Debate takes off over future of 'Frisco UFO,' an Outer Banks staple

The property owner recently asked the county about making some changes to it, but officials aren't giving the plans clearance for takeoff.

Leroy Reynolds, who owns the home but not the property it sits on, said he wants to turn the so-called "Frisco UFO" into a "living museum."

"That's what it needs to be," Reynolds said of the decades-old structure, which started as an oceanfront beach house sold originally through, believe it or not, Playboy Magazine.

But Reynolds' plans are on hold.

The property owner signed an agreement with Dare County in 2006. Because the home doesn't meet building codes, the entrance was ordered to be sealed, an order that hasn't been enforced.

"It's perfectly OK to leave it there, he just can't occupy it," County Manager Bobby Outten said.

Outten says the county's stance on the home hasn't changed in the last decade.

"No one is asking him to do anything. We're not asking him to remove it or take it down," Outten said. "He asked about occupying it. We told him he could, as long as he met code."

"I can't get it done if I don't push the issue," Reynolds said.

For now, both sides are only agreeing on the fact that the Outer Banks oddity has value.

"Sell some T-shirts with the lighthouse and the space ship on them, what better promotional tool for Dare County?" Reynolds said.

Outten agreed.

"It's there. It's interesting. It's not hurting a thing," he said. "People seem to enjoy it, so it's a good thing."

But the two still can't agree on how to get the project off the ground.

The house was moved to its current location in the mid-1990s, and Reynolds admits that he may not have followed all the rules back then.

But Reynolds says with a little help he could do good things for the community with the home.