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Are you looking to take a break today from coupon related internet articles? I found this interesting article regarding a Michigan woman who planted raised garden beds in her front lawn. Apparently, she has been asked to remove her gardens and she hasn’t. She is now facing 93 days in jail! Go HERE to read the article. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..Read More Here...
I just don’t get people. It isn’t like she lives next to $500,000 houses that are being de-valued over her gardens. Why do people think they have the right to tell you what to do in your own home?
I think this is ridiculous! Her yard looks very neat and well maintained. I cannot believe her city would waste valuable tax dollars for this issue.
Wow! I have some veggies planted in my front yard! I even have a strawberry patch, raspberry and blueberry bushes! They’re not all over the front yard as hers are but I see nothing wrong with taking the initiative to provide fresh produce to support your family. What the economy is like shouldn’t matter! Providing for your family can be a struggle regardless of the economy…
This is ridiculous! Her garden is very well kept with the raised beds and all. So many stupid rules and regulations, what’s next?
Don’t they have “real” criminals to look after??? The town is short on funds and they’re wasting taxpayer $$$ on this? This world is going crazy.
If she’s breaking the law then she should face consequences. If she is not breaking the law, then she should be left alone to do with her private property what she wants. Meanwhile, if I lived next door I would cringe every time I walked out of my house…I think all gardens belong in back yards out of sight from the street.
This is just another example of how our freedoms are being eroded, one at a time. The government nanny state wants to regulate every aspect of our lives.
Here’s the thing, she is breaking the law. As ridiculous as some people think this law is, it is still a law. She does not have the right to break it without suffering consequences. The government is not regulating every aspect of our lives, or telling what we can do in our own homes, or wasting money enforcing the statute. The agency that oversees this type of situation is doing its job. That particular city says that a person cannot plant a garden in the front yard. She was contacted by the city and chose to ignore the citation. Now she is in real trouble.
Bottom line is that you don’t get to break a law because you don’t like it or you don’t think it pertains to you or you think it is so miniscule to enforce.
I agree with Linda. If she wanted to grow a garden she should have moved to a property zoned for agriