Davis Artist Threatened With Fines, Jail Time Over WhymCycle Display On Front Yard

DAVIS (CBS13) — They have been called eccentric, unique and colorful works of art, but some consider them more of a neighborhood nuisance.

Peter Wagner could face fines or even jail time for displaying his bicycle art in his own front yard.

He likes to think of his yard as a bicycle buffet where anyone can come by and take a test drive, but not everyone is along for the ride. He has more than four-dozen homemade bicycles in and around his home.

"This one has airplane wheels, so you never know what you're going to wind up with," he said.

For decades, Wagner has built eccentric, offbeat colorful bicycles with recycled parts. He calls them WhymCycles.

"I'm like a cook, but I do it with steel, and it doesn't wind up around my waist, it winds up around my home," he said.

Many of his WhymCycles have been seen at popular Davis events like Picnic Day, and he's become a bit of a local celebrity.

"All the other neighbors we have around here honk as they come by, or visit, or leave bikes with us. so the bicycles multiply, you come out in the morning and there's more bikes. Where did that come from?" he said.

But recently Wagner was cited by the Davis Police Department after neighbors complained about his cluttered yard, calling it a fire hazard and a visual nuisance.

"They cite based on what the codes says and I think they attempted to do that in this case," said Mayor Pro Tem Robb Davis.

"Why can't we keep our transportation outside just like everybody else?" Wagner said.

He was given 72 hours to move his WhymCycles out of the front yard or face possible fines and jail time.

"It was a little dramatic and a little insulting," he said, "because it wasn't a scrap yard—they said it looked like the middle of a scrap yard. Well a scrap yard can't roll off and join a parade."

Wagner has agreed to be more mindful of the mess and hopes to find a balance between displaying his art and keeping his neighbors happy.

"I don't want to be a bad neighbor," he said. "I'm happy to share and I'll be careful to make sure there's not too much color out here."