Frederick “Hank” Robar stands in one of his toilet gardens on the corner of Market and Pleasant streets in Potsdam in September 2020. (Provided photo — Christopher Lenney, Watertown Daily Times)

POTSDAM — Four months after a federal judge awarded Frederick “Hank” Robar a preliminary injunction against an order to remove his toilet gardens, the village Board of Trustees has rescinded its order — the toilet gardens can stay.

Trustees voted unanimously to approve a resolution that reads, “The Village Trustees after considering the Memorandum-Decision and Order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, (Honorable) Lawrence Kahn, dated September 21, 2020, does hereby rescind the resolution dated July 20, 2020 directing Mr. Robar to remove the toilets.”

This marks the third time the village has attempted to have Robar remove the toilets, and failed.

Robar’s battle with the village began in 2004 when he asked for a zone change at his property at 82-84 Market St. He wanted to sell the property to a buyer who would establish a Dunkin’ Donuts. When the village denied his request, he set up what’s referred to now as a toilet garden.

In 2008, the village issued Robar an appearance ticket for a code violation. Robar argued that the toilet gardens were art and it’s his First Amendment right to have them. The case was dismissed because Code Enforcement Officer John Hill failed to bring documents to the court.

In 2010, the village tried again, but after the presiding judge resigned amid cocaine-use allegations, the case was dropped and the village decided not to pursue it.

In 2018, the village passed a junk storage law, but waited until the summer of last year to try again — they again wanted the toilets removed.

The village approved a resolution earlier in the summer ordering Robar to remove such fixtures, including toilets, urinals and bathtubs, before Sept. 1, 2020, at seven of his properties in the village: 10 Pine St., 79 Maple St., 81-83 Maple St., 85 Maple St., 87 Maple St., 82 Maple St., and 84 Maple St. It was determined Robar’s properties were in violation of the junk storage law.

It started with the issuance of tickets to remove the toilets, which was followed by a hearing before the trustees requested by Robar.

During that hearing, St. Lawrence Health System Chief Executive Officer David Acker spoke to the board as both a private resident of the village and as a representative of the hospital system.

The toilet gardens, he said, made it difficult to recruit young doctors who would want to stay and invest in the community.

The village also heard from a Clarkson University representative and from a representative of Temple Beth Israel, which is located across the street from one of the gardens, who both spoke against the toilets.

Following the hearing, trustees ordered the toilets be removed, which prompted Robar’s federal lawsuit filed last August that claimed his toilets are art, and therefore protected speech.

Robar’s suit requested no less than $7 million in damages from the village.

The suit was in the discovery process which, barring a settlement or summary judgment, would have seen a trial at the start of 2022.