Is this woman single-handedly bringing down the value of posh Los Angeles homes with her ‘Star Map’ shenanigans??? Her name is Linda Welton, and she was on the corner of Sunset and Carolwood Drive long before Michael Jackson arrived. She remembers well the days when he stood on a balcony of the rented chateau-style mansion and tossed autographed pillows to screaming fans. She remembers that he ordered pizzas for them and that his father, Joe Jackson, would come visiting but wouldn’t be let in. She also remembers the hordes that descended in June 2009, when Jackson died on the eve of his comeback concert tour. …A third-generation purveyor of the dishy tourist maps, Welton has good reason to be skittish. The owners of the mansion, fashion executive Hubert Guez and his wife, Roxanne, have taken her to court. The homeowners filed suit in June, calling Welton’s Star Maps business “a highly visible eyesore” and charging that she is tanking their property value. They are asking a judge for an injunction kicking the Star Maps lady off the corner. A hearing has been set for October 11 before Judge Gerald Rosenberg in Santa Monica, according to the court file. Welton’s family has sold Star Maps from the corner since the 1930s — long before such things as tour buses, paparazzi and TMZ. They survived past attempts to shut them down or make them move. And Welton has long been a Michael Jackson fan — so much so that she traveled the 90 minutes to Santa Barbara a dozen times to attend his 2005 child molestation trial. She celebrated when he was acquitted. Although she may be a nuisance to the neighbors, Melton is not a money-hungry, celeb-stalker out to harrass people. She’s stil a huge fan enraptured with MJ and his music. When speaking about the Jackson’s mansion where she sits selling her ‘Star Maps’ she says: “It came alive in a way no other place came alive through the years of map selling or that kind of thing,” she says. “It’s Tourist Central. Really, nobody lived there except Sean Connery, a while ago.” The fans came because Jackson engaged them, she said. And then there was the live music that poured out of the house every time Jackson practiced in his studio, which was often. “We all heard the music that came out from behind those walls,” Welton said. “So a lot of fans would park their cars here. They were trying to hear the music, but they didn’t really tell a whole lot of people because they didn’t want Michael to stop playing. So we had the time of our lives. This was actually the biggest thrill we’ll ever have. The music was absolutely beautiful.” The bougie a$$ white folks neighbors in the community contend that Melton is nothing but a pain in the cakes. “It is unpleasant and inconvenient to constantly be forced to navigate illegally stopped traffic in front of the plaintiffs’ home and to be daily and frequently forced to view defendant’s business activity,” the lawsuit states. The couple is trying to sell the mansion and, the lawsuit charges, Welton’s presence is hurting their chances. “The property is made unattractive,” the suit charges. “Potential buyers are bothered upon approach by the quite visible and annoying constant illegal stopping and/or parking of cars in front of the home that would otherwise be on a quiet residential street.” Melton say’s her family has been sued several times over the years. However the Supreme Court of California’s 1978 decision that ruled a city ordinance unconstitutional helped them maintain a family business that has prospered for over 40 years. What do you think of Ms. Melton and her business? Is she infringing on the rights of the the homeowners in the neighborhood or just living the American dream?? Source
Originally posted here:
Meet Linda Melton: The “Star Maps Lady” Who Is Being Sued By Michael Jackson’s Neighbors For Ruining Property Values!
