has spent the past six years restoring a 72-foot ship in his yard said the city is ordering him to get rid of the boat.
Dennis Holland, who has been restoring the Shawnee, a 1916 ketch, at his Newport Beach home, said city officials obtained a court injunction giving him until April 30 to get rid of the vessel, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Deputy City Attorney Kyle Rowen said Holland faces fines of up to $1,000 per day or possible jail time if he does not comply with the injunction, which was issued Thursday by Superior Court Judge Gregory Munoz.
Holland is accused of not abiding by an ordinance requiring him to obtain a permit. He said officials would not grant him a permit because he could not give them an estimated date of completion.
"Mr. Holland has been in violation of city laws for many years and has had ample opportunity to move the boat to a suitable location," City Attorney Aaron Harp wrote in an email Friday. "The city is hopeful that Mr. Holland will comply with the court order and move the boat to a suitable location that is consistent with applicable laws."
Holland said the ordinance he is accused of violating was passed in 2009 and he did not break any laws when he originally began the project.
"I can't move the boat," Holland said Friday. "The city's going to have to come in and destroy it. I don't have the heart to."
Lol.... When stationed on the Canadian Michigan border I built a canoe .....:o)
If he lived where I do, he could just move it around back. The neighbor whose yard backs up to mine has had a 30 foot motor home rotting away just over my property line for 15 years. He’s in legal compliance since “it can’t be seen from the street”.
a BBQ isn’t a 72 foot ugly ass boat
That’s nice of you to offer to help. I think it adds a lot of ambiance to the neighborhood and is a definite plus. It’s not like there are a lot of old cars and broken toilets littering the scene. This is a beach town and it fits in well.
In the old days one would often see people’s boats in their yards as they were working on them. I remember one guy who finally finished his HUGE boat—it had been in his yard for at least a decade as he worked on it—and had it delivered to the ocean telling me he didn’t buy the necessary permits to move it on the streets as it was far cheaper just to pay the fines.
John Holmes was a Sailor? I did not know that.
A 1988 rusted out Civic is also an ugly ass car, but to each his own.
An old friend lives over there and his Property is worth 20% more than his across the street Neighbor because he is in Newport, while the Neighbor is in Costa Mesa.
Gee... Is that really you Captain Hyperbole?
From the looks of the rigging he’s got up around it, it isn’t going anywhere easily.
Anyone living on a small residential lot should think these things through, and pick the scope and scale of their projects accordingly.
If this guy would have built a pole building on a country lot somewhere, he wouldn’t be wasting his time fighting the inevitable.
My bad...I thought you said post-it. :(
It took him about 6 years because he worked on it in his spare time.
It sank on it's maiden voyage.
From the street level views, it really doesn’t look that bad comparatively. Certainly no worse than his neighbors covered car and open top trailer in his yard...
My idea of a perfect survival platform.
Just an observation, naked carpentry is usually a bad idea.
It is. I suggest fitting it with a good ol 5-incher and testing it on city hall.
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