Neighbours unhappy with man's giant commode

"Literally, it's a potty chair. A chair with a hole in the seat," Steven Chayt explains, pointing to the massive structure in his Florida backyard. It's a 24-foot tall backyard throne, a replica of a smaller-scale potty chair he designed more than 20 years ago.



He decided it was time to go public with his masterpiece, which he calls the Lawn Chair Project, even it means sticking out like a sore thumb in his Winter Haven neighbourhood. While passers-by may chuckle, many neighbours are not. "Everybody coming and everybody going sees it," said James Barfield, who lives nearby.



He and others in the neighbourhood feel it's nothing more than an eyesore. They miss the natural beauty of the neighbourhood, the way it looked before the artist turned it into his canvas. Many also worry about property values diminishing with what they call a "toilet" towering above the horizon. "Really, I think it would be best where people like that kind of art can enjoy it on a regular basis instead of in a residential community," said Barfield.


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The neighbours are now passing around a petition, urging Chayt to considering moving it or taking down the structure. "Somebody said, 'well, you're going to take it down, aren't you?' And I said, 'well, I wasn't planning on it,'" he said. Polk County officials say Chayt got all the necessary permits to build the potty chair, and that since it's on private land, he's not breaking any laws or ordinances. Chayt is hoping neighbours will change their tune once they see the finished product.