Pleasanton Resident Asks Mayor to Pardon Giant Frosty; Starts Petition

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

A Pleasanton man is asking residents to sign a petition to save a 30-foot snowman that had been displayed at Moore’s Christmas Tree lot.

In the wake of a story posted earlier this week on Pleasanton Patch and other media outlets, residents have rallied for the snowman and now one man has started a petition asking Pleasanton Mayor Jerry Thorne to offer Frosty a pardon for the season.

The controversy began on Dec. 1 after Johnny Moore, owner of Moore’s Christmas Trees, was issued a citation by a city code enforcement officer for having the giant inflatable Frosty on the tree lot. For 25 years, Moore’s trees-- and Frosty-- had been located on the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton where the city ordinance did not apply. This season, Moore moved his trees, along with the massive inflatable snowman, to the corner of Stanley Blvd. and Bernal Ave. and was told by city officials that he was violating a municipal code by displaying Frosty.

Previous: Pleasanton City Officials Give Giant Frosty Cold Shoulder

City officials say Moore knew he would not be able to have the trademark snowman at the time he was given his temporary use permit. Since the snowman controversy, Frosty has been down. Moore says he has gone down to the city offices to try to speak to City Manager Nelson Fialho, who was unavailable at the time and has yet to contact Moore.

“Frosty is not an inflatable, he is a Christmas decoration and without him, my Christmas decoration is gone,” Moore said. “It is unfortunate they [the city] feels this way.”

Locals are not giving up on the snowman. This morning, Pleasanton resident Chuck Bierdeman started a petition to pardon Frosty and has garnered 39 signatures in support of the jolly, happy soul.

The petition says, “Mayor Thorne, show the world that Pleasanton has a heart by providing a pardon for Frosty the Snowman.” Read the full petition here.

Photo of Moore’s Christmas Tree lot. Inclement weather kept Frosty down for the day on Tuesday and parts of Wednesday.

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