Yabba-dabba victory for Flintstones-themed house owner
Fang didn’t flinch when her neighbours took her to court over her Flintstones-inspired home – now Fred and the rest of his crew can officially stay
NOW this is worthy of shouting “Yabba Dabba Doo” from the domed rooftops. After years of fighting for the right to turn her home into a shrine to Fred Flintstone and his merry band of family and friends, this woman has finally won.
Florence Fang’s quirky property – complete with a collection of giant dinosaurs; oversized mushrooms; and life-sized statues of Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty Rubble – is her pride and joy.
Also filling the yard are an astronaut, a moon rover, a spaceship and The Great Gazoo – the name of the alien who crashed to Earth during the final season of the hit 1960s cartoon show. A giraffe, a woolly mammoth, Bigfoot, a few ornamental pigs and a rainbow complete the wacky wonderland.
“I wanted to decorate my garden with the past and the future combined in harmony,” Florence says. “That’s why I put the rainbow there.”
But for her neighbours, there was no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow – in fact, to them the place produced the kind of headache you might get from being hit over the pip with a Stone Age club.
Florence’s home, in Hillsborough, CaliFlorence fornia, in the San Francisco Bay Area, quickly became quite the tourist attraction and throngs of people regularly descended on the area, disturbing the peace in the genteel, sleepy little hollow.
Residents also felt the strange structure and Fred and the gang were an eyesore and not in keeping with the aesthetics of the neighbourhood.
In fact, they were so offended by Florence’s house they took her to court about it.
Residents argued in their lawsuits that her dwelling was a public nuisance and claimed renovations to the hilltop house were made without the necessary permits. Even a “Yabba Dabba Doo” sign she’d erected in her garden had to go, they said. And those dinosaurs! Urgh.
The community has tried to put a stop to Florence’s additions and renovations since December 2017, but she’s fought them tooth and nail every step of the way.
The 88-year-old, a businesswoman of
Chinese origin who used to own two local newspapers, refused to give up her fantasy home and countersued Hillsborough on grounds of discrimination. The city, she claimed, blocked her permits based on her nationality.
After a lengthy court battle, she recently came out tops after settling her lawsuit with the town. Not only will Florence get to keep the renovations she’s made to the Flintstone House, as it’s known, but she will also receive $125 000 (R1,7 million) from the town to cover her legal costs.
“I think the dinosaurs are beautiful,” her grandson, Sean Fang, says. “They make everyone smile and should stay.”
F
LORENCE fell in love with the house the second she saw it. Architect William Nicholson created the unusual dwelling in the 1970s by spray-painting dry concrete over a structure moulded from giant aeronautical balloons, wire mesh and reinforced steel.
For years it sat without a buyer until Florence scooped it up in 2017 for $2,8m (R36,4m). At first, she wanted to plant cherry blossoms but felt they didn’t fit in with the feel of the cave-like home. Inspiration struck when she was watching her favourite cartoon.
“The first episode has Fred with Dino, and I said, ‘Dino should be here, Fred should be here’,” she recalls.
Her problems started when she began adding the whimsical decorations to her property. Florence says she interacted with town officials 44 times while trying to obtain the proper permits for her “landscaping art”.
At one point, the town lawyer pressured her to paint all the mushrooms the same colour. “Every time I complied with their request, they moved the goalpost.”
In 2019 she was hauled before Hillsborough’s administrative hearing panel, established to enhance the town’s natural beauty. They found Florence had violated the town’s code as the additions were “intrusive” and imposed on many other properties and views.
Florence was ordered to pay a fine and remove the additions. She paid but refused to take anything down.
Then she took them to court, arguing for the right to decorate her yard to her heart’s content.
It’s taken nearly two years, but Florence’s victory means she now gets to keep her dinosaur statues and caveman-themed cartoon sculptures.
However, the settlement stipulates the town will review and approve any further landscaping improvements. In turn, Florence will apply for all future building permits.
She’s prepared to do what it takes to appease everyone and live in the home she calls “my happy place”.
“I just want my peaceful life,” she says. “I’m a very, very regular retired old lady. But of course, a little different. I have all kinds of dreams.”