Rancho P. V.

The City Council denied a request by Ted Gardner of Gardner Management Co. to install what he called a “whimsical” sculpture of an oversized garden hose on a steep slope adjacent to apartments managed by the company near Ravenspur Drive and Hawthorne Boulevard.

The hose sculpture, to be constructed of an undetermined material, would be attached to a 12-foot-high metal spigot and would wind over about 80 feet. The 200-foot-long hose likeness would be 3 feet in diameter, Gardner said. Carl Johnson, a San Diego artist, would build the sculpture.

Gardner said the city lacks public art and said he wanted to give motorists on Hawthorne something to chuckle about.

The council unanimously denied the request, saying it would violate city grading ordinances and would be a traffic hazard. Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach, however, suggested that Gardner pursue the idea of putting the sculpture in a city park.

After the meeting Gardner expressed strong feelings about his right to erect sculpture on property his company manages and will look into legal ways of fighting the city’s decision.