HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — The town of Hillsborough, California, officially owes homeowner Florence Fang $125,000, ending a four-year dispute over the retired publishing mogul’s yard decor.
Fang, whose Bay Area home is commonly referred to as the “Flintstone House,” had been fighting alleged code violations levied by Hillsborough officials in late 2017, after she added large metal dinosaurs and “made other cartoon-like changes to her Berryessa Way property that can be seen from Interstate 280,” KNTV reported.
In addition to the dinosaurs, town officials took issue with a sign that reads “Yabba Dabba Doo,” figures of Flintstone characters, a staircase, a parking strip, a deck and other additions to the home’s front and back yards, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.
The town issued three stop-work orders, which the former owner of the Independent and Examiner newspapers disregarded, before filing a lawsuit in March 2019. The initial suit alleged that Fang should have sought planning department approval for the changes to more than 10,000 square feet of property, the Daily Post reported.
Meanwhile, Fang countersued the town, alleging discrimination because she is Chinese, the newspaper reported.
The settlement also mandates that when Fang files new permits for backyard changes at her home, they will be approved, KNTV reported.
In turn, Fang agreed to dismiss both the racial discrimination claim and her claims against two city employees whom she said impeded her initial permit attempts, the Daily Post reported.