Can The City Really Stop Me From Painting Over A Mural On My Own Garage Because Tourists Started Treating It Like A Landmark?

Location: Georgia, US. I bought a house last year in a historic district in Savannah. Behind the house there is a detached garage that faces a narrow lane. The previous owner had a huge mural painted on the garage door and side wall sometime in the 2010s. It is not offensive or anything, it is actually well done, but it is very specific and not my taste at all. Think giant surreal birds and a floating face. When I toured the place, I figured no big deal, I can repaint it later. What I did not realize is that locals apparently know it, walking tours mention it, and people now stop in the lane to look at it, take pictures, and sometimes lean halfway into my driveway to get a better angle. A few have opened the side gate by mistake thinking it was part of the alley. I finally got tired of it and hired a painter to cover the whole thing this month. Two days before they were supposed to start, I got an email from someone at the city's historic preservation office saying they had "received concerns" and that because the mural is visible from the public way and has become a "recognized visual feature" of the block, I may need review before altering it. I honestly thought it was a joke. I called and the woman was polite but vague. She kept saying the issue was not art, it was the "contributing streetscape." She would not say plainly that I am banned from painting my own garage, but she did say if I move forward without review I could get cited and be required to restore the prior appearance if they determine the change was not approved. Restore it to what, exactly? The previous owner's giant birds? Since then I have had two neighbors I barely know tell me it would be a shame to erase "something the community loves." One of them actually said when you buy in a historic district you become a steward, which sounds nice until it is my garage and strangers are standing there on Sat urday mornings like it is a public attraction. I am not trying to demolish anything historic. I just want a normal painted garage and a little privacy. Can a city actually block me from covering a mural on my own property because people got attached to it, or are they bluffing unless there is some easement or designation I somehow missed in closing pap ers?