SCOTCH PLAINS — When Lisa Schiller hired two teenage girls to paint a mural on the side of the building where she runs a cafe and party space, she thought she was adding a splash of brightness and color — art, even — to an otherwise tired and dreary block in suburban Scotch Plains.

But now she finds herself preparing for a legal war with local officials who don’t like what she’s done and are threatening fines. The town says that, far from improving the neighborhood, it’s bringing it down.

So not only is this a battle of wills now — Schiller says she is suing — but it also touches on some lofty questions, like: When is a sign just a sign and when is it art? And who gets to decide?

Schiller never dreamt a little paint on a wall would create such hubbub.

Schiller has lived in Scotch Plains for 10 years. She’s been involved in redevelopment issues. And when she saw a space available on East Second Street, at the corner of Willow Avenue, she jumped on the chance to open a business there. The downtown street is quiet, with shops dotted here and there. It feels like it hasn’t changed much in decades.

But Schiller thinks it could be turned into something more — a walkable space, perhaps, with the same sort of hip feel as in neighboring Westfield.

"This particular location I fell in love with," she said. "It’s a beautiful double-wide street with beautiful sidewalks."

So she spared no expense. She says she spent nearly $100,000 on renovations to the building, which she plans to buy. An outside wall, the one facing Willow Street, had cracked paint. Rather than just paint over it, she paid two local teenage girls, who came recommended by a high school art teacher, to create a mural.

They painted trees, kids and animals. They made squiggly lines, a wide-open eye and a peace sign. Shades of pink, blue, black, red and yellow cover the previously tan wall. It initially included the name of company, but that’s since been painted over.

Schiller opened the doors to her business, Bigg (Believe In Girls and Guys) Playdate, on June 23. It’s a place to host parties, events and play dates. There’s also an adjoining cafe.

It wasn’t even a week after the opening when the local government issued its review of the mural: It’s a sign, they said, and it requires a permit. Scotch Plains zoning officer Robert LaCosta wrote a municipal court summons to the building’s owner, Seymour Stein, who could face fines of up to $300 per day.

Schiller say the dispute may have to be solved in state Superior Court, where she says she is about to file a civil brief asking a judge to stop the township from enforcing the sign ordinance so she can question its legality.

Her landlord isn’t involved. He’s deferring to Schiller on the matter, who he says has a lease requirement to comply with the law.

LaCosta, the zoning officer, also declined to comment because of the pending legal action. But he previously shared his thoughts on a local blog. The painting, he told the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch, "could lead to the degradation of the neighborhood."

The mural sticks out, says Joseph Lipscomb, because it’s bright and the area around it is, well, kind of plain. He’s a real estate agent who’s worked across the street for 19 years, and he says the block hasn’t changed much in that time.

"To me, I can see why people would have an issue with it. But I don’t have an issue with it," he said. "If it’s not consistent with the neighborhood, I could see people getting upset."

But Schiller and her lawyer, Theodore Schiller, who is also her husband, believe there’s something else behind this controversy. They say it’s not how bright the mural is, but which tools were used to make it: aerosol cans.

"I think the issue is the medium they chose," Schiller said. "I think people, when they see it — spray paint versus brushes — I think people have a different point of view on what it is. The point wasn’t to make it anything but art."

Why the girls, sisters who are 15 and 17, chose spray cans isn’t clear. Their mother didn’t want them involved in the controversy, so they weren’t available for an interview. But aerosol is the medium of choice for street artists who, little by little, are gaining more acceptance — at least in urban settings.

"It’s becoming more and more common to have permission to paint the outside of buildings," said Gabe Schoenberg, owner of Graff Tours, which bills itself as North America’s first street art tourism company.

But that doesn’t mean the aerosol medium has shaken its gang stigma, said the Brooklynite, who grew up in Teaneck and occasionally gives tours in Newark. What’s going on in Scotch Plains, he said, has happened elsewhere.

"It’s not an uncommon situation where government bodies use signage laws to prevent people from using spray paint on the street," he said.

In the Union County suburb, local law requires permits for anything considered a sign — essentially all objects that draw attention.

"It’s so vague that it would make anything out there a sign. For me, a sign is anything that gives information," said Theodore Schiller. "This mural gives no information. It’s simply a mural."

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