Tweet
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Someone has told the city of Anchorage what it can do with its cease-and-desist order to prevent Snowzilla — the giant snowman — from rising up again this winter in an east Anchorage neighborhood.
Snowzilla — thought to be no more — is yet again. Someone again built the giant snowman in Billy Powers' front yard. Snowzilla reappeared overnight.
Powers is not taking credit. When questioned Tuesday afternoon, he said Snowzilla just somehow happened, again.
However, he will tell you what Snowzilla means to him, a father of seven, and the children in the neighborhood.
"The snowman is about having all these kids, a lot of kids with big smiles on their faces," he said reached by telephone at his home, the sound of excited children in the background.
For the last three years, Snowzilla to the delight of some and the chagrin of others has been a very large feature in Powers' front yard. In 2005, Snowzilla rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.
This year, Snowzilla is somewhat smaller. He's wearing a black stovepipe hat and scarf.
For several years, Snowzilla has risen in the front yard of Powers' modest home. His children — he has five still at home — collected snow from neighbors' yards to make the snowman big enough. Each year, Snowzilla got a bit bigger.
Not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.
City officials this year deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A cease-and-desist order was issued. The city tacked a public notice on Powers' door.
City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.
When the order was issued, the partially-built snowman was dismantled, becoming a pile of snow rubble. Powers said he didn't plan to rebuild.
The mayor's office on Tuesday issued a statement defending its move against Snowzilla.
"This property owner has repeatedly ignored city attempts to find ways to accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood," the statement from Mayor Mark Begich's office said.
"This is a neighborhood of small homes on small lots connected by small streets. It can't support the volume of traffic and revelers that are interested in Snowzilla."
The mayor's office says Powers appears to run a large junk and salvage operation from his home. He has violated land use codes for 13 years, the city said. He owes the city more than $100,000 in fines and other assessments.
Powers said it is the city that has been difficult, not him.
"I have absolutely over the years, I have tried to jump through every goofy hoop they have sent to me. I have never been confrontational and it goes on and on and on and it is so goofy," he said. "Some of it is unfounded, some is just outrageous."
The city said it did not expect to take any further action until after Christmas.
Snowzilla — thought to be no more — is yet again. Someone again built the giant snowman in Billy Powers' front yard. Snowzilla reappeared overnight.
Powers is not taking credit. When questioned Tuesday afternoon, he said Snowzilla just somehow happened, again.
However, he will tell you what Snowzilla means to him, a father of seven, and the children in the neighborhood.
"The snowman is about having all these kids, a lot of kids with big smiles on their faces," he said reached by telephone at his home, the sound of excited children in the background.
For the last three years, Snowzilla to the delight of some and the chagrin of others has been a very large feature in Powers' front yard. In 2005, Snowzilla rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.
This year, Snowzilla is somewhat smaller. He's wearing a black stovepipe hat and scarf.
For several years, Snowzilla has risen in the front yard of Powers' modest home. His children — he has five still at home — collected snow from neighbors' yards to make the snowman big enough. Each year, Snowzilla got a bit bigger.
Not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.
City officials this year deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A cease-and-desist order was issued. The city tacked a public notice on Powers' door.
City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.
When the order was issued, the partially-built snowman was dismantled, becoming a pile of snow rubble. Powers said he didn't plan to rebuild.
The mayor's office on Tuesday issued a statement defending its move against Snowzilla.
"This property owner has repeatedly ignored city attempts to find ways to accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood," the statement from Mayor Mark Begich's office said.
"This is a neighborhood of small homes on small lots connected by small streets. It can't support the volume of traffic and revelers that are interested in Snowzilla."
The mayor's office says Powers appears to run a large junk and salvage operation from his home. He has violated land use codes for 13 years, the city said. He owes the city more than $100,000 in fines and other assessments.
Powers said it is the city that has been difficult, not him.
"I have absolutely over the years, I have tried to jump through every goofy hoop they have sent to me. I have never been confrontational and it goes on and on and on and it is so goofy," he said. "Some of it is unfounded, some is just outrageous."
The city said it did not expect to take any further action until after Christmas.
Comment