Hi Everyone!
Code enforcement is saying based on code, my wildflowers are considered rank weeds. (Even if contained in a flower bed. He mentioned something about an easement too, but I can’t find anything that prohibits me from gardening in the easement.
Reading the Code, it looks like they are. However, something doesn’t make sense. My wildflowers are taller than 12”, some of them.
Virtually all plants are taller than 12”, and it doesn’t mention gardens except for produce? This doesn’t make sense. What is my best defense? Of course, ideally not cutting them down to 11”.
by Own-Trainer-6996
15 Comments
Based on what it’s saying, the only NOT shrub or tree thing taller than 12” you can grow is produce?
“Land of the free” /// cant have your lawn how you want it
By that definition, all of everyone’s landscaping everywhere is rank weeds.
What a crock of shit. I would ask them how they define landscape beds and differentiate between weeds and landscaping.
“Land of the free”
Like I’m not crazy that’s what it is saying right???
So… no flowers allowed…… weird code.
Hmmm I’d ask a horticulturis at your closest gardening center if her could give you labels for those wildflowers. There are cultivated varieties that looks similar and most people wouldn’t know the difference. So if people ask you about code, you could show the plant labels and say these plants were carefully selected, thus not “wildflowers”
For the easement, you can ask them to show you the part of the code that says it’s not allowed and say you accept the concequences if the city needs to destroy it for road maintenant or stuff like that. You can compromise with using ground covers in the easement maybe?
i havent been keeping up with your posts but is this a direct neighbor or just someone a couple houses down? are they on your property?
is there like a city council, etc?
They’re only rank **if:**
>by their density or location, constitute a detriment to the health, benefit and welfare of the public and community or a hazard to traffic or create a fire hazard to the property or otherwise interfere with the mowing of said weeds
Do they block any line of vision of an intersection or driveway? No *(confirm by walking on the sidewalk and see how visible your car would be pulling out. Especially for a child)*
Do they create a fire hazard? No
Are they detrimental to the benefit & welfare of the public/community? No (besides this crazy fucking lady)
—
Gardening in the easement probably counts as an encroachment which is typically something that needs a permit.
I guess maybe I’ll just grown like vegetables or something if it comes to it. I will not let her win.
Go dump salt over her lawn
Is Code Enforcement going to do anything about it? Or did they just answer your question? It’s entirely possible that they do not actually care enough to enforce the code as written. A lot of municipal ordinances are just copy-pasted from somewhere else and no one actually knows where they came from, and therefore no one really has “skin in the game” in terms of enforcing it.
If they do, you have some options:
– Call local news about it and have them run a story
– Talk to your local city council rep about changing the language of the code
– Start reporting all flowers taller than 12″ to gum up the works/call attention to the weird code language.
Be sure to have pictures of the wildflowers in full bloom to show off to the news/city councilmember/whoever. And whoever advised reaching out to the local master gardener extension and/or native plant society gave great advice–they can help you with supplying good arguments/talking points for having a wildflower bed, and you can point to their guidance.
“Whenever the director shall determine that rank weeds, thickets or noxious plants, or any combination thereof, are constituting a threat to the public health, comfort, safety or welfare, the director shall give at least ten days notice to the owner of the property by mail at the address shown by the current year’s tax rolls in the county treasurer’s office before the director holds a hearing or takes action. The notice shall order the property owner to cut or mow the vegetation on the property, and said notice shall further state that unless such work is performed within ten days of the date of the notice the work shall be done by the City and a notice of lien shall be filed with the county clerk against the property for the costs due and owing the City. ”
I think until this happens you don’t have to do anything.
“except healthy trees, shrubs, or produce for human consumption grown in a tended and cultivated garden”
Dandelion greens are nutrient-dense and can be eaten raw or cooked. And I hear dandelion root tea is pretty good.
Additionally, dandelion greens can be purchased at a lot of health food stores. Some big-name stores like [Safeway](https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.184400030.html) also sell them.
Not legal advice. 35-61 has a general exclusion for anything “where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.”
Also “shrubs” is not defined.