This article isn’t about Lamar (at this point) but it is about City Ordinances and City Code Inspectors and how STUPID they can both be when codes and ordinances are written by the wrong people.
Not everyone has the money to live in a high powered protected neighborhood. Some people have to live off their land, not just on the land. This comes home when a vegetable garden is found to be outside the regulations of city ordinances. Says who?
Why does it matter if it’s in the front or back yard? Why is the only thing permissible in the front yard an acceptable square of grass? It isn’t edible. It has to be watered. It needs care and costs money, why can’t the front yard be something edible?
When Adam Guerrero of Memphis, TN grew a yard full of veggies to show his students how to garden, the city code inspector tagged him for violation. Scheduled hearing date is September 23rd. Smart man… he didn’t get excited, kept growing his vegetables and harvesting. Considering that the first day of autumn was September 21st, the end of the growing season is nigh on. Perhaps he harvested his crops today, turned the land and planted the expected seeds tonight? Or perhaps, he stood his ground (pun intended) and holds onto his principles that earth is for growing food, and that’s a plot of earth not used for living. Growing food is good.
There were times when all that grew in the gardens were food selections, canned in preparation for a long winter ahead. And now we penalize people for growing food, fining them for growing food selections that disturb the views of other homes. Sad day it has become when growing food is looked upon as ugly.
I wonder… Where will those city code inspectors be in thirty years when they aren’t drawing the BIG government paychecks any more and their retirement funds have disappeared? Do you suppose they’ll wish they knew how to grow a garden?
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