A couple in Florida have an adult son, Chip, who has autism. To ensure he’d always be able to find his way home, they commissioned artist Richard Barrenechea to paint the 5-foot-high wall around their house with a version of one of his favorite art works, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
The Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh. He didn’t think that much of it, but others do.
“Many kids with autism are wanderers. His language skills are impaired. If he gets lost, we’re confident he’ll be able to tell someone that he belongs ‘at the Van Gogh House,’” his mother, Nancy Nemhauser, told ABC News.
The family lives in Mount Dora, Florida, which we gather is small, adorable, and kinda controlling. A code-enforcement officer cited them for having “graffiti” on the wall, and told them the wall had to match the house.
Oh really.
Nemhauser and her husband Lubomir Jastrzebski called the artist back to fix the problem by painting the house to match the wall. SO MUCH STARRY.
Now it matches! Aren’t you pleased, code enforcer?
Was the city happy now? They were not. The charge of having graffiti on the wall was dropped. Instead the city declared the whole thing was a “sign,” and thus still out of code. A code enforcement officer told a magistrate that it looked like “a juvenile-type painting of some sort.” There are apparently other houses in town with murals, but this one was somehow different. The magistrate said the house attracted “the attention of the public” and ordered them to repaint, with fines of $100 a day until they did. The city placed a lien on the house.
Nemhauser & Jastrzebski on their veranda.
Yeah, no. Jastrzebski and Nemhauser took the matter to federal court. They argued city ordinances were so broad as to violate their freedom of speech. They said they were being selectively targeted. Reportedly, Jastrzebski, a physicist who immigrated from Poland years ago, felt particularly strongly about it. “These were his First Amendment rights, and it took him 10 years to become a citizen. He grew up without those rights, so he was not going to be without them here,” said Nemhauser. She said he was willing to risk losing the house over this.
They won. The lien was removed. Their fines – $10,000 – were dropped. They were awarded $15,000. And they got a public apology, Jastrzebski’s idea. His wife quoted him saying “Zey must apologize!”
Accordingly, Mayor Nick Girone apologized at a news conference. He said:
As your mayor, I am pleased to announce that Nancy and Lubek and the City of Mt Dora have reached a mutual agreement concerning what has become known as the Starry Night House. I would like to extend my sincere apology to Nancy and Lubek for how this matter has turned into an unfortunate dispute.
…As a result of our attorney’s preparation for the pending litigation and her review of the recent federal court free-speech decisions, prompted the city to reconsider its position and make another settlement effort, which was subsequently accepted by Nancy and Lubek.
Starry Night over the Rhone. Van Gogh does not seem to have painted “A Starry Day in Court.”
He explained that the city will also review relevant local ordinances and get input from a panel. Nemhauser is invited to be on the panel.
Lawyer Jeremy Talcott with the Pacific Legal Foundation said Jastrzebski and Nemhauser were pleased with the result. “The proof is in the settlement — we got everything we set out to achieve. The mural gets to stay, fines and penalties all go away, and the city has agreed to revise its sign code due to its unconstitutionality.”
If they’re happy, we’re happy. The settlement sounds excellent and appropriate. But that wasn’t a good apology, Mayor Girone. No responsibility is taken for the city’s severe and arbitrary actions. It just somehow “turned into” something “unfortunate.” When a code enforcement juggernaut gets rolling, what can you do? Sadly, stuff happens. No mention of a lien on the house or $100/day fines.
Almost starry enough. The roof troubles us.
“They say you can’t fight City Hall,” Jastrzebski told the Orlando Sentinel. “Apparently you can. And win. This was a classic case of bullying.” True, to fight City Hall, they had to make a federal case out of it. We hope this will be a precedent to rein in other communities with high-handed design codes.
In the meantime, should you visit Mount Dora for any of its public events (such as the Blueberry Festival, the Bicycle Festival, the Seafood Festival, or the ginormous Mount Dora Craft Fair) look for the Starry Night house.
Check this link to see why you might want to get your hair done by artist Ursula Goff first.
Expedition 31 crew portrait. Also you can get it on a mug.
