Realtor Sues Because Neighbor’s House is Ugly. World Says WTF?

There’s this woman, a realtor named Gail Wiesner, who sued her across the street neighbor-to-be, architect Louis Cherry, and filed a number of appeals with the city of Raleigh, North Carolina to halt construction on his modernist house because – get this – she didn’t like the way it looked.

Through a series of protracted appeals, the neighbor has been successful in getting the city to reverse its approval of Mr. Cherry’s permit. The house passed its building inspections and is 85 percent complete, yet sits empty, its future dependent on who finally wins a legal battle that never should have been allowed to happen. – Don’t Like Your Neighbor’s House? Sue Them – New York Times

I encourage you to click this link to read the article.

And here is a video of Ms. Wiesner expressing her deep concerns at a city council meeting:

It strikes me that there must be better things for Ms. Wiesner to focus on in her community besides a house she may find visually unappealing. Since Ms. Wiesner is a realtor, here are a few that might be right up her alley:

• Helping homeless families
• Volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity store
• Organizing a block party to introduce her new neighbor to the community (if his house ever gets completed, of course)
• Creating a task force to patrol her neighborhood for criminal activity
• Forming a community garden in a local park to grow healthy fruits and vegetables for all to enjoy

Wouldn’t you think that, living in an eclectic and historic community like she does, Ms. Wiesner would be excited about the addition of something new and, well, modern on her street? Wouldn’t it make sense that a realtor, someone who’s very livelihood depends on good will and positive relationships within her community, might be cautious about suing a new neighbor because she thinks his house is ugly? As the head of Preservation North Carolina, Myrick Howard said about Ms Wiesner’s concerns about a modernist house ruining not only the aesthetics but the home values in her neighborhood:

Ms. Wiesner, who works in real estate, has also argued that having a modern house on the block will adversely affect the resale value of her own home. Here, too, Mr. Howard begs to differ: “The Cherry house doesn’t bring her property value down; in fact, it probably has a more positive affect on the neighborhood than Wiesner’s. Her house is two-thirds bungalow and one-third Victorian cottage. This is like putting strawberries and broccoli in the blender together. I love strawberries and I love broccoli, but not together.”

Here is a photo of Ms. Wiesner’s home courtesy Zillow.com:

Here is Mr. Cherry’s home (unfinished) courtesy Louischerry.com.

Mr Cherry’s house looks quite nice to me.  But who knows, maybe I have bad taste?