Water skis that once lined the roof of a downtown McCall business are back.
Cade Huskinson, who owns Laketown Clothing Company at 200 Lenora St., announced last week that the water skis he was ordered to take down in 2023 have been reinstalled for the summer as “temporary art.”
“The ski roof has become a beloved landmark of our town’s downtown core, and we believe its reinstatement reflects the voice of our residents,” Huskinson wrote in a letter to the McCall City Council. “We have decided to reinstall the skis as a temporary art installation to once again enhance our downtown’s charm.”
The decorative water ski roof drew hundreds of supportive public comments during a series of appeal hearings in 2023 and 2024. The council ultimately found that allowing the water skis to remain would violate city code, but suggested design standards should be updated to allow decorative building materials.
“Since then, despite the overwhelming public support, the topic of the ski roof has not appeared on the council agenda,” Huskinson said. “We remain hopeful that the council will take this opportunity to revisit and address the community’s feedback.”
McCall Communications Manager Erin Greaves confirmed the city received Huskinson’s letter and said the city is working on a response.
City staff expect to review possible changes to design standards in 2026 as part of a planned update of the McCall Comprehensive Plan, Greaves said.
Procedural history
The city council previously upheld rulings by the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff that found the ski roof conflicted with city design standards that require buildings to use “natural exterior materials” that “tend toward earthy warm hues” and do not include “harshly contrasted color combinations.”
The city also worried that snow and ice falling from the ski roof could create a safety hazard for pedestrians. Huskinson said in the letter that the skis will be removed at the end of the summer to alleviate any safety concerns.
Members of the city council and the P&Z agreed with city staff that the ski roof does not meet city design standards, but expressed support for the roof and said the city should update its standards to allow decorative building materials.
“I think our community has made it clear that we probably need to consider some changes to our code,” council member Julie Thrower said during a Jan. 11, 2024, hearing for Huskinson’s appeal.
Council member Colby Nielsen thanked Huskinson for appealing the issue to the city council and bemoaned contradictions between city design standards and city planning documents that call for a “vibrant downtown.”
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“We are saying one thing and doing another,” Nielsen said. “A lot of people in our community appreciate unique things. What our code says is make it boring.”
