Pocatello, Building Owner Feud Over Unpermitted Mural

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Officials in a southeastern Idaho city and the owner of a historic building are feuding over the fate of a mural that didn't receive approval before being painted.

The Idaho State Journal reports that the Pocatello City Council will decide the fate of a horse mural on the side of a firehouse building downtown after the city's Historic Preservation Commission recommended it be removed. Artist Stan Gates owns the building and commissioned another artist to paint a mural to cover and preserve a crumbling exterior brink wall.

However Gates failed to request permission from the city to paint the mural. The city issued a notice telling him to paint over the work days after the mural won an award from Old Town Pocatello Inc.