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WINDSOR, Colo. (KDVR) — A homeowner is hoping to keep a unique decoration he has had in his yard for months, despite a notice from his homeowners’ association requiring him to remove it.
Sean McGarry lives in the Raindance neighborhood in Windsor. He describes it as a fun place to live where everybody gets along.
“It’s just a fun, family-oriented neighborhood,” he said.
Toilet prank leads to new lawn decor
In October, he said some of his neighbors decided to play a prank on him.
“I just came home and there was a toilet in my yard, so I just decided to have fun with it,” McGarry said.
He decorated the toilet with a plastic skeleton sitting on it for Halloween.
“Everybody, that I know of, loved it. All the Facebook posts and the feedback I got was just incredible,” he said.
“I think it’s just because it’s super light-hearted and it gives you a laugh and it’s something that’s a little bit out of the ordinary,” neighbor Dorrie Freeland said.
McGarry said the response inspired him to keep the tradition alive. He decorated the toilet with turkeys for Thanksgiving, Santa Claus and reindeer for Christmas, and now it is set up as a kissing booth for Valentine’s Day.
HOA steps in with violation notice
He said he received a notice from his HOA on Feb. 7 that the toilet is in violation of its codes.
“Some neighbors don’t like it and think it’s inappropriate,” he said.
McGarry disagrees. He said he believes it fits into a gray area within the community rules and wants to find a solution to keep it.
He said he jokingly started a GoFundMe to help pay the costs of any HOA fines he may be given and for new decorations for upcoming holidays. He said the response had been surprising.
“Yeah, there’s people who want to petition to make it a monument in the neighborhood, like the first historical monument of Raindance,” he said.
“It’s something that our neighborhood will miss if he has to move it. I will miss seeing what he will do with it and I know a lot of other people will,” Freeland said.
McGarry said the silliness is simply to try and put a smile on the face of anyone who walks or drives by.
“My father died about 9 years ago and before he died, one of the last things he said was life must be lived, and it must contain laughter, and so I’ve taken that as a mission, personally, to make as many people smile and laugh as possible,” he said.