Slog Comments
Leschi Property Owners Taunt Angry Neighbors and Government with Sign Telling Obama to "Kiss Our Booty"
1
So I guess they airlifted all the materials in? They're collecting their own rainwater and are producing their own electricity?
2
Talk about an effin ugly-ass house. So what we can draw from this is that the owner is both clueless AND tasteless...
3
They built the road that leads to their home? They built the sewer system? The water system? They won’t ever call the police or Fire Department?
4
Park blocking their driveway and see if they still care about not using government-provided resources.
6
If it makes you feel any better, the owner is only doing this because they are politically powerless. Imagine how irritated you'd be if you lived in a district, city, county, and state that all went consistently Republican regardless of your vote, and no amount of campaigning would change it. I understand the frustration, and I get why they're lashing out, as silly as the actual logic is behind the words on the sign.
7
I feel really bad for the neighbors, having to live next door to tasteless douchebags. Spaan et al must be horrible people.
8
sweet.
someone expresses an opinion we don't like so we sic the zoning bureaucracy on them?
nice asshole move.
not as dramatic as Kristallnacht but nice just the same......
someone expresses an opinion we don't like so we sic the zoning bureaucracy on them?
nice asshole move.
not as dramatic as Kristallnacht but nice just the same......
9
If they're so unhappy with government interference in their lives, perhaps they'd prefer to build their house in a less-government-interfering place:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/africa/…
Just be sure to leave enough room for the machine gun bunkers.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/africa/…
Just be sure to leave enough room for the machine gun bunkers.
11
A house like that is like a blinged out Honda Civic with the hood painted black, a giant wing, and a fart cannon muffler. Owning such a thing is its own punishment.
The other thing: every time that guy finds a cracked window or steps in dog poop or gets a flat or a package delivery disappears off the doorstep, he has to wonder, "Just bad luck? Or one of my many, many enemies that surround my house? Which is it? Which?"
Living like that, worrying all the time, can drive a guy mad. The paranoia feeds on itself and grows to encompass everything.
The other thing: every time that guy finds a cracked window or steps in dog poop or gets a flat or a package delivery disappears off the doorstep, he has to wonder, "Just bad luck? Or one of my many, many enemies that surround my house? Which is it? Which?"
Living like that, worrying all the time, can drive a guy mad. The paranoia feeds on itself and grows to encompass everything.
12
Also, Seattle wouldn't have much need of architects or permit facilitators if it weren't for heavy government investment in Boeing (military and space, plus large subsidies for commercial), trucking (no Kenworth trucks without an interstate highway system to run them on), shipping (the container revolution would never have occurred without government subsidies and investment -- in fact, you could say that Seattle's shipping economy is largely the result of the Vietnam War). Just to name a few.
And that house is pure ass.
And that house is pure ass.
13
"and...In SPITE of gov't interference"
Does that mean they haven't gotten the necessary permits to build that thing? Hmmmm.
Does that mean they haven't gotten the necessary permits to build that thing? Hmmmm.
15
i'm not surprised... spaan's 'developments' around the city are architectural abominations. that his pathetically-designed house looks like something a morbidly obese romney supporter dropped out of his blood-streaked sphincter shouldn't surprise anyone, either. if you ever wondered what 'D+/C-' architecture grads pumped out - this is a prime example. gross. i actually respect dan duffus compared to this asshat.
also, someone should tell the douchebigot that one house is not 'housing'. my guess is they recycled it from a development that fell through, hopefully going to an architect who knows what he's doing - and not just throwing up tasteless schlock.
also, someone should tell the douchebigot that one house is not 'housing'. my guess is they recycled it from a development that fell through, hopefully going to an architect who knows what he's doing - and not just throwing up tasteless schlock.
16
What's with the weird curvature on the top right? Is he opening a Bank of America branch on top of his house or something?
Free speech is a wonderful thing. It allows you to see how truly ignorant some people are.
This guy bitches about "gov't interference" yet works as a permit facilitator. Newsflash, asshat: without your so-called "gov't interference" you wouldn't have made the money to build your garish home in the first place.
Free speech is a wonderful thing. It allows you to see how truly ignorant some people are.
This guy bitches about "gov't interference" yet works as a permit facilitator. Newsflash, asshat: without your so-called "gov't interference" you wouldn't have made the money to build your garish home in the first place.
18
I've got to wonder if he has a mortgage on the home and, if so, if he takes the home mortgage deduction on his taxes. If so, it was certainly built with government help.
20
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to"
- Dorothy Parker.
- Dorothy Parker.
21
I'm jealous of the neighbors.
I wish everyone in my neighborhood would simply put out big signs that essentially read "I am stupid" so I know who to stop pretending to be friends with.
I wish everyone in my neighborhood would simply put out big signs that essentially read "I am stupid" so I know who to stop pretending to be friends with.
23
So are Randall Spann and Betty Lock living in sin, or are they some sort of progressive couple that doesn't believe in paying for new business cards? That doesn't sound like the kind of person that would vote for Mitt.
And isn't "Permit Facilitator" just another term for "bribe monkey"?
Regardless, this is certainly the kind of asshole who will hire a lawyer to send you a nastygram. Please post when received.
And isn't "Permit Facilitator" just another term for "bribe monkey"?
Regardless, this is certainly the kind of asshole who will hire a lawyer to send you a nastygram. Please post when received.
25
You can bet they'd be the first to go complain to the KC permit office if one of their neighbors started a remodel that blocked their precious views.
29
So, if somebody defaced their house, they wouldn't call the cops because the police is government assistance...right?
