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Homeowners Nancy Nemhauser and Ludomir Jastrzebski had insisted on the apology as part of a settlement approved by the Mount Dora City Council Tuesday night. The city agreed to allow the painting to remain in place, pay the couple’s legal fees, review the codes it used in citing the painting as an illegal sign and make a public apology to them. For their part, Nemhauser and Jastrzebski agreed only to drop their federal lawsuit against the city in what was a very one-sided victory.
https://tw.news.appledaily.com/international/realtime/20180721/1395963/ As both sides dug in their heels, a city magistrate imposed a $100-a-day fine for each day the mural remained, but capped it at 31 days for a total of $3,100.

The fines were later re-implemented and a lien was placed on the property.

In response, the couple sued the city in state court, but then dropped it to refile the case as a federal lawsuit. In February, a federal judge granted a restraining order temporarily blocking the city from imposing additional fines on the house. By that time however, the fines had accrued to well over $10,000.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Girone, reading from a prepared statement, said city officials decided to settle the case after their attorneys reviewed “recent federal court free speech decisions” and reconsidered its position.

Girone did not reconsider his opinion of the painting, however.

Asked by a reporter what he thought of it, he first quipped, “No comment,” but then offered, “Everybody has their view on art, and I have my view, Miss Nemhauser has her views, and we respect everybody’s views.”
The apology was vague in that it didn’t spell out what the city did wrong. An attorney who represented the city in the federal suit, said only that “the city is acknowledging it needs to work on its codes.”

But Nemhauser, who sat next to Girone during a press conference at City Hall, said the couple were “very grateful for it. It’s very meaningful.”http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20180718/mount-dora-mayor-apologizes-to-starry-night-homeowners/1