Fred Flintstone House Finds Justice After Being Called An ‘Eyesore’

The owner of the affectionately named Fred Flintstone house will get to keep her dinosaur sculptures and Stone Age-style landscaping after a lawsuit with the town of Hillsborough, California, was quietly settled.

In 2017, a Hillsborough code enforcement officer claimed that the owner of the Flintstone House, Florence Fang, violated local code by making changes to her property by adding large metal dinosaur sculptures and landscaping additions without permits.

Town officials also took issue with a sign that Fang posted that read “Yabba Dabba Doo,” Flintstone characters, a staircase, a parking strip, a deck, and other changes that are made to her front and backyard, The Palo Alto Post reported.

Due to the changes allegedly covering more than 10,000 square feet of the property, Hillsborough officials determined that planning department approval was needed for the changes, court documents in the lawsuit from March 2019 as reported by The Palo Alto Post said.

Three “stop work” orders were issued to Fang by the town, eventually leading to the lawsuit against her, according to the news outlet.

Fang countersued the town, saying she was discriminated against based on her race because she is Chinese. Fang defended her rights to display the Flintstone sculptures inspired by the 1960s cartoon as well as other creations she deemed fit for the property.

The town of Hillsborough, however, called the dinosaurs and life-size sculptures “a highly visible eyesore” declaring it a public nuisance, the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP, Mark Hudak, an attorney for Hillsborough, previously said, the town prides itself on its rural, woodsy feels. He continued by saying that there are rules in place “so neighbors don’t have to look at your version of what you would like to have and you don’t have to look at theirs.”

The lawsuit between Hillsborough and Fang was settled, with the town ordered to pay Fang $125,000 for her legal expenses, according to The Palo Alto Post. In return, Fang will drop her suit against the town, but she does have to apply for new permits for her backyard changes. However, they will be automatically approved, the news outlet said.