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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| There goes the neighborhood (heh) |
| 2005-07-30 |
| Things got ugly after Daryl R. Cook's neighbors turned against him. Really ugly. Cook spray-painted his Dunwoody ranch house bright orange and blue. After all, he's a University of Florida graduate. But he wasn't done. Next came the farm animals, some named after famous UF athletes and coaches. Three pigs — Spottie, Dottie and Sausage Patty — root through the dirt in the shade of the house. A trio of goats, known as Donovan and the Gatorettes, keep them company. Spurrier the rooster struts around crowing at all hours. Blue-and-orange concrete alligators, Cook's version of lawn ornaments, dot the landscape. And finally, he put up a large "For Sale" sign right out front that proclaimed his property "the Swamp of Dunwoody." All this nastiness stems from a rezoning case Cook lost in February. He wanted to tear down his house and build two large new ones on his Dunwoody Club Drive property. The road runs along the border between Fulton and DeKalb counties. His neighbors and another builder opposed him and won, leaving Cook stuck with land zoned for agricultural uses. So Cook decided that if his neighbors wanted agriculture, he would give it to them. All the way. "A lot of folks call it sour grapes, and maybe it is, but it is my property," said Cook, 45, the head of an Atlanta-based civil engineering firm and a member of Fulton County's Development Advisory Committee. "I see it as a bit of a civil protest at this point. I feel like I was wronged. I am stating my protest in a legal and civil way. But at 45, it could be a midlife crisis. Who knows?" People just don't do things like this in Cook's affluent neighborhood. All around him, doctors and business executives live in mansions surrounded by expertly landscaped grounds. Bill Grant, a fellow builder, has cleared land next to Cook's property for houses that will start at $1.3 million. Meanwhile, neighbors have complained to the county about Cook cutting down his trees, leaving the logs in his yard, and erecting illegal "Keep Out" and "Free Firewood" signs. They say his house is unsightly. They worry that it will drag down their property values. And they say Spurrier the rooster's racket wakes them up too early. "Usually on Saturday mornings I put a pillow over my head," said Dara Nicholson, a real estate executive whose pool patio looks out onto the orange-and-blue house and the tangled mass of cut tree limbs in Cook's back yard. "I'm a big supporter of my school," added Nicholson, a University of Florida alumna. "I just think it's a little overpowering for my neighborhood. I've lived in the area for about 23 years now, and that takes the cake." Fulton County has written up Cook at least twice for code violations. One was for illegal signs, which he took down. The other was for an accumulation of tree debris, which a neighbor says is causing drainage problems in her back yard. That violation notice landed in Cook's orange mailbox last week. Cook said he planned to clean up the debris. His house is not part of a subdivision with neighborhood rules for house colors. And county officials say they are powerless to do anything about the animals, since the land is still zoned for agriculture. Homeowners like Cook have been retaliating against staider neighbors and government for ages. Some build tall barriers around their homes, nicknamed "spite fences." Others blare loud music. Still others get a little more creative. About two years ago, an Avondale Estates man had his house painted lime green with purple polka dots. He was protesting a city historic preservation panel's rejection of his plan to add a rounded stoop to his house. Eventually the small city in central DeKalb County reversed course and approved his plan, ending the standoff. Cook's case is the most extreme Fulton officials have seen. His troubles started after he bought his 1.1-acre lot in September for $292,500. He hired an attorney and applied to the county that same month to rezone the land from agricultural to residential. He wanted to build two homes with a shared driveway and sell them for over $800,000 apiece. He said he spent about $10,000 in legal fees and other expenses. The county's development staff recommended in favor of his rezoning. But Grant and surrounding neighbors — backed by the Dunwoody Homeowners Association — turned out against him. They pointed out that the county's land use plan calls for no more than one house per acre in that area. They didn't want the county to open the door to denser development. "He is just a mad developer who didn't get his way," said Ken Wright, president of the homeowners association. "He hired a high-priced attorney. And we are just lowly volunteers on a homeowners group. And Fulton County agreed with us and denied him the zoning. ? One for the small guy. I love it. I wish it happened more." At the rezoning hearings, Cook's lawyer pointed out that Fulton had approved plans for slightly more houses per acre in nearby areas, including Grant's property. But the county shot Cook down anyway, leaving his land zoned agricultural and sandwiched between one neighborhood and a developing one. During a recent tour of his property with a visitor, Cook discovered one of the pigs had escaped her pen while he was at work. She had wandered into the garage and knocked over a metal garbage can full of pig feed. "It's OK. Come on. You have to get back into your pen, honey," he told her sweetly. Then he pounced on her, grabbing her round the middle. But she wiggled away with an insistent snort. Watching from the other side of the fence, the other two pigs squealed with excitement. Finally, Cook caught the runaway, heaved her up, and gently placed her in her pen. The Jacksonville native dreams of retiring one day and moving to the Georgia or North Carolina mountains. But for the foreseeable future, he says, he plans to stay at Dunwoody Swamp. He says it will remain the way it is until Grant and his neighbors reverse themselves and endorse his rezoning plans. In the meantime, he has other ideas for the property. He wants to plant wax beans, beets, corn and squash. And maybe he will bring in some more animals. Perhaps a peacock. Something colorful. Something showy. |
| Posted by:fond of animals |
| #11 Cook spray-painted his Dunwoody ranch house bright orange and blue. After all, he's a University of Florida graduate. Now what we have here is a man with good taste. Don'right classy, I say. Go Gators! |
| Posted by: DragonFly 2005-07-30 18:49 |
| #10 It's not quiet so repetitive as that.... but it sounds like HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP HEEEEEEEEEEEEEP ME HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP Similar to the call of a girlish troll. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-30 17:13 |
| #9 You got it mo |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-30 17:11 |
| #8 You got it mo |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-30 17:11 |
| #7 They also set up an unholy racket at the slightest disturbance. Very good burglar alarms. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-07-30 16:57 |
| #6 They also set up an unholy racket at the slightest disturbance. Very good burglar alarms. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-07-30 16:56 |
| #5 Peacocks are not only loud. They tend to be invasive, regarding the surrounding property as part of their own territory, perching on cars and in shrubbery, and pooping everywhere. Rather like very large geese, in fact. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-07-30 13:23 |
| #4 Or a turkey farm. Ever seen and smelled one of those? Unbelievable. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-30 09:40 |
| #3 He should turn it into a pig farm. Neighbors love pig farms - they leave a certain aroma in the air.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-07-30 09:35 |
| #2 "Perhaps a peacock. Something colorful. Something showy ...and a real loud sonofabitch ! I like this guy's style. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2005-07-30 09:30 |
| #1 LOL! Wish they talked about the two hi-po Blue & Orange Massey Fergusons..... Jeebus, likely fresh from Newberry. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-30 08:39 |