Neighbors Upset Over Couple's 'Up'-Themed Home Renovations

A Santa Clara, Calif. family who painted their historical home to resemble the multi-colored house that’s carried away by balloons in the animated Disney-Pixar movie "Up" has upset their neighbors, who complain that the home looks like a “clown.”

Yahoo Shine could not reach the homeowners, Hosam Haggog and Fatima Rahman, for comment. Neighbors say the husband and wife spent the last two years renovating their four-bedroom,two-bath home, which they bought in 2011 for $415,000. The home is now valued at around $800,000, according to real estate site Zillow, and it sits on the oldest street in the city's Old Quad neighborhood, a stretch of 100-year-old Victorian homes, many worth $1 million or more. The couple says that they decided to give their home a makeover to please their two children, ages 18 months and 3 years old. "They love the movie 'Up' and we just thought we'd give them something fun to be proud of and actually all the kids in the neighborhood really love the colors," Haggog told local news affiliate KNTV.

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However, residents of the neighborhood are angry over the brightly colored house, which was changed from white to lime green, pale yellow, orange, and pink. “If the family wanted a modern home, they shouldn’t have bought one in this neighborhood," a neighbor who did not want to be identified, tells Yahoo Shine. "They say their kids want a fun home — so they’re going to destroy a historical home?”

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Neighbor Lou Faria, a member of the Old Quad Residents Association, told KNTV: "I don't think it fits in... It really, in my opinion, is atrocious that this Victorian is a gracious old lady and it's been painted up to look like a clown.”

Aside from the loud color scheme, neighborhood residents are also protesting the interior and exterior renovations the family is reportedly making to the home — replacing the porch, lifting the foundation of the home by 16 inches, and removing the elaborate banister on the grand staircase. According to Santa Clara historian Lorie Garcia, the couple is technically not breaking any rules, as long as they maintain the historical integrity of the home. But presently, the family’s specific plans are unclear — a situation that worries their neighbors, many of whom want to preserve the classic feeling of the street. “To be fair, when the family bought the home, it was in pretty poor condition,” Garcia tells Yahoo Shine. “However, to paint with colors like that …when I drove by, I felt like singing, ‘It’s a Small World.’”

Homeowners in the Old Quad neighborhood do not need a permit to repaint their houses, but in the case of renovations, they must apply for a permit by presenting their ideas to the city's Historical & Landmarks Commission at a meeting where neighbors within 300 feet of the home are given an opportunity to voice their opinions on how the changes will affect the neighborhood. However, in the case of the “Up” home, the family never took that step, and instead went straight to the city’s planning department, where they got the project approved and permits issued without consulting the commission. “In my 20-year career, I have never seen this happen,” says Garcia. “The city planner won’t give me a straight answer as to why no one consulted the neighborhood.”

Yahoo Shine could not reach city planner Steve Lynch for comment but according to Garcia, the Santa Clara city council will now form a committee to rewrite the preservation ordinance, going into more detail about how to approach color schemes for the neighborhood. Also, after the renovations are complete, the city will do a detailed inspection to determine whether the family has in fact, preserved the historical significance of the home. 

"We're not trying to create controversy," Rahman told KNTV. "We're trying to build a home for our daughters and our family. And that's what our intention was."

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