Alaska officials condemn 'Snowzilla' to melt

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, December 23rd 2008, 11:58 AM
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/12/24/amd_snowzilla.jpg
Grillo/AP The annual Anchorage, Alaska Snowzilla sculpture



Snowzilla is no more.

Municipal officials in Anchorage (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Anchorage) have given a cease-and-desist order to builders of the giant snowman that made appearances the last three years in an east Anchorage neighborhood.

The giant snowman was a favorite for photographers and camera crews from Russia (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Russia) and Japan (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Japan) filmed the temporary sculpture.
Snowzilla in 2005 rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.

He was built in the front yard of the Powers family home and Billy Powers (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Billy+Powers) said his children collected snow from neighbors homes to add to the height and breadth.

The snowman was built even higher in succeeding years, but not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.
City officials deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A few weeks ago, code enforcers left red signs at Snowzilla's bottom body ball telling its builders to cease and desist.

The city also tacked a public notice on the door of the Powers home. City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.

When the notices went up, Snowzilla still didn't have a full torso or head.
"The kids had spent hours and hours of work on it," Billy Powers said Sunday.
Now, Snowzilla is just a big pile of snow rubble.
Powers said he doesn't plan to rebuild.

Merry freakin' Xmas. Nice to nice their politicians are the same as ours, "a public nuisance". I'll bet they pay for advertising, yet don't want any free.
Reminds me of kids who are jealous of the neighbors snowman, and go kick it over.

Here's an update. He's bigger, faster, stronger. Yes, Virginia, we can rebuild him....

http://www.sacbee.com/989/story/1495858.html

Snowzilla rises again
By MARY PEMBERTON
Associated Press Writer
Published: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008

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.

"Have you seen him?" Powers asks. "He's handsome."

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.

Good...I'm glad to hear it's being remade :thumbsup: Screw those spoilsport polititions...man you give a little power to people and they turn into total Jerks...Snowzilla Rules :p
Mcdee

"The mayor's office says Powers appears to run a large junk and salvage operation from his home."

Mecha-Snowzilla?

Maybe if he accumulates enough junk he'll attract Snowthra....

Meanwhile, the AP has just released this photo of Mayor 'Big-Itch'...

http://www.twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/burgeomesiter1.jpg

I'm glad the residents of 'Sombertown' are rising up and revolting...

. . . City officials this year deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A cease-and-desist order was issued . . . "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."Jeez, you'd think people in Anchorage had never seen a snowman before!

Folks up the block from me built an 8-foot snowman this year.
Sadly it was unstable, and it fell over. I hope no poor unsuspecting woodchucks were crushed.