Oct 19, 2008 11:43 am US/Pacific
City Takes Down Woman's $50K Halloween Decorations
PALOS VERDES ESTATES
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Last year, city officials noticed just before Halloween that Iannitti had erected a massive pirate ship in front of her home as a "Pirates of the Caribbean" extravaganza that included animatronic skeletons and alligators swimming in the pool.
CBS
City officials in posh Palos Verdes Estates have removed $50,000 worth of Halloween decorations from the city-owned strip in front of one family's house, which the family says is a monstrous act.
Sheryl Iannitti told the Daily Breeze she is considering taking legal action in an effort to stage her annual Halloween party for 500 South Bay kids at her home, with seasonal decorations out in front.
On Monday, city crews took down a dozen neon-painted, 8-foot-tall panels that a film designer had created and installed just outside the wrought-iron gates of Iannitti's 15,000-square-foot house, on what the city maintains is city property, the Daily Breeze reported.
The panels, framing, black lights and sandbags were hauled into the driveway and piled up next to the family Bentley, the newspaper reported. A giant neon clown head, on the Iannitti's side of the property line, was allowed to remain in front of the home on lower Paseo la Cresta.
Iannitti said she has an attorney looking into the matter, and is also entertaining thoughts about running for City Council in the hopes of reforming a Planning Department she believes is running out of control.
Nevertheless, to city officials, it is a clear cut case of inappropriate use of public land. The scale of Iannitti's holiday ornamentation makes irrelevant any question of whether the city is playing the mean-spirited Grinch this season, Hoefgen said.
Last year, city officials noticed just before Halloween that Iannitti had erected a massive pirate ship in front of her home as a "Pirates of the Caribbean" extravaganza that included animatronic skeletons in the front yard and alligators swimming in the pool, reported the Daily Breeze.
City officials decided to let theatrics go on, said City Manager Joe Hoefgen, but with warning that came in a hand-delivered notice to the house last Halloween that stated "non-permitted structures" had been built in a public right-of-way.
In the future, the letter stated "please be sure to maintain any decorations within your private property since they will not be allowed on public property."
Iannitti said she received the letter but was too busy preparing for trick-or-treaters to read it last year.
Most Palos Verdes Estate houses, he said, have landscaping that is maintained by homeowners on land that is owned by the city. The Iannittis' corner lot has a 15-foot right-of-way on one side and a 20-foot one on the other.
To anyone but a code enforcement officer, Hoefgen said, the manicured lawn and shubbery undoubtedly look like private property, but it turns out the city has a say over what goes there.
"Regardless of whether it's on the city property or her property," said Iannitti's attorney, John Henning, "we still feel the city needed to follow a different process. We're considering legal options."
Come what may, Iannitti said she still expects about 500 children from
all over the South Bay to stop by on Oct. 31.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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