30
silly little people on an equally silly parcel in an undesirable location in Leschi. ahhh....all's well in the hood. lived in Leschi 30yrs and this is the most tacky/sad design effort i've witnessed. red robin gone bad, horribly dated and cheap. tag....?
31
OH NO!
Not people doing what they want with their own property!
Better call some government bureaucrats!
Not people doing what they want with their own property!
Better call some government bureaucrats!
34
Oh yes, those terrible bureaucrats....
This may be an inconvenient truth to the simple-minded, but regulations exist for three reasons
1.) enough people complained about how ugly or weird something was, so the offense was put into some sort of code.
2.) enough people died or were injured, or enough property was damaged by something, that the offense was put into some sort of code.
3.) an industry was affected enough by something that they lobbied for something to be put in a code.
The people building this vulgar "home", are entitled to their opinion, as long as it stays within the citizen-developed code for signage in residential areas, which their petulant little sign does. They can build as tacky a house as they want, as long as it stays within the citizen-developed zoning for residential neighborhoods. The rest of the regulations (structural, electrical, plumbing, etc) are there to protect the property owners (and their neighbors, their mortgage holder, and their insurer) from themselves.
They can play victim until the cows come home, but that's the way the world works - at least in the parts of the country where people are of normal intelligence. Someday, when they own a house of their own, some of our more naive posters will realize that. The trolls are a lost cause.
This may be an inconvenient truth to the simple-minded, but regulations exist for three reasons
1.) enough people complained about how ugly or weird something was, so the offense was put into some sort of code.
2.) enough people died or were injured, or enough property was damaged by something, that the offense was put into some sort of code.
3.) an industry was affected enough by something that they lobbied for something to be put in a code.
The people building this vulgar "home", are entitled to their opinion, as long as it stays within the citizen-developed code for signage in residential areas, which their petulant little sign does. They can build as tacky a house as they want, as long as it stays within the citizen-developed zoning for residential neighborhoods. The rest of the regulations (structural, electrical, plumbing, etc) are there to protect the property owners (and their neighbors, their mortgage holder, and their insurer) from themselves.
They can play victim until the cows come home, but that's the way the world works - at least in the parts of the country where people are of normal intelligence. Someday, when they own a house of their own, some of our more naive posters will realize that. The trolls are a lost cause.
35
When I moved out here many years ago, one of my coworkers at my first job bought a duplex on Queen Anne with a Randall Spaan. He was an architect; it must be the same guy.
38
The mention of Obama is puzzling. Just about any alleged burden these wackos would encounter (e.g. getting the right building permits) is sure to be a city/county issue, not a federal one. An Obama presidency has no bearing on the permitting process, height limits, setback requirements, etc. Idiots.
39
Does anyone use google anymore? He's not a developer, he's a developer. And that alone will tell you all you need to know.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Randall+…
https://www.google.com/search?q=Randall+…
40
Doesn't anyone google anymore? He's not an architect, he's a developer. And that bit alone will tell you all you need to know.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Randall+…
https://www.google.com/search?q=Randall+…
42
I'm sure he would prefer it if there were no zoning laws. Right up until Walmart bought up his neighbors homes (since their property value dropped due to his ugly monstrosity) and build a new superstore next to his house.
44
Yay for free speech! It would be great for others to express their free speech on the sidewalk in front of this P.O.S's house. Asshole.
45
What's the point of building somthing that ugly.? It's like a bad make up job. Instead of going easy and taking some off some people tend to just keep caking it on hoping that it will look better. It's possible somthing similar is going on here.
46
45: All conservatives understand is "accumulation." They think that buying a big, ugly McMansion or big, ugly SUV means that they're living like kings, even if said house or SUV is in shitty shape and cost way more than it's worth. They don't want to live well; they want their neighbors to THINK they're living well. It's really sad when you think about it.
It's like a morbidly obese man bragging that he eats more food than you.
It's like a morbidly obese man bragging that he eats more food than you.
47
Everyone who posted to this article should stop by 333 Lakeside Ave. S. to check out their fugly home. It is reported that Betty Lock works for a government agency. Bite the hand that f*&%ing feeds you! Nice, eh?
48
How about a flash mob for everyone to show up at 333 Lakeside Ave. S. to check out this fugly monstrous "home". On top of it all and their banner, it is reported that Betty Lock works for a government agency. Bite the hand that f*&%ing hand that feeds you assholes! Nice, eh?
50
He is NOT an architect. He is a builder who does some of his own drawings and masquerades his 'talents' as an architect. From what I understand, he unethically and possibly illegally uses this term. I know this because I was once involved in an appeal with this guy and the opposing council made quite a big deal of Mr. Spawn (oops, Freudian slip) using this label. If I were an architect, I would be incredibly insulted to be grouped in with this guy.
51
Correct, canamian. My husband, who is an architect, and thinks both the house and sign are offensive, looked him up on WA DOL website. He is not licensed.
52
Apparently all of the foregoing commenters have been living under a rock and aren't aware of Obama's infamous "You didn't building that" speech. Sheesh! But it figures: The commenters are the regular (and predictable) readership of The Stranger, after all!
53
Hey Buddy Boy, we certainly are aware of it enough to know that you have no idea what that speech was about. Obama was talking about the roads and infrastructure that government built in order to enable said businesses to thrive. The Republican Party was counting on your continued ignorance that you wouldn't delve any further than the superficial "You didn't build that" in the Republicans' misleading ad. Vote GOP & stick your head in the sand if that's what makes you feel better, but you won't get any smarter.
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