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…
I think it is kinda crazy and a pretty good example of wasting gov money on intruding in people’s lives. I saw her talking on the news saying the charges were specifically for the vegetable plants, not for the planters etc, not that it would make that big of a difference to me. I would love to have a veggie garden (right now I have a very sad blueberry plant) and I think it was perfectly ok for this mother to choose to plant a veggie garden for her family in the front lawn they had to redo after the city planted tree caused them to have to dig up their front lawn. oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/
I vaguely heard of this “controversy” on our local news (local for Upper MI is 3 hours away from where I live). I just think it’s more government intrusion and waste. I mean, it’s a garden, not blight or a bunch of rusting out cars in the front yard. Don’t they have bigger issues to deal with?
Out here in California I’ve seen lovely vegetable and herb gardens in front lawns, in Berekley and Pasadena in particular. If it’s well-planned and maintained, a ‘cook’s front yard’ is spectacular.
However, there’s my city, which is home to a substantial number (ab. 20,000) of refugee families who, as they became homewoners, have caused several stirs that played out in the local media over their front yard “gardens.” They say they’re simply raising medicinal plants and vegetables they use to feed and care for their families. The untrained American eye, on the other hand, sees a mishmash jumble of plants, bushes, and vines in a variety of stages of life and death, hapazardly planted here and there with no thought to aesthetics. So my city goes back and forth between allowing front yard gardens and banning them when homeowners complain their property value is being affected by their neighbors’ landscaping.
So, I think there needs to be a balance between looks and function. I have absolutely no problem with homeowners who landscape with edibles. None. Done right it’s not only beautiful, but it’s fragrant. Done poorly, however, it looks like someone got their landscaping inspiration by hanging out down by the railroad tracks.
The crazy thing is that the same liberal forces that wanted the “government out of our bedrooms” have no problem at all with the government intruding into our living rooms (the upcoming light bulb ban), our bathrooms (forcing the low-flow toilets), our cars (too numerous to mention), our kitchens (all the various “politically correct” food bans and movements), and now our front yards. This used to be America . . . . .
I’ll bet some idiot probably complained when they saw the tomado plants and mistook them for marajuana or something…and some goon at a desk filed a charge before going to look and then realizing they were in a hole came up with some trump charge.
What an annoying issue :mad: I can’t believe that it’s even a problem… as long as you keep your veggies groomed and don’t let the tomatoes take over everything, vegetable plants are beautiful! They even make pretty flowers. How obnoxious that they are making an issue out of it- poor lady.
Hello everyone,
Looking at it positively, it’s a perfect day for transplanting some self sown veggies which are living dangerously on some of the paths… I’ll do a few of the strawberries which are spreading nicely as well if I get a chance. Locksmith Oak Park
DISCLAIMER: Catholic Answers has turned over the archive to Catholic-Questions.org and no longer owns, manages, or moderates the forums. For additional apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com.
