I had intended to do more work on my most recent snow-stomp art, depicting champagne being poured from a bottle into a champagne glass. But just as I was finishing the glass, a long-time resident of the condo building where we live (and in front of which I did the work) came out onto his balcony and asked me what I thought I was doing.
I explained with a big smile that I had made a bottle in the snow down the hill (which he could not see from his low balcony) and was now making the glass into which the champagne was being poured.
He informed me in a very officious manner that the condo doesn't own the hillside (where the bottle is); that is public property. He then asked if I had city permission to do that?
Me: I'm just walking in the snow, making a design.
Him: And you know this part up here is owned by the condo. You have to get permission from the condo board to do anything.
Me: I'm just walking in the snow, making a picture for people to enjoy.
Him: But we have a person who is in charge of the landscaping here. You need to get board permission if you are going to change anything.
[etc. etc.]
Me: Oh. Okay.
and I left.
I can't imagine there is any legal bar to my doing the snow-stomp art. And I can't imagine I need anybody's permission to do it in a public park or on the lawn of the condo where I live. Maybe if I had designed some sexually explicit erotica, it would be a different story; and maybe he objected to the depiction of alcohol use on the condo lawn; but I doubt it.
Quite frankly, I think he just objected to anyone having fun.