The Rush City Council has voted to withdraw its notice and take no further action against the mural on the side of Hairdo or Dye during a special meeting held Monday afternoon.
The meeting's only agenda item was to discuss the mural, which became the source of statewide news after owners Jason and Erin Oare were given a letter demanding the mural be painted over or face a fine and/or jail time.
Backlash from the issue resulted in a joint statement from Rush City Mayor Dan Dahlberg and the Oare family demanding all threats and negative rhetoric to stop.
"In response to this letter, we have received a lot of community feedback," Dahlberg said to those gathered Monday. As part of his motion to withdraw the letter, Dahlberg asked city staff to address "deficiencies" in the city's zoning code for the council to take action on.
The vote passed in a vote of 4-1.
Both Erin and Jason Oare made statements following the council's vote rescinding the notice.
Erin took her time to call out the zoning code and its broad language.
"We love Rush City and have no problem following proper procedures and protocols. Rush City has no building aesthetic code or paint standard, just an overbroad and vague code that Mayor Dahlberg himself has described as deficient." She later said, "This ordinance is overbroad and unconstitutional and needs to be changed so that the businesses and citizens in this city can understand it."
In his statement, Jason Oare addressed the actions taken by the city prior to the meeting.
"The city has attempted to paint the picture that it was an open communication with us and that we failed to communicate with the city," Jason Oare said. "We exchanged two emails and two voicemails over the course of a year... we were not invited or told about a meeting in which the city decided to send a violation letter with criminal penalties."
As the city looks through the zoning code and makes changes, the Oares asked for a signed statement from the Rush City Council that the mural will be allowed to remain.
After the Oare's finished their statements, the council adjourned the meeting.
