Teh One Who Knocks
09-25-2011, 12:43 PM
By Connie Llanos, Daily News Staff Writer
http://i.imgur.com/4Hr0Y.jpg
City officials said they will issue a zoning code citation to a West Hills widow who erected a 24-foot-high cross on her front lawn.
After receiving complaints from neighbors, Los Angeles Building and Safety inspectors visited the home of Laly Dobener on Thursday and determined that she had violated zoning laws by erecting an unpermitted structure, officials said.
"She has two options," Building and Safety spokesman Dave Lara said. "Option A is that she takes it down and Option B is that she tries to get a permit.
"If she wants to apply for the permit, though, she has to meet all design, building and zoning codes ... This is a public safety issue."
The 72-year-old retired baker faces an immediate fine of $336 and has 30 days to either dismantle the cross or obtain a permit. Failure to do so could result in up to some $3,000 in fines.
Dobener said she intends to file the paperwork to comply with city codes so she can keep the symbol of her strong Catholic faith.
"I don't want to take this cross down," she said. "To me it's an important symbol of my faith. It's not hurting anyone."
Her neighbors, however, say the cross has attracted numerous passers-by to the quiet cul-de-sac, and is driving down property values.
Dobener has said the cross is built according to specifications detailed by the "Cross of Love," a splinter religious movement to which she belongs.
This movement was launched in the 1980s by members of a church in Dozule, France, who said God told them in a series of apparitions to build crosses to ensure their salvation.
Dobener's white cross has drops of blood-red paint in the spots where Christ's hands and feet would have been nailed, and a crown of thorns rings its pinnacle.
A sign near the top reads, "Jesus I trust in you."
http://i.imgur.com/4Hr0Y.jpg
City officials said they will issue a zoning code citation to a West Hills widow who erected a 24-foot-high cross on her front lawn.
After receiving complaints from neighbors, Los Angeles Building and Safety inspectors visited the home of Laly Dobener on Thursday and determined that she had violated zoning laws by erecting an unpermitted structure, officials said.
"She has two options," Building and Safety spokesman Dave Lara said. "Option A is that she takes it down and Option B is that she tries to get a permit.
"If she wants to apply for the permit, though, she has to meet all design, building and zoning codes ... This is a public safety issue."
The 72-year-old retired baker faces an immediate fine of $336 and has 30 days to either dismantle the cross or obtain a permit. Failure to do so could result in up to some $3,000 in fines.
Dobener said she intends to file the paperwork to comply with city codes so she can keep the symbol of her strong Catholic faith.
"I don't want to take this cross down," she said. "To me it's an important symbol of my faith. It's not hurting anyone."
Her neighbors, however, say the cross has attracted numerous passers-by to the quiet cul-de-sac, and is driving down property values.
Dobener has said the cross is built according to specifications detailed by the "Cross of Love," a splinter religious movement to which she belongs.
This movement was launched in the 1980s by members of a church in Dozule, France, who said God told them in a series of apparitions to build crosses to ensure their salvation.
Dobener's white cross has drops of blood-red paint in the spots where Christ's hands and feet would have been nailed, and a crown of thorns rings its pinnacle.
A sign near the top reads, "Jesus I trust in you."