city doesn't like a garden in the front yard ...

[littlewolf]

a friend of mine sent me this ... I know it is fox news ... but ya think the inspector
could find something else to do ... or maybe he is trying to protect his job ..
look how over grown the neighbors yards are ... video at the link

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/julie-bass-of-oak-park-faces-misdemeanor-charge-for-vegetable-garden-20110630-wpms

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.

snip

"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?"

"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?

[onehandle]

1. My wife has gardens in the front and back yards. nt

[Cleita]

2. Lot of cities won't let you grow produce in the front

yards. It's really dumb. I think you should be able to grow anything you want to or maybe even pave it or use astro-turf if you don't want to. I always felt being able to use your property for what you want should be a home ownership privilege.

[Liberal Veteran]

3. I think front yard gardens are outstanding.

Assuming there is no HOA (which means you probably already agreed to restrictions on what you can do), why not use the front yard to supplement your cupboard?

[ejpoeta]

4. i say put a toilet in the front yard with flowers in it. there. now that is suitable.

fuckers! if i can't have my garden then you will get a toilet with flowers in it.

[MADem]

5. I think she will win the case. She should get a good lawyer and

countersue for legal expenses.

The whole imbroglio centers around the word 'suitable,' which the City of Oak Park has not defined in their ordinance. Her vegetables are certainly as 'suitable' as her neighbors weeds, I'd wager. While Webster's (or any other) Dictionary can give you a clue as to the meaning of the term, it doesn't have the force of law. I think she'd win with half-awake representation.

[GoneOffShore]

6. Comments on the story are in favor of Julie Bass.

[saras]

7. If it's for sale in the grocery stores, it's common.

C'mon. Corn is common. Broccoli is common. These days, even arugula and star fruit are common.

The law DOES NOT SAY "common in other people's yards", or anything remotely like it.

And frankly, it's not at all clear why ANYONE should have to give a shit "what we want to see in a front yard". It's not a private covenant community. I just don't see that they have any legitimate business being that picky. They could, reasonably, outlaw a lawn of nuisance plants or recognized invasives, but if their aesthetics say that gardens don't look good, then they're just ignorant philistines who shouldn't be applying their aesthetic judgments to others.

[aquart]

8. My city doesn't care where you stick a garden.

[pansypoo53219]

9. the house across from my cousin's house has a front lawn garden.

but it looks like the back is shade. and it's a quiet street in madison, wi.

[AsahinaKimi]

10. So if you own the property ...

It means some of your rights as a home and property owner are not up to you?

[KittyWampus]

15. Property ownership doesn't mean what you think it means. It gives you the right to use a designated

area in specified ways.

[BiggJawn]

19. Another reason why I rent

Plenty of people around who'll tell you what you can and can't do with your own "property", but do they chip in on the mortgage?

Oh, HAY-ell no.

[Le Taz Hot]

11. That's a nice looking garden.

Raised beds, nice, neat, groomed. What's the biggie? I grow veggies in decorative pots in my front yard. There are lots of veggie plants that can double as ornamentals. Right now I have squash and in the winter it's kale.

[EC]

12. I have bush beans, zucchini, peppers and lettuce

growing right in with my flowers in the front yard. The beans have pretty little pink blossoms, the zucchini have really nice looking large leafs and the peppers add some color and the lettuce makes good edging. Best part is when everything starts producing, I can come home from work and pick supper from the front garden on my way into the house.

[kath]

13. Stupid - the typical grass lawn is very bad for the planet.

There should be pressure put on to eliminate the grass lawn, not the reverse.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

17. Exactly. And more and more need to embrace permaculture. (n/t)

[-..__...]

14. "Faux Newz"....

your post is invalid.

[CaliforniaHiker]

16. I had a neighbor

I had a neighbor who was a fairly recent immigrant who used to grow peppers, tomatoes, and various other veggies in his front yard. The other neighbors along the street hated it because they were convinced that it would bring down the property values. Somebody must have mentioned something to him because one year he just stopped planting his veggies in the front :-(

[Cleita]

18. The old property values BSid to make people do what

they want them to do. It's just not true, people will buy a property because they can afford it or like it, or any other variety of reasons, not because they don't like the neighbor's bell peppers.