One more thing. A Councilman said he had admired her garden for years but the article says that it was just beginning to grow. What's really going on here???
Garden incident prompts ordinance review; City staff acknowledges mistake made By ANDREW BROMAN
The Daily Press
Thursday, June 15th, 2006 09:30:29 AM
http://www.ashlandwi.com/dailypress/index.php?story_id=209949&view=text
Ashland officials say they will rethink the city's lawn ordinance in response to concerns about a city resident having to mow her garden to comply with regulations.
"Suggesting that the garden needed to be mowed was inappropriate and kind of heavy-handed," Councilor Rick Dowd said during a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday night.
Dowd said he's walked by the resident's home at 505 W. Third St. for many years and has always admired the garden.
The resident, Pat Morris, received a letter ordering her lawn cut because it was over 10 inches long. Morris explained that her lawn was a garden, not a patch of overgrown weeds as a city inspector initially thought.
City Hall gave her the option of applying for a $25 natural lawn permit, but she refused to get a permit, arguing she shouldn't have to pay money to grow a garden. She mowed her garden as a result and put the city's letter on display in her front yard in protest.
City councilors acknowledged other residents could be violating the ordinance with their gardens, and the council discussed crafting a new provision to allow gardens as legal lawns without requiring a permit.
Morris might have been unable to keep her garden even if she had applied for the permit because the permit requires setbacks from the right-of-way and sides of the property. Her lawn might have been too small, city staff said during the meeting.
Zoning Administrator Brea Lemke said sending the letter to Morris was a mistake, and her staff needs to do a better job of distinguishing neglected lawns versus gardens.
"A letter went out, and that was a mistake," Lemke said.
She said part of the problem was that Morris' garden was just starting to grow and looked similar to weeds.
"We do need to be more cautious moving forward," Lemke said. "We also need to make sure it's not invasive species, or a lawn gone mad."
Dowd said the city should recognize gardens as a legitimate means for landscaping lawns.
Council President Brandon Boys said the permit seems to punish people for complying with the law, while violators only mow their lawn after receiving a warning letter from the city and avoid paying any fine.
Interim City Administrator Brian Knapp said he is an advocate of natural landscaping and said he would investigate the matter.
"There are a number of things I'd like to look at over the next few months," Knapp said.
Maybe the Councilman is up for re-election.
</cynical comment>
Possible that she plants the same garden each year.
It was probably a wildflower garden that reseeds itself.