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Woman ordered to remove words from home
It's not about the content of the messages, city commission says, but violations of city codes
By Aaron Kinney, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:01/18/2007 08:34:33 AM PST
SAN MATEO — The Community Improvement Commission ordered a Shoreview resident Wednesday to remove cryptic messages written on her home or face as much as $5,000 in fines.
Estrella Benevides, 46, has until Feb. 14 to erase the painted script from her home in the 1800 block of Cottage Grove Avenue, which has been covered with an inscrutable text containing biblical references, conspiracy theories and glimpses into a painful personal history.
The commission ruled that Benevides will be fined $50 for every day following Feb. 14 that her roof, garage and windows remain covered with the messages, up to a limit of $5,000. The commission also imposed an administrative fee of $1,829.
Benevides vowed not to remove the messages, which she believes come from God, and to fight the commission's decision, citing her First Amendment rights to free speech. Commissioners said the problem wasn't constitutional.
"We're not complaining about what you're discussing in your signs," Commissioner Nonie Tremaine told Benevides. "We're discussing the size of your signs."
City codes prevent residents of single-family homes from writing on their roofs or posting signs larger than 6 square feet in size, though informal exceptions are made for Christmas displays.
Benevides' home is almost completely blanketed in words, which combine to warn in part of a worldwide conspiracy that employs mind-control to oppress the poor. Benevides began painting the messages on her home sometime in 2005.
In a letter she submitted to the commission, Benevides wrote that the government is persecuting her because she "discovered that they are using witchcraft and technology against the people who are not aware of and who are not part of this mafia group."
Benevides told the commission that she writes the messages on her home as a plea for help in her attempt to regain custody of her 4-year-old son, who lives in Hayward with his father. Benevides lost custody of the child after she began acting erratically in 2005, according to court documents.
Benevides also claims her son has beenabused by both his father and government agents.
"I don't have any other way to tell what these people is doing," said Benevides, who was born in Nicaragua and moved to the U.S. in 1987. She has two other sons, both in their 20s, who also live in the Bay Area.
Robert Muehlbauer, the city's director of neighborhood improvement and housing, said he sympathizes with Benevides' distress, but the Community Improvement Commission was not the right venue for child-custody issues.
Commissioner Charlie Drechsler said Benevides' "ardent and zealous" exercise of her right to free speech was negatively affecting her neighbors.
"I wish you could tell us what you're going to do to rectify these violations," Drechsler said.
Woman ordered to remove words from home
It's not about the content of the messages, city commission says, but violations of city codes
By Aaron Kinney, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:01/18/2007 08:34:33 AM PST
SAN MATEO — The Community Improvement Commission ordered a Shoreview resident Wednesday to remove cryptic messages written on her home or face as much as $5,000 in fines.
Estrella Benevides, 46, has until Feb. 14 to erase the painted script from her home in the 1800 block of Cottage Grove Avenue, which has been covered with an inscrutable text containing biblical references, conspiracy theories and glimpses into a painful personal history.
The commission ruled that Benevides will be fined $50 for every day following Feb. 14 that her roof, garage and windows remain covered with the messages, up to a limit of $5,000. The commission also imposed an administrative fee of $1,829.
Benevides vowed not to remove the messages, which she believes come from God, and to fight the commission's decision, citing her First Amendment rights to free speech. Commissioners said the problem wasn't constitutional.
"We're not complaining about what you're discussing in your signs," Commissioner Nonie Tremaine told Benevides. "We're discussing the size of your signs."
City codes prevent residents of single-family homes from writing on their roofs or posting signs larger than 6 square feet in size, though informal exceptions are made for Christmas displays.
Benevides' home is almost completely blanketed in words, which combine to warn in part of a worldwide conspiracy that employs mind-control to oppress the poor. Benevides began painting the messages on her home sometime in 2005.
In a letter she submitted to the commission, Benevides wrote that the government is persecuting her because she "discovered that they are using witchcraft and technology against the people who are not aware of and who are not part of this mafia group."
Benevides told the commission that she writes the messages on her home as a plea for help in her attempt to regain custody of her 4-year-old son, who lives in Hayward with his father. Benevides lost custody of the child after she began acting erratically in 2005, according to court documents.
Benevides also claims her son has beenabused by both his father and government agents.
"I don't have any other way to tell what these people is doing," said Benevides, who was born in Nicaragua and moved to the U.S. in 1987. She has two other sons, both in their 20s, who also live in the Bay Area.
Robert Muehlbauer, the city's director of neighborhood improvement and housing, said he sympathizes with Benevides' distress, but the Community Improvement Commission was not the right venue for child-custody issues.
Commissioner Charlie Drechsler said Benevides' "ardent and zealous" exercise of her right to free speech was negatively affecting her neighbors.
"I wish you could tell us what you're going to do to rectify these violations," Drechsler said.
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