Banned 'Snowzilla' Mysteriously Reappears, Wreaks Havoc In Alaska (VIDEO)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A giant snowman named Snowzilla has mysteriously appeared again this year -- despite the city's cease-and-desist order.

Someone again built the giant snowman in Billy Powers' front yard in an east Anchorage neighborhood. Snowzilla reappeared before dawn Tuesday.

Powers is not taking credit. When questioned Tuesday afternoon, he insisted Snowzilla just somehow happened, again.

For the last three years, Snowzilla -- to the delight of some and the chagrin of others -- has been a very large feature in Powers' yard. In 2005, Snowzilla rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.

This year, Snowzilla is estimated to be 25 feet tall. He's wearing a black stovepipe hat and scarf.

"Have you seen him?" Powers asked when reached by telephone at his home, the sound of excited children in the background. "He's handsome."

Snowzilla has consistently risen outside Powers' modest home. His children -- he is the father of seven -- collected snow from neighbors' yards to make the snowman big enough. Each year, Snowzilla got a bit bigger.

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Not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.

City officials this year deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A cease-and-desist order was issued. The city tacked a public notice on Powers' door.

City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.

The mayor's office on Tuesday issued a statement defending its move against Snowzilla.

"This property owner has repeatedly ignored city attempts to find ways to accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood," said the statement from Mayor Mark Begich's office. "This is a neighborhood of small homes on small lots connected by small streets. It can't support the volume of traffic and revelers that are interested in Snowzilla."

The mayor's office says Powers appears to run a large junk and salvage operation from his home. He has violated land use codes for 13 years, the city said. He owes the city more than $100,000 in fines and other assessments.

Powers said it is the city that has been difficult, not him.

"I have tried to jump through every goofy hoop they have sent to me. I have never been confrontational and it goes on and on and on and it is so goofy," he said. "Some of it is unfounded, some is just outrageous."

The city said it did not expect to take any further action until after Christmas.

Comments

[nikto]

If they can keep Snowzilla from melting, he could be Alaska's next Gov.
He's as qualified as the current one.

[long live snowzilla]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84hMKNwvY5k

[nikto]

Here's a nightmare-inducinng thought:

Snowzilla made with a core
of
Yellow Snow!

apologies 2 FZappa

[mzwednesday]

I love this man.
Lets pitch in and pay off his fines:))

[groot]

oh no, they say he's got to go go go snowzilla, ya a a a...

[RadicalRuss]

So this guy builds a 25-foot snowman and he's endangering the neighborhood. Too many people will drive through and create a hazard as they snap pics of "Snowzilla". What could possibly be the hazard in a big ol' snowman? He's not using any energy, he's going to melt someday, and what a creative and eco-friendly way to celebrate the season!

Ah, the guy runs a junk and salvage operation. Working class guy. I got it. His big mistake was not in building Snowzilla, but in not being a six- or seven-figure white-collar guy festooning his home in the hills with mega-watts of lights. Every city I've lived in has its "Peacock Lane" (Portland's version) where all the well-to-do folks in the neighborhood build elaborate energy-wasting displays, the less-well-to-do drive through and snap photos, and for some reason, not only is the city administration fine with it but the law enforcement will go out of their way to make sure it is a safe and protected Christmas tradition.

DEM Mayor Begich of Anchorage is going to be DEM Senator Begich in January. We're replacing Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens with Mark "Snowzilla Slayer" Begich. What is it with Alaska?

[keepemhonest]

Before Snowzilla: ... City code enforcers left notices telling an Airport Heights property owner that he couldn't build a monstrous snow man this year. Too much traffic. Too many middle-of-the-night disturbances. Too much trespassing in neighbors' yards.

After Snowzilla: ... The city complains that Billy Powers operates a year-round junk or salvage operation out of his yard and owes more than $100,000 in fines and assessments.

That's a problem, but it's separate from the snowman flap.

Now, what does the city official think about hunting from helicopters?

[Gasparilla]

Did we read the same story? He's been accumulating code violations for 13 years.

[SkyWolf]

Maybe DNA testing will determine the Snowman's true parents. Could be Jack Frost and ???

[L double E]

i fail to understand how a giant snow man has caused hardship for his neighbors. i was under the impression that most people live in alaska to be left alone by other people, to not have their property rights trampled by the "man", and yet a giant snow man is a public menace. it sounds discriminatory towards people with carrots for noses. time to boycott anchorage. it really sounds like most people are just upset that snowzilla has a larger i.q. than the governor (and the president for that matter)

[ElPerro]

Going after a family's snowman? What kind of Scrooges run this town? So it attracts traffic, big deal. Every community in America has a house or a neighborhood that totally goes overboard with the Xmas lights and it increases traffice because people want to look at it. Get over it. It's only temporary. Its fun and helps us to momentarily forget about all the misery in the world and the mundane existance of our jobs, etc. This is a fun time of year and people should stop trying to rain on other's parades.

[midwesthousewife]

Just so long as no one on his street needs the assistance of an emergency vehicle or fire engine this time of year....

[RGKahn]

What does a large snowman have to do with the need for emergency assistance at this time of the year or any other time of the year for that matter. What, no help if they don't like the decor of the neighborhood? What is the emergency dispatcher going to say...We won't respond to your home fire or medical emergency if that snowman remains a potential hazard? What is wrong with this picture? Alaskans afraid of a big snowman?

[Earl]

I hope it eats Wasilla.

[FreeRange]

What a bunch of a-holes! Maybe he can get a pardon from the governor... oops, forgot, she's incompetent too...

[GermanGoodness]

Save Snowzilla!

If you're going to tell him to take it down because it's a nuisance/safety hazard, then you'd better tell all other residents in town to take down their Christmas lights. After all, we wouldn't want all those looky-loos slowing down in the neighborhood peeping at the lights and possibly causing an accident!

And what the heck do his unpaid taxes and salvage business have to do with the Snowzilla issue? While I'm sure those issues need to be addressed, they are entirely separate issues. Just another "reason" (read: negative spin) that this Scrooge mayor is using to make his case.

Go Snowzilla!

[kstuff]

long live snowzilla!

[Copeword]

It will probably take a long time for him to melt, seeing as how he lives in Alaska.

[IntExec]

Pardon