Fred Chapman says he used to swim in the fountain on his late mother's Atherton property, which he is now trying to sell.
Posted on 05/22/2005 1:19:32 PM PDT by SmithL
The real estate brochure advertising an Atherton home promised the buyer would own a part of local history. But at $3.5 million, Manuel Henriquez wasn't interested in the history. All he really wanted was the dirt: nearly one acre of land where he and his wife planned to build their dream house.
But now the history part of the deal -- a massive, century-old fountain in the middle of the property Henriquez wants to buy -- has become his white elephant in the garden. Even before closing the deal, he's spent thousands of dollars on legal fees, consultants, landscapers and a "fountainologist" to figure out what to do with an artifact -- a 130-year-old relic from one of Atherton's oldest and grandest estates -- he didn't want in the first place but could be stuck with. . . .
No one in Atherton -- ranked by Forbes magazine as the most affluent town in the country, based on home prices -- seemed to care about the house or the beautiful garden. But the fountain, which was all but forgotten for decades by most everyone but its owner, has become the cause celebre for the town's leading preservationist -- Marion Oster.
Oster has had her eye on the ornate fountain for years, and not just because she heads the Atherton Heritage Association. She has lived next door to the fountain for two dozen years and helped get it restored a decade ago. In fact, she had hoped one day to own the fountain and the property it sits on herself.
When another buyer came along, Oster says, she began to worry...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I have a solution: let the commie-crat Marion Oster BUY the fountain with HER OWN MONEY and PAY (with her own money) to have it moved onto HER OWN PROPERTY. If the landowner(s) where the fountain sits agree to this, it would be the only suitable solution for people who actually believe in freedom and property rights - other than letting the new owner dispose of the fountain however the h--- he pleases.
That would make way too much sense. She not only wants to protect the fountain, she wants to force the PROPERTY OWNER to protect it on the same property.
It sounds like the new owner is getting used to the idea of having the fountain. But what he will never get used to is having an ass for a neighbor.
Actually, Hernandez is lucky to have it. It's beautiful. If I bought property with something like that on it, I'd think I struck gold.
I think that it would be cool to own, too (although my homeowner's association would object to me putting it in my front yard). But should your neighbor have the right to insist that you keep it in your yard?
Bedford, NH - one of the wealthiest towns in the state - had similiar situation over a barn that was located next to a highway. The owner couldn't afford to maintain it. When it became unsafe, the decision was to sell the land to a developer. Some goofy bimbo decided the town needed to 'save' the barn to preserve the 'character' of the site.
It took a year or so of legal haggling but there is now a bank, drug store and commercial buildings on the site. None of them look much like a real working barn - the look is more like a SoHo architect's 'vision' of a barn - but some multiple thousands of tax dollars went into the fight rather than something foolish like the local school fund or anything like that.
This is really very simple, her bid was too low so she is using a polition on the Planing Commission to scuttle the deal and then mayby the next time her bid will win. This is simply extortion and any decent lawyer from Atherton should be able to rip her position apart.
I would leave the fountain in place and build my house around it.
This whole business is barbrastreisand. The fountain is Hernadez's to do with as he pleases. I hope he sells it and makes lots of money.
He should grow a pair and have it destroyed just to PO his commie neighbor. Now that would be something.
To me it's beautiful but if it's his property, he should be able to do what he wants with it.
Have a keg party for a local college and sweep the pieces of the damn thing in the dumpster the next morning.....oooops !
You're 100% correct. Screwing with those people would definately put a hurt on a building you might want to do but still, it would be cool.
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