Carmel-by-the-Sea resident Jeanne McCulloch poses in front of a dinosaur statue erected in her neighborhood.

In a town as small as Carmel-by-the-Sea, a scenic enclave of less than 4,000 on the California coast, a 15-foot dinosaur statue erected in a resident's front lawn is about the biggest thing to hit the town in years.

"It's very realistic and it's huge," Carmel resident Jeanne McCulloch told ABCNews.com. "The word is out and people are coming from all over to look."

McCulloch, who has lived in the town for nearly five years, was walking her dog last week when her dog started barking.

"I looked up and thought, 'Oh wow,'" she said of seeing the statue on her neighbor's lawn.

The buzzed-about statue was designed by a San Diego-based designer and handmade in Mexico and given by the homeowner, Kevin, to his wife, Courtney, as an anniversary gift, according to McCulloch.

The homeowners' last name could not be confirmed by McCulloch, who says the couple is in their 40s with two kids and two dogs who purchased the home in Carmel not long ago as a second, beach home.

While neighbors like McCulloch don't seem to mind the prehistoric addition to their neighborhood, officials in the coastal town think otherwise and have given the homeowner 10 days to submit paperwork and obtain approval from the city's planning department.

"For me, I have no problem with it. It's not blocking anybody's view," McCulloch said. "I think it's charming."

McCulloch says the statue is also, in her eyes, fitting with the town's theme of being a haven for bohemians and artists. The town's most famous resident, Oscar-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood, served as mayor there in the 1980s.

"Carmel was originally settled by artists and bohemians," McCulloch said. "So I just think it's in keeping with Carmel's artistic tradition."

"One thing is though, this is a very sleepy town and the neighbors do not want a lot of people coming to look at this thing," she said. "We don't want anyone to get hurt obviously."