Florence Fang calls her house "the past and the future combined together in harmony." The town of Hillsborough, Calif., calls it a "highly visible eyesore." But it's an eyesore that's going to stay, per a settlement the two parties have reached over the residence built to resemble the Stone Age-era abode on the animated sitcom The Flintstones. The Palo Alto Daily Post reports that Fang, a former publisher of San Francisco's Examiner and Independent newspapers, will receive $125,000 from the town following its lawsuit claiming her Flintstones-themed house and landscaping—including metal dinosaur sculptures, models of characters from the show, and a large "Yabba Dabba Doo" sign—violated local code. The deal, which was approved by Hillsborough's City Council on April 12, also notes the town will give the green light to permits for changes to the 2,730-square-foot house and surrounding yard, all easily seen from Interstate 280.
Meanwhile, Fang, who had countersued, accusing the town of racial discrimination due to her Chinese heritage, has agreed to drop those claims, as well as those against two city employees she alleged tried to stymie her permits. The Guardian notes the city's initial lawsuit was filed in 2019 when Fang refused to comply with stop-work orders on renovations and additions she was putting in place around the property. Architect William Nicholson built the orange-and-purple home in 1976, and Fang, who the Mercury News says is in her mid-80s, scooped it up in 2017 for $2.8 million, beginning modifications to the home soon after. In 2019, Fang's lawyer, Angela Alioto, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the home was her client's "fantasy" and "happy place." Now, it looks like it will remain so. "Fred and Wilma will stay," Alioto told the paper Sunday, saying she couldn't reveal much more due to the agreement's terms. (More The Flintstones stories.)
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