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SEQUIM, Wash. -- It's mostly lavender, with fuchsia trim.
It's safe to say the neighbors don't like this garage/apartment in Sequim.
"It has become the focus of the community," said Brian Juel, who's view now includes the purple building. "Instead of looking at this view we're looking at this house."
But instead of letting it be, they're taking their dislike to a whole new level. Blame the bad economy or the poor housing market -- two dozen neighbors claim all the purple is driving down the value of their homes.
They've signed a petition asking the Clallam County assessor to give them a break on their property taxes because of the boldly colored home nearby.
Andrea Taylor lives next door and every day she opens her curtains and there it is.
"It's taken away from the whole character of the neighborhood," she said of the home. "When we look out and see the pristine, calm quiet and your eyes are just drawn to this purple blob."
Juel said he hasn't had much luck talking with the owners of the purple home.
"Basically it's a one-way discussion -- they haven't returned my e-mails," he said. "We've talked about individual rights but, you know, the rights of the community are kind of trespassed here, also."
Neighbors say the owners live in California and decided to style the exterior after victorian row houses in San Francisco. The owners also plan to build a new victorian home next door in a few years.
No one has moved in and the owners could not be reached for comment.
No covenants exist in this community to force the owners to change their decor. And, after all, beauty is in the eye of - in this case - the owner.
Getting the county assessor to reassess the land in the area could be very difficult to do. Even if the assessor agrees to evaluate the properties, it may not happen until 2010.
Purple home has neighbors seeing red | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional
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