A story in today's Calgary Herald about an art store owner that put up a replica of a Michelangelo Sistine Chapel scene only to have the city tell him he needs a permit or have the art removed:
A southeast business owner is frustrated that after spending more than $10,000 to have a mural painted on his store windows the city is telling him it has to come off.
Doug Swinton, who twice applied for a permit for the painting after it was up -- at a cost of about $1,200 -- said both were rejected by city planners and he's been told he could face fines--ranging from $1,500 to $3,000--if it's not removed.
"I assumed common sense would prevail," the owner of Swinton's Art Supply and Instruction said. "I forgot, it's the city.
But don't worry, Calgary's land-use bylaw sustainment team is "currently reviewing the sign section" and some latitude may yet be granted to Swinton, who started a petition to keep his art 'signage'.
