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West Hills Residents Say Neighbor's Giant Lawn Cross is a Sin Against Property Values

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A 72 year old woman named Laly Dobener is driving her neighborhood crazy up in West Hills over a cross in her yard--a 24 foot tall blue and white cross, with a sign reading "Jesus I trust in you," and painted-on drops of blood in the places Jesus' hands and feet would have been nailed, "according to biblical accounts of his crucifixion," as the Daily News reports. The cross carefully follows the guidelines of a Christian sect called Cross of Love, which is credited with putting up thousands of identical crosses around the world. But France and Argentina probably haven't seen the likes of Valley property owners, who are concerned that the cross and the people who come to gawk at it are driving down their property values. The Department of Building and Safety is set to consider this week if it'll let Dobener keep the cross; that could depend largely on whether it's a structure or a sign. There might be an unlikely lead to follow in Burbank, where a couple of weekend pirates got their large-masted boat permitted as a flagpole with accessory structure.
· Two-story cross has neighbors fuming [LADN]
· How to Permit Your Backyard Pirate Ship in Burbank [Curbed LA]