Posted on 07/08/2011 3:20:06 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
OAK PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - "The price of organic food is kind of through the roof," said Julie Bass.
So, why not grow your own? However, Bass' garden is a little unique because it's in her front yard.
"We thought it'd be really cool to do it so the neighbors could see. The kids love it. The kids from the neighborhood all come and help," she said.
Bass' cool garden has landed her in hot water with the City of Oak Park. Code enforcement gave her a warning, then a ticket and now she's been charged with a misdemeanor.
"I think it's sad that the City of Oak Park that's already strapped for cash is paying a lot of money to have a prosecutor bothering us," Bass told FOX 2's Alexis Wiley.
"That's not what we want to see in a front yard," said Oak Park City Planner Kevin Rulkowski.
Why? The city is pointing to a code that says a front yard has to have suitable, live, plant material. The big question is what's "suitable?"
We asked Bass whether she thinks she has suitable, live, plant material in her front yard.
"It's definitely live. It's definitely plant. It's definitely material. We think it's suitable," she said.
So, we asked Rulkowski why it's not suitable.
"If you look at the definition of what suitable is in Webster's dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what's common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes and flowers," he said.
But when you look at front yards that are unsightly and overgrown, is Bass' vegetable garden really worth the city's time and money?
We asked Rulkowski what he would say to those who feel this is ridiculous.
"I would argue that you won't find that opinion from most people in Oak Park," he responded.
"I have a bunch of little children and we take walks to come by and see everything growing. I think it's a very wonderful thing for our neighborhood," said neighbor Devorah Gold.
"They don't have (anything) else to do (if) they're going to take her to court for a garden," said neighbor Ora Goodwin.
We did find one neighbor who wasn't a fan and thinks it needs to go.
"I know there's a backyard. Do it in the backyard," he said.
"They say, 'Why should you grow things in the front?' Well, why shouldn't I? They're fine. They're pretty. They're well maintained," said Bass.
It looks like this critical debate is headed for a jury trial and neither side is backing down.
"I could sell out and save my own self and just not have them bother me anymore, but then there's no telling what they're going to harass the next person about," Bass told us.
There's another pretrial scheduled for July 26. The next step could be a jury trial.
Garden Ping?
That garden looks pretty nice to me, except that it needs water and mulch. It certainly looks better than the rest of the block which looks pretty sterile.
I posted another story when she got the ticket, but this one is more detailed and she’s headed to court now.
Honestly what the hell? It’s like that grandma who just got arrested for spraying her grandkids with the hose.
Somehow, they always find a way to render myself speechless.
Common sense is in very short supply in this country.
Unbelievable. I remember way back in the 1960s when they took a homeowner in San Francisco to court because they tore up the front yard and replaced the ivy with grass.
Here they have a “noxious weed” ordinance. Trouble is, the City has noxious weeds growing in front of City Hall. LOL
It’s pretty funny, if you go to merriam-webster’s online free dictionary, not only will you not find “common” as the definition, the comments are all about the city of Oak Park’s harassment of this woman.
...and that’s why I hate HOAs/codes/city life in general....
‘No gardens, no clotheslines, no wildlife areas! You must CONFORM!!!’
So what?
Make this bastard justify the lagality of collective agreement -right down to it's jurisdictional authority.
THEN you'll have a case that will change things. Otherwise it's just a pissing match between soviet policy administrators.
“Why? The city is pointing to a code that says a front yard has to have suitable, live, plant material”
....
I don’t think the town has a leg to stand on with the wording of the code.
She didn’t install Astroturf,for heaven’s sake.
If the City Planner is relying on a Websters definition of a single word, she wins.
I gotta wonder what dictionary this bureaucrat is using. Here's a couple of definitions:
merrium-webster.com: adapted to a use or purpose; satisfying propriety; able, qualified.
dictionary.com: Right or appropriate for a particular person, purpose, or situation.
Now "propriety" means "conformity to what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech"... and I suppose "conformity" is the goal of the city government. Let all semblance of individual rights and expression be condemned.
In any case, the definition is certainly sufficiently vague so that I'm surprised the city wants to pursue this -- between the bad case and bad press, they oughta be rightly run out of the courtroom.
(So while I’m being exacting, I’d better correct my own spelling: “MerriAm-Webster”)
Maybe the city officials can go stay with her.
In East Asia, where they have land, they plant just all sorts of things ~ mostly to eat.
I'm not sure Africans are as formal, but it's typically the case that poor people who can find a piece of land grow food, and certainly in India, Pakistan, Bengla Desh, and so on, that's equally true.
Most of humanity would probably agree that a neat "garden" is always a good idea.
Laws must be read as narrowly as possible in favor of the person and against the State actor.
That’s Constitutional Law 101 re: ex post facto laws.
The vague term “suitable” must be read in her favor.
For the record, I am not a lawyer, just have a bunch in the family.
I have a friend who, when he was 20, started renting the house he grew up in. The house was in La Mirada, CA, a nice middle class neighborhood. He got it into his head to plant corn in the front yard. His neighbors were not very happy with him.
(He drank entirely too much beer back then.)
My idiot neighbor across the street threw up a fenced-in dog cage -- which he doesn't even mow -- right in his front yard. I don't like it, but it's his property to do with as he chooses.
You complain about these things at your own risk. Some busybody's likely to pass a regulation you won't like once the ball is set rolling.
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