ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A retired grocer has been ordered to move his 17-foot backyard Jesus statue away from the edge of the Mississippi River bluff.

The St. Paul City Council has rejected Tuan Pham’s request for a zoning variance to keep the statue in its current spot. No one spoke against variance at the council’s meeting Wednesday evening. A local ordinance requires a 40-foot setback from the bluff’s edge for any “material change” in the land’s use

The 76-year-old Pham brought nearly two dozen family members and neighbors to the meeting. Two council members argued in Pham’s favor, saying the statue wasn’t a development, but rather a garden.

The Star Tribune says the council rejected the variance on a 5-2 vote.