insanity in N.J. township Chatham

[ensho]

http://www.naturalnews.com/032666_backyard_farming_organics.html


Disgruntled neighbor spurs New Jersey town to cite backyard organic farmer for growing vegetables, demands crops be left unattended to die


Hostility towards individuals who grow food in their suburban or semi-rural backyards appears to be on the rise, this time in the New Jersey township of Chatham. Officials there have twice cited Mike Bucuk, a 24-year-old organic farmer, for the crime of growing vegetables in his backyard and giving the surplus away to his neighbors for free. The town has even ordered Mike to stop attending to his three-acre plot of crops, thanks to a concerted legal effort spawned by a disgruntled neighbor.

It all apparently started when the Bucuk's neighbor Richard Erich Hamlin lodged a complaint with the town, alleging that Mike was operating a commercial farm in his backyard in violation of local zoning ordinances. Even though Mike's "commercial farm" is really nothing more than a backyard organic garden with a small, moveable greenhouse, the town ultimately ordered that Mike stop cultivating his crops until the issue is resolved one way or the other.

-snip-

Naturally, many of the Bucuk family's other neighbors are outraged over the fact that Hamlin and the town are treating the Bucuks as criminals, having noted in various discussion forums that the Bucuks garden looks great, and is not a nuisance to the neighborhood (http://chatham.patch.com/articles/f...). And because it is an organic garden, it does not involve the use of harsh chemicals or other harmful polluters as has been suggested by those targeting the Bucuks.

-snip-

The Bucuks are currently working to pass a local "Right to Farm Act" that would allow backyard farmers to grow produce without the threat of zoning laws being used against them.
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Richard Erich Hamlin is a busybody and should be chained to his kitchen stove and made to eat nothing but processed/GM food

[el_bryanto]

1. That might be deemed cruel and unusual punishment.

News stories always want to plot a trend; this guys being a jerk, how does that prove that antipathy for home gardens is on the rise?

[RevStPatrick]

2. Some people simply do not deserve...

...to share this pretty little planet with the rest of us.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Not a "commercial farm" if he gave away the surplus vegetables.

[xchrom]

4. so what set this nut case off to be pissed about a garden? nt

[rfranklin]

10. Chatham is an affluent bedroom community loaded with Wall Streeters and corporate managers...

many of whom would be offended by anything other than a pristine lawn and manicured shrubs because it would affect their property values.

[HappyMe]

5. Growing vegetables is a crime?

It's not a 'commercial farm' if the guy isn't making any money.

[NeedleCast]

6. I don't think one incident shows that hostility is on the rise

In face, in my suburban Baltimore row house community, I've had just the opposite happen.

Our back yard is of the postage stamp variety. Well, maybe a little bigger, but not much. This year I built a 8'x4' raised planter and planted tomatoes and peppers in it, planted six fruit bushes (three raspberry, three blueberry) and also made a smaller, in ground planter to hold peas and beans. I have some potted tomatoes and peppers on my deck.

In contrast to this story, I've had several neighbors come by to see what I was building. One guy down the end of the block actually built the same planter I did when I told him how simple it was and what he needed to get at the Lowes which is two blocks away. My neighbor across the ally (the backs of our houses face each other) also fenced off the small green part of his yard that's not taken up by a driveway and planted a few squash and tomato plants. Two other people in among the 20 or so block houses the share the same ally have also planted something. Others have exprssed intrest in getting peppers and tomatoes from me once they're ready (and I always have too much, so I'm happy to oblige).

[LeftinOH]

7. Yet a toxic chemically-maintained ornamental lawn is perfectly acceptable..

YUCK!

[Scuba]

11. Bingo....

...apparently if we won't buy food from Monsanto and their ilk, we must starve.

[hedgehog]

8. We are in the middle of an on-going culture war that goes back at least

to the 60's: Opposition to the Democratic Party is tied to opposition to wind turbines, solar power, high speed trains and now organic gardening. (Look for scare stories that organic gardening spread E.coli)
Opposition to the theories of evolution and climate change fit right in. We need to take these people seriously because they would take us down a path to ruin.

[raging_moderate]

9. The Garden State?

So are we getting to the point where Monsanto etc... are turning the US into the NO GARDENING ALLOWED state. What ever happened to Victory Gardens? Oh yea, I forgot..... the First Lady's organic garden on the White House lawn was "proved" by the MSM be unhealthy for us because it wasn't "chemically enhanced" enough and might cause all of our kids to die from cancer.


:sarcasm:

[rfranklin]

12. C'mon now, NJ does subsidize farms...

especially the ones owned by the ultra wealthy like Christine Whitman. They only have to show a $500 sales receipt for firewood or pumpkins (check written by relatives of course) and they pay minimal property taxes.