Polka dot house puts owner in tight spot with city planner

Jim Deitz, of Grand Forks, N.D., is raising eyebrows and some debate after he painted his house in polka dots. Would you mind if your neighbour did the same? (Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald/Associated Press)

By Associated Press

A North Dakota man is in a spot of trouble with his city's planner for painting one of his homes in polka dots.

Jim Deitz, a retired house painter in Grand Forks, put the finishing touches on the century-old, two-storey home on Tuesday. Passersby have gathered over the months to watch him work and to request colours from his palette of a dozen cans of brightly coloured paint.

"Pizza delivery drivers won't have any trouble finding this place," Deitz said of the home, which houses six apartments. "You can't miss it."

But Ryan Brooks, Grand Forks' senior planner, calls the polka-dotted house an eyesore.

"It's hard to say what this gentleman's true motives are," Brooks said. "I think my opinion is the same as everybody - I wouldn't want to be living next to it."

Grand Forks doesn't have a code forbidding homeowners from painting their houses in certain colours or schemes, however garish.

The house is next to a church, a fraternal organization building and a new low-income apartment complex.

Deitz insists the polka dots are meant simply to brighten up the neighbourhood.

Of the eight or so tenants living in the house, none minds the paint scheme, he said.

"I got people waiting in line to get in this place," he said.

Deitz researched several different paint jobs before picking the polka dots.

"I looked at all kinds of crazy paint jobs on the internet and came up with this polka dot deal," Deitz said. "She looks good."

Brooks believes the polka dots won't migrate to other neighbourhoods in the city.
 
"I don't see this as a trend because most people take a little pride in their homes," Brooks said. "The paint he's putting on that thing is the only thing new on it. It's in rough shape."

Do you have a neighbour whose house or property you find offensive? If so, describe it for us. How do you handle it? And has anybody ever suggested to you that your house or yard needs a spruce up? Share your stories and comments in the field below.


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