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    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #1

    Jul 8, 2011, 06:57 AM
    It's come to this...
    Growing vegetables in your front yard is bad according to the city of Oak Park, MI. Julie Bass faces up to 93 days in jail for growing vegetables instead of grass.

    "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.
    I don't think the city has a case, I couldn't find "common" as a definition of suitable. I think it's great, in addition to my other gardens I have a 4 x 8 raised bed just like hers with tomatoes, carrots, peppers, dill, cilantro and basil. It's gorgeous, much nicer than my lawn.
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #2

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:03 AM
    It's the city code that came with the house when she bought it. It she doesn't like it she can move to an area that has a code that suits what she wants to do. She could have made the garden in her backyard.
    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #3

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:31 AM

    The code only specifies "suitable, live, plant material." Seems perfectly suitable to me.
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    #4

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:34 AM
    Property values and perception, it often boils down to that.
    tomder55's Avatar
    tomder55 Posts: 1,742, Reputation: 346
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    #5

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:43 AM

    I wonder how many yards in Oak Park have lawns that look like the Serengeti or are loaded with dandellion or unsightly crabgrass or resembles Fred Sanford's property .I bet that's "common".

    Here is a pix of the front yard garden . It is on neat raised beds surrounded by mulch paths . There is fresh growing lawn in front of the garden.I would not mind that in my neighbors yard .
    Wating to see what Michelle Obama has to say about this ?

    The answer is for like minded members of the community to tear up their front yards and plant veggies. Then it will be "common" .
    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #6

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:43 AM

    And here I thought you'd side with the little guy.
    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #7

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:47 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by tomder55 View Post
    I wonder how many yards in Oak Park have lawns that look like the Serengeti or are loaded with dandellion or unsightly crabgrass or resembles Fred Sanford's property .I bet that's "common".

    Here is a pix of the front yard garden . It is on neat raised beds surrounded by mulch paths . There is fresh growing lawn in front of the garden.I would not mind that in my neighbors yard .

    Wating to see what Michelle Obama has to say about this ?
    Looks perfectly lovely to me. Michelle should be all over this, especially with all the interest the neighborhood kids have shown. What better way to get kids interested in veggies?

    She even has marigolds growing with her veggies (as do I), that ain't suitable?
    southamerica's Avatar
    southamerica Posts: 667, Reputation: 400
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    #8

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:51 AM

    Okay, well, I think that the city is absolutely absurd to go after something like this, but they are. I certainly would think twice about moving there or continuing to live there with such twerps citing people for gardens.

    ANYWHO--the article does say:

    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.
    Is the charge ludacris? Well, yeah, but she got plenty of warning that the city wanted her to to get rid of the front yard garden. Rules are rules. That's why I'll make sure I know what I'm getting myself into (with city AND HOA) when I purchase a home someday.
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    southamerica Posts: 667, Reputation: 400
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    #9

    Jul 8, 2011, 07:55 AM

    Oh, and I think everyone on her street, save the ONE neighbor who's curmudgeoning it, should plan a front yard garden.

    Then it'll be common!
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    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #10

    Jul 8, 2011, 08:47 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by southamerica View Post
    Is the charge ludacris? Well, yeah, but she got plenty of warning that the city wanted her to to get rid of the front yard garden. Rules are rules. That's why I'll make sure I know what I'm getting myself into (with city AND HOA) when I purchase a home someday.
    Yeah, rules are rules, but that one is so vague I don't see how they have a case. Fortunately, I can do darn near anything in my neighborhood, I may have to plant corn in my front yard next year.
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    southamerica Posts: 667, Reputation: 400
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    #11

    Jul 8, 2011, 08:51 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by speechlesstx View Post
    Yeah, rules are rules, but that one is so vague I don't see how they have a case. Fortunately, I can do darn near anything in my neighborhood, I may have to plant corn in my front yard next year.
    Well, I was referring more to the fact that she got warned, cited, and THEN charged. Once the "rule" was made known (and therefore no longer vague), she could have done something besides ignore it.

    I think she could have done something progressive very easily, such as get a petition in motion, get her neighbors to speak up. Make the city's silly actions known to the community.

    Instead, she ignored it and now she's been charged with a misdemeanor. She's hardly a victim, she has ignored the "law"-which she could have easily fought before it came to this. I'm interested to see where this goes. I'm rooting for the garden.
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    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #12

    Jul 8, 2011, 09:15 AM

    I don't think she feels she's a victim and I certainly wouldn't portray her as one. She's taking a stand, a good one in my view. I kind of doubt she just failed to respond to the city's moves, I for one would have called right away and asked them what idiot didn't know that veggies are "suitable, live plant material."
    tomder55's Avatar
    tomder55 Posts: 1,742, Reputation: 346
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    #13

    Jul 8, 2011, 09:18 AM

    She even has marigolds growing with her veggies (as do I), that ain't suitable?
    Me too . It keeps some pesky insects away .
    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #14

    Jul 8, 2011, 09:26 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by tomder55 View Post
    Me too . It keeps some pesky insects away .
    Exactly, and they're pretty and easy to grow to boot.
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    tomder55 Posts: 1,742, Reputation: 346
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    #15

    Jul 16, 2011, 02:28 AM

    Well the town dropped the case against the garden(sorta... more like they are trying to get the national attention away from the town before they reinstate the charges .).

    Now it's vendetta time.

    They are going after her for old charges about unlicensed dogs ;an issue long resolved. The charges just happen to have the same jail time as the charges about her front yard had she been found guilty .

    For more info ,check out her blog entries of July 14,15
    oakparkhatesveggies
    paraclete's Avatar
    paraclete Posts: 2,706, Reputation: 173
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    #16

    Jul 16, 2011, 05:13 AM
    Strange place you live in
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #17

    Jul 16, 2011, 05:15 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by paraclete View Post
    strange place you live in
    And it's considered a big news item considering what's going on in the world.
    speechlesstx's Avatar
    speechlesstx Posts: 1,111, Reputation: 284
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    #18

    Jul 16, 2011, 06:03 AM

    It's called a current event, thus posted in the current events forum. But if you want to call it big news then OK, heavy handed government in a free country over a minor issue is big news. More important than today's big news in Canada.
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #19

    Jul 16, 2011, 06:14 AM
    Thanks, I'll show that game to my daughter - maybe we'll play it together. :)
    I'm watching the Tour de France at the moment, then it's off geocaching in the woods.

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