When Kevin bought his house over 17 years ago, he was honored to live under the canopy of two of the largest trees in Port Townsend, a Poplar and a Giant Cypress. He delighted in listening to and observing all of the wildlife that lived in the 150 year old Monterey cypress tree in front of his home.

One day, a large section of the 52 foot circumference cypress tree cracked and fell down, and the remaining branches of the grand tree were deemed too dangerous to be left standing. Once the limbs had been cut down and hauled away, only a giant ragged snag stump was left.

The stump remained as a solemn reminder of the tree that once stood. And thought it was impressive relic of the fallen giant, it was for kevin a prominent and depressing front yard reminder he faced every single day.  During the pandemic, Kevin felt called and inspired to transform the stump into a more positive and uplifting piece of community art and began to create an art piece that celebrated the tree and the Animals that used to live there. 

Kevin’s art piece “the raccoon lodge” is a magical doorway, anchored into the heart of the stump with the structural integrity of 50 years of carpentry experience and detailed with whimsical corbels, ledges and small perches where the birds and animals, who had once lived in that tree, might to be encouraged to come back and visit.

On October 10, 2022 city code enforcement officers, informed Kevin that his art piece was considered dangerous and in violation of local code because of it proximity to the sidewalk. They further informed him that after he took down his artwork by their deadline of November 30th, they intended to search his property for further code violations. 

Kevin feels targeted and is afraid that if he refuses to take down his art, city officials will respond with code penalties on his property. 

Hundreds of community members have voiced their love and support of Kevin’s artwork and are outraged that that city would try to regulate a local artist’s work in this way. We are asking community members to formally sign this petition to support keeping Kevin’s “Raccoon Lodge” art without fear of persecution and encourage the city to to find an amicable solution/variance on this overly stringent code enforcement. 

Additionally we encourage our community to write a public comment to the city at:

publiccomment@cityofpt.us 

or attend the meeting and protest in person.

Thank you for your support of our local culture and community art, 

Friends of Kevin Mason