Playing Patticakes
County officials say shop owner must pay up or his mural has to go
By André Coleman 05/19/2011
After threatening to shutter multiple businesses in Altadena for slight infractions, which could cost those owners thousands of dollars for new conditional use permits, LA County inspectors are at it again, this time threatening to fine Mike McLellan, owner of Patticakes on New York Drive and Allen Avenue, $1,000 per day if he doesn’t paint over a mural depicting coffee and muffins.
The controversy started last month, after McLellan received a visit from county code inspectors, who claimed that the mural is street advertising, which is illegal in Altadena — even though it is located in the parking lot and does not have the business’ name on it. The inspectors demanded that it be removed.
“They told me I had two options,” McLellan told the Weekly. “I told them I did not want to get rid of it. The letter said I had to comply within 30 days and take it down or I would be fined 1,000 a day. The only other option was a variance meeting, and they said it would cost $8,580 just to have the hearing. That money is not refundable. I don’t have that kind of money to just give away. I don’t want to put a spin on it, but it just kind of seems like a money grab.”
McClellan commissioned local artist Bill Madrid to do the mural after taggers began painting graffiti on the wall. Three hundred customers have signed a petition supporting McLellan.
Earlier this year, code enforcement officials shut down Danny’s Farm, named for the son of former Dodger pitching ace now-Angels coach Jim Gott and his wife Cathy, who started a petting zoo for their son and other autistic people.
In February, code enforcement attempted to shut down Food Truck Fridays being held at Webster’s Pharmacy.
In March, the county threatened to shut down the Coffee Gallery Backstage for performing poetry and music on the front stage without a permit. Two fundraisers raised the necessary fees for the Coffee Gallery. Webster’s obtained a temporary operating permit.
According to Tony Bell, spokesman for Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area, the businesses are not being targeted. Instead, code enforcement is responding to citizen complaints in the area.
“These are all businesses that found a way to combat the bad economic atmosphere businesses are facing,” said Tim Rutt, who runs Altadenablog.com, where angry residents have posted complaints about the inspectors.
“What the county is doing is ridiculous. I can hear it now. When [McLellan] gets to jail, someone will ask him what he is in for and he will say, ‘I had muffins on my wall,’” Rutt said.
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HEY!
The County and it's oligarchy of supervisors KNOW what good living is. During the "good times," they set themselves up as benevolent tyrants. Unfortunately, the bad times have taken over. Joblessness is rampant, and our Federal Government has allowed most of the best-paying jobs in America to get transferred past America's borders, where they are now somewhere a third-world location's best paying jobs. In a grand orgy of globalist economic treason, Americans are forever even getting screwed bluer in the face. Of course, whenever bad times dominate, benevolence evaporates (though the tyranny remains), as this prime example illustrates.
No jobs, no industry, no revenue, no taxes. Well, almost no taxes. The only "profitable" tax the government has left in order to collect the not insignificant funds needed to sustain the salaries of its own top one-percent (including its revenue-seizing jackboots) is THE PUNITIVE TAX. After all, its all our responsibility to continue sending their oligarchy's progeny to the finest schools, and they certainly can't do that on a post-middle class American salary.
After all, as said in the voice of Judge Dredd, THEY ARE THE LAW (and they've got militarily weaponized, SWAT-quality, government gangbanging revenue-collectors hiding behind badges to prove it)!
DanD