woman faces jail time for planting a vegetable garden

[telecom_goddess]

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...-20110630-wpms

Because she doesn't conform to some city standard of gotta be the same as everyone else in a cookie cutter sheeple fashion and dared to plant vegetables in her front yard (oh noes!) she's being charged and could go to jail.

This is the most asinine thing I've ever heard of.

[AdminAssistant]

Um, excuse me if I'm off base, but I think that Detroit (and the surrounding area) probably has a couple of other problems to worry about besides this lady's vegetable garden.

[insertNameHere]

Code enforcement is a fucking joke. Sure there are people who need to be dealt with but in our college town we had an issue with code enforcement because we had a totaled vehicle with no plates on the driveway.... which we found out was a definite no-no. Saw a guy taking pictures then drove off 2 days later the landlord gets three 8X11 high quality photos of his car being circled, a certified letter that said this issue must be corrected in 2 weeks. The tow truck was scheduled to come later that day, he called them up and pushed the date back two weeks and contacted the city council to let them know the issue he had with the fact that, No fewer than 2 people were home at that time. The "inspector" could have easily knocked on the door to alert us to the issue, and find out the landlord was working with his insurance, and within 3 days it would be reminded and the plates were removed as a security concern posed by the insurance agent to make sure they weren't stolen or accidentally left on car when it got hauled away. And that because of the amount of money they wasted to take pictures and special letterhead and postage, he will in fact delay the date till the last legally possible moment to prolong the eye sore they hate some much, and listed a few other location code enforcement should be looking at.

So can I believe that code enforcement is trying to arrest someone for a garden, yeah pretty much. really sad when you think about it. I wonder what the amount of time she would have spent for growing pot would be, you think more or less?

[Greenday]

This is happening in Detroit and law enforcement is focusing their attention on growing a garden? Holy shit they need to clean house.

[Andara Bledin]

Laws written by real estate lobbyists. What a pain in the ass.

My aunt had a vehicle in her driveway that was cited because it didn't have a battery. It had been stolen sometime the week before, and since it wasn't a great vehicle, it didn't get driven more than a few times a month. Then, a month later, they came back and cited her again for the vehicle not having a battery - because they stored it in the garage so it couldn't be stolen. >_<

One thing to note for all of those who say, "Don't thy have better things to do with their time?" The answer is No. That was, in and of itself, the job those people were hired to perform, so just because they're out doing whatever doesn't mean that something else is going undealt with. If other things are being neglected, that's a different matter entirely.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

One thing to note for all of those who say, "Don't thy have better things to do with their time?" The answer is No. That was, in and of itself, the job those people were hired to perform, so just because they're out doing whatever doesn't mean that something else is going undealt with. If other things are being neglected, that's a different matter entirely.

So you don't think this is wasted resources?

[HYHYBT]

How would they even *know* it didn't have a battery, short of breaking in? And why would anyone care whether it had a battery or not, so long as it wasn't abandoned junk?

As for the garden... let it go to a jury. I'd love to hear what they think. Meanwhile, it sounds like at least part of the POINT of having it in the front yard was so others could enjoy it and perhaps get the idea to grow their own; why would anybody take issue with that?

If I were going to plant a garden, I'd probably do it in the front yard too. Gardens take a lot of work, day after day, and not only is my front yard easier to get to, but most of the back is full, depending on where you look, of either septic tank and associated piping or else large tree roots. Neither of which is a good place to dig.

[Andara Bledin]

Could be yes, could be no. It depends on what else is in their job descriptions and why, and how much revenue their activities bring in to the division they work for.

Since I don't have a copy of their budget in front of me, I'm going to refrain from making any ignorant declarations on the matter.

How would they even *know* it didn't have a battery, short of breaking in? And why would anyone care whether it had a battery or not, so long as it wasn't abandoned junk?

There were some asshole neighbors up the street who liked to declare their position as lawyers and think they were hot shit that would call zoning on anyone they thought might possibly be in violation. The rule was that the car had to be operable, so zoning would make people start and move any vehicle that was parked within view of the street.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

Could be yes, could be no. It depends on what else is in their job descriptions and why, and how much revenue their activities bring in to the division they work for.

Since I don't have a copy of their budget in front of me, I'm going to refrain from making any ignorant declarations on the matter.

^-.-^

So if their revenue is more than cops busting criminals who are actually harming society, should we increase their budget and cut cops budget since let's face it, how much revenue are the cops bringing in when they bust murderers and rapists?

[Andara Bledin]

There were actual words with actual meaning before the word "and" in that second sentence. Your answer has already been stated.

^-.-^

[bainsidhe]

I thought for sure I'd see a photo of a haphazard compost-pile type of garden. This is neat and orderly and pleasing to the eye. But clearly not "suitable" according to the city.

[mikoyan29]

One note, this is Oak Park which is a suburb about 30 miles to the northwest of Detroit. It's probably a middle class community but like many communities in this area, has seen better days.

Part of me can see where they are coming from. Sure the garden looks nice now but it doesn't take long for the wooden planters to look like eyesores. But then again, they probably don't look much worse than other things in the area.

However, I don't see how such a poorly worded ordinance can be used for jail time.

[telecom_goddess]

I thought for sure I'd see a photo of a haphazard compost-pile type of garden. This is neat and orderly and pleasing to the eye. But clearly not "suitable" according to the city.

And that's the sticking point is that word "suitable" They say it means common and she's not conforming to the common standards. Whatever.

I really don't see why the city is so hell bent on everyone being the same. That's so boring and Edwards Scissorhands of them .

A lawn and stupid shrubbery don't provide any useful plant life. Vegetables provide food. I really don't see the harm here. And even if it's not picture perfect later what does it matter?

[mikoyan29]

I guess one of the reasons why this bothers me is that we are currently going through some pretty massive budget cuts in this state. Teachers are getting laid off left and right. State Troopers are also faciing the axe. Some cities are cutting back on their fire and police departments. Yet somehow, cities find ways to afford stuff like this.

[protege]

Yet somehow, cities find ways to afford stuff like this.

Quite a few areas will cite people for things "not up to code." For example, there was one house on my paper route...that really should have been torn down. The house was so overgrown, you couldn't even see it from the street. What you could see, was rather run-down, and falling apart. There were junk cars in the driveway, the yard, and in the back...was a dead school bus up on blocks. At least the place no longer houses 40 cats, 2 dying dogs...and a horse. The guy who lived there, was fucking crazy.

After decades of complaints (and citations), the county finally came in and...put his house in order. That is, the cars were dragged out and crushed...and the animals were euthanized.

Why did that have to happen? Simple--money. The county and borough were missing out on a crapload of property tax dollars. That house, had managed to devalue the entire neighborhood. Would *you* want to live next door to that?