Little update… the code enforcement super is coming out tomorrow. He said he thinks we will come to an agreement.
With that being said, any tips?
He’s probably going to go just say the same exact thing, but who knows. If nothing else maybe I can negotiate the ‘easement’ line a little over.
I now have a hearing scheduled if I think I have a chance, but still, then I risk losing more than I already will now.
by Own-Trainer-6996
8 Comments
Will be interesting what they say.
It looks like a wild meadow, but also just overgrown weeds since there’s no flowers! It’ll pop when they bloom!
It will either go well or go poorly. They will get it or they will not. Good luck. My code enforcement understood one year, then two years later the officer was different and that officer didn’t understand. I’ve been clear-cut 2 years in a row. Last year I “got a lawyer” but the lawyer didn’t understand that they had to actually do something with urgency to keep me from getting cut.
Being able to ID the plants and call them out as native is going to go a long way towards the intentional argument.
Get in touch with a local naturalist’s/environmental group. There’s been cases recently where homeowners have been able to protect their rights to re-wild their property as long as it’s not just growing wild. I think adding some features of a garden bed, showing that the edges are maintained and clean, etc maybe mowing closer to sidewalks and road for visibility, could all help
If things don’t work out, maybe try leaving random clumps and then mulching in between the clumps. Should easily be able to claim the whole thing as a garden. Add some cheap metal edging too.
Go get some mulch right now and put it around the tree. It’s good for the tree and will make this look more intentional. Plant some native shrubs or… basically anything that isn’t coreopsis (or whatever it is that’s blooming there). It frankly looks weirdly monotone. Milkweed would be cool. Make a path.
Superintendent of Code Enforcement sounds like a Vonnegut character
I’ve been following your posts.
I’ve also dealt with code enforcement and unhappy neighbors, though mine weren’t to the extent yours were. Ultimately, what I was told was that as long as someone is actively complaining, they are required to come out and check. Sometimes, I had really great people to talk to about permaculture and wild gardening and no lawns. Sometimes, I had someone that was determined to write a ticket for SOMETHING, so I was cited for the small couch that was in my carport waiting for the charity pickup coming later the same day they unexpectedly stopped by about the complaints.
The only way I was TRULY able to get peace was by altering the state of my yard- but not by much. I keep everything along the street trimmed (not all grass, but they don’t need to know that, and I am replacing patched of it regularly with lowgrowing natives and grasses that only need to be mowed 2x a year). I keep a couple narrow pathways through sections of my yard, and everything else I called a ‘bed’.
I outlined every bed in different materials- whatever I could get. Logs from a tree that was taken out a few years before, brick edgers a friend was getting rid of, those uglyblack plastic liners I got on freecycle.
I stuck a few pots (also sourced free) in sections of the beds, particularly at the ends, and I plant annuals that are bright, colorful and showy. Everything in the beds is wild-looking- a few fruit trees with guild plants, and then natives of all sorts. Clumps of grasses, shrubs here and there, plots of specific plants. It’s more cottage-garden feel, rambly and unplanned and lovely. Some of the sunflowers got 14′ tall, held up by the goldenrod around them. Volunteers have shown up..I had several pokeweed plants that I left, because they added interest and food for the wildlife.
In the beds at various spots I stuck toad houses, bug hotels, etc. I also added signs for specific plants that are natives, with the common name, scientific name and noting it as a native (they only held up a few years, I have to redo them).
What I’ve discovered is that the more intentional I made it look, with clumps of varieties and different heights and textures with the shrubs/bushes and the obvious borders, it took away the idea that they were weeds or that it was out of laziness.
Does it take a little more effort? Yes. Does it look nice? yes. Have I had a SINGLE visit from the county since then? *Not one.* I have my peace, I have more privacy, I have a garden that is wild and full of pollinators and creatures, and I’m happy.