Woman Plants Garden in Her Front Yard and Faces 93 Days in Jail for It.

reply to post by SelfSustainedLoner


I don't know, seems like she got the title right to me... Watch the news report, and the interviews.

Originally posted by ugie1028
I have a garden in the front and backyard of my home. no one seems to complain at all. I really hope this way of thinking stays the same around me. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, eggplants, etc growing.

i dont think this is right at all, good for the owner for taking it to a jurt trial... get the laws changed in that area. there's a thing called jury nullification... would work wonders in this case.

Laws changed? There is no law that says she can't do what she did.

The city code states that you must have essentially a plant of some kind... whether that be grass or a vegetable. The word suitable means appropriate. What is appropriate in the context of this law is defined in the code as "Vegetation."

Last time I checked cucumbers were considered vegetation.

::Sigh::

What is becoming of this country?

reply to post by Frogs


stuff like this makes me angry....wtf.....whats wrong with having vegetables in your fron yard?

Stupid USA. You poor bastards. You are in such a deep sh*t...

reply to post by Frogs


as usual they get their way until you spend a lot of money & time on lawyers and court.

reply to post by Laokin


that i understand, but it also stated that it had to look like the other yards in the neighborhood which just had grass and bushes. a food garden looks completely different than just grass and bushes. if this woman wants a trial jury, that silly law, could be changed to void the whole thing.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Does this Julie Bass have a Facebook page or any way to contact her or the city? This should be a huge story!

City of Oak Park

edit on 7/8/2011 by Benevolent Heretic because: (no reason given)

This is such a petty thing its unreal there going after her anyone wanting to protest can follow the link to
Kevin Rulkowski - Director/City Planner Maybe send him a email or give him a call?

reply to post by civilchallenger


True! But if you have one of those restrictive HOA's, good luck. They can change rules at any point, and literally force you to do whatever they feel is the 'common good'. You could lose your house over simple disputes. Never buy a house with an HOA unless you are willing to put up with complete absurdity.

Having read through this thread and the news reports, I am truly saddened by this story. It is simply another case of someone's private life being invaded by the government. The saddest part of this is that the woman will most likely end up going to jail or ending up broke from the cost of legal defense for this non-issue.

I am glad to see that she is taking a stand, but it would be nice for her neighbors to stand up for her as well. Maybe get some people from the city more actively involved in protesting the local government's behavior.

I think it's sad that a person can't even plant a vegetable garden on their own property anymore. This world is devolving quicker every day.

Originally posted by gconran
reply to post by civilchallenger

 

True! But if you have one of those restrictive HOA's, good luck. They can change rules at any point, and literally force you to do whatever they feel is the 'common good'. You could lose your house over simple disputes. Never buy a house with an HOA unless you are willing to put up with complete absurdity.

in some areas there pretty bad but most of the time there quite relaxed about stuff. They just don't want white trash coming in with there living room in there front yard and bringing down everyone home value

Well, you can always trick them by planting in an unmarked way with plants that have aesthetic qualities beyond their food potential.

For example (and I realize she is in Tenn, so all of these probably wouldn't work specifically for her):

-Sweet Potato makes a nice ground cover
-Pineapples look like bromeliads
-Malanga looks like any other arrow-shaped broadleaf plant
-Peppers grow to look like shrubs
-Mung beans grow like a cool vine

When I lived in Spain, I visited Bilbao and they had different types of lettuce growing in the medians. A plant is a plant is a plant.

Wow,thats absolutely ridiculous,jailed for something like that?!?

I heard some simular storys like that in Australia,people in the Eastern States planted some flora out the front of their house to liven it up abit.By the way they were the exact same plants that the council had used in that area for road islands and such.The council came through,ripped them up and fined the people as well...

Its just silly,they are just plants,its not a big deal.I see people planting flora as a good think,not a bad thing.

They really are trying to make us like living robots.

It is against my county ordinance to grow vegetables in my front yard, as well.

I put raised beds in the back yard, but the front gets all of the sun. The back gets some hours, but not enough really, the garden would do better with more sun, but we are getting food from it, and thats what counts.

People need to stop allowing corporate/navy laws to be erected around them, and concern them. If this woman spends any time in jail, she is being kidnapped by psychos and overpowered by evil. Do something about your system. We all need to. And stand up for whats truly right. Only common law, thou shalt not kill, rape or murder, is even valid.

reply to post by stinavamp


glad to see there's someone else w/a black thumb. LOL. i even managed to kill a cactus

on a different note, having the veggies closer to the road is not a good idea. books i've read about gathering herbs suggest not collecting anything w/in 100 feet of the road because of potential runoff into the herbs.

I hope She Keeps the Garden

Good For Her If she paid for her land & Own It She should not have any Problem

This is So Wrong ... Of Controlling Peoples Property Her Garden is Beautiful and Boxed In !!!

Here Is a Brief True Story !

About a Guy That Bought Land In Potsdam NY On The Main Downtown of the Village and Was planning to Use it For Business that's
Until The Town board Stepped In because of Business Zone Hazerd Laws Basically because of Heavy Traffic

He Was Stuck with it and No One Would Buy The Lot So What Did He DO!! Well One ! Thing He DID was!!

Plant a Field of CORN Right On His Lot Right in the Middle DownTown That what He did First Until Collage Students Got Involved and Helped With the Protest !as they Put Up Scare Crows and Signs,
Eventually The Corn Was Cut Mowed more Less Harvested LOL !

Later ... FrankHank Robar (Owner of the Lot) & The Collage Students Decided To Put Toilet's Up ! and Used Them Like Flower Bed's!! with Rose's and Other Nice Looking Flowers ! Well The Theme Is The Lot is going to the Toilet of what Use it WAS



OK Here is The Videos!


Hank's Toilet Garden



From a Poster on You Tube

This is another example of Potsdam Village Boards Stupidity, This should have been resolved When Hank first Asked the Board to rezone this property . Now they have to live with it. Way to Go Hank'''''''''''''''''''''''

Toilet Memorial in Potsdam NY





Potsdam toilet display doesn't get flushed
ithaca-cortland.ynn.com...



The article's

Toilet protest continues

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Mike Ezzo's photo
Mike Ezzo
, Potsdam Examiner
July 21, 2010

Continue reading on Examiner.com Toilet protest continues - Watertown Potsdam | Examiner.com www.examiner.com...

www.examiner.com...

Hank has Put of Another Porcelain Park

A second porcelain park in Potsdam
northcountrynow.com...

Of the Lady the OP posted
I Would Think She Should Put up a Toilet or a High 6 Foot Fence Wall! Up!

What Would the Board DO then !

Well, maybe she shouldn't have been planting her weed plants in the front yard


But in all seriousness that really blows. Believe it or not in the city i grew up in you get a $25 dollar ticket for having your car parked in the street between 2-6 in the morning. How completely stupid is that. You fall asleep for a couple hours and BOOM 2:30 A.M. and you have a ticket.

A garden in her front yard?? A beautiful one at that? No wonder they are locking this woman up. She's a menace to society with all her terrorist gardening activities.

Yet we still do nothing... nothing...

Clamp the shackles on our ankles and we'll do... nothing.

Pathetic.

shouldnt they return all the money she spent on purchasing the property as well as all the money she spent on property tax before they can say what gets planted and where???

Like them or not, these codes are everywhere.

Personally if I could afford and it and it was allowed I would rip up my entire lawn and seed it with native grasses, flowers etc. They are much better for the enviroment then the green carpets you see everywhere.