Cities with too much time on their hands
From
FOX:
Michigan Resident Faces 93 Days in Jail For Vegetable Garden
A Michigan resident is facing up to 93 days in jail for planting a vegetable garden in her front yard, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
Julie Bass, of Oak Park, Michigan was first given a warning followed by a ticket and now she is being charged with a misdemeanor for her simple front-yard garden.
"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.
The city is claiming that the garden violates a city code which states that front yards must consist of suitable, live plant material to which Bass responds, "We think it's suitable."
"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," Bass told the station.
"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," continued Bass.
A pretrial is scheduled for July 26 and a jury trial could be next.
There's a photo at the FOX news article and it certainly looks nice -- couple of raised beds, well tended.
My first thought that Oak Park is where
Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked and that the city might have been trying to maintain some architectural standards but a quick search reminded me that the
Oak Park in Michigan is not the
Oak Park in Illinois
Posted by DaveH at July 9, 2011 11:49 AM