Ever received a holiday greeting from your zoning enforcement officer. Well, here’s one from Ned Ledbetter. Enjoy!

The video is the work of Gontram Architecture, Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina. I asked Eddie Gontram, a principal of the firm, what was behind this unique holiday greeting. His reply: “We came up with the idea to produce the video this past Fall. In years past, we sent out custom-designed greeting cards for the Holidays that featured a project from that year. This year, we wanted to do something a bit more fun, creative, and unique. We also saw the waste created by greeting cards, and the relatively short lifespan associated with them. We decided to do a video. Then, while brainstorming for ideas, we decided to look at the simple winter activity of building a snowman, and what would happen if the Zoning Code applied to building a snowman.”

Gontram adds, “The response has been truly amazing While we sort of adopted a ‘duck and cover’ posture once we sent it out, we were hopeful that any zoning or inspections staff that viewed it would have a sense of humor. The very first comment came from a plans examiner, ‘If it weren’t so close to the truth, I’d have been offended rather than amused.’ Several others viewed it, then forwarded it to their entire organization.”