TARADALE BLOKE REPORTS NEIGHBOUR'S KID'S CHALK RAINBOW AS "UNLICENSED ROAD ART"
The artist is seven. The complainant has a tape measure and a printout of the wrong bylaw.
A chalk drawing on a Taradale driveway has copped a hand-delivered letter from the neighbour describing it as "unlicensed road art" requiring "immediate removal pending council approval".
The drawing, a rainbow with a wonky sun, was done Sunday by Mia Whitmore, 7, on her own family's driveway off Gloucester Street. The letter arrived Monday, single-spaced, with a highlighted section of the Napier City Council nuisance bylaw stapled to the back.
"He's measured it," said Mia's mum, Kirsten Whitmore, holding up the letter. "There's a diagram. He's written 'approx. 2.4m x 1.8m, encroaching aesthetic'. Encroaching aesthetic. On my own concrete."
The neighbour, who signed the letter only as "a concerned ratepayer of 22 years", told The Daily Yarn he stood by every word. "It's the principle. Today it's a rainbow. Tomorrow it's hopscotch. Then where are we? Hastings."
A Napier City Council spokesperson confirmed there is no bylaw covering chalk on private driveways and that the highlighted section referred to abandoned vehicles. "We did get a follow-up email," she added. "He's citing the Resource Management Act now."
Mia has since added a second rainbow, a cat, and the words "HI BRIAN" in pink chalk facing the fence. Rain is forecast Thursday.
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Reader Letters
Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, the only chalk crime was if you didn't share the colours. Kids these days can't catch a break!
Trevor_Taradale
Bloody love this. Got to keep the streets free from hazardous rainbows! Next we're probably banning hopscotch for causing heart palpitations.
Margaret_Napier
I've lived in Taradale for 15 years. Whoever wrote this is missing the entire point of community. You're what's wrong with neighbourhoods.
ratepayer12
Well, maybe Brian's got a point. What if everyone starts with chalk and ends with spray paint everywhere? Chaos!
kiwipedant
Actually, the bylaw he cited is for vehicles, not chalk. He needs a new pair of glasses.
DavetheBrave
@kiwipedant yeah mate, but don't you think it's funny he got it all wrong? Imagine the council’s face getting that email!
couchgremlin
Rain will sort it. Lol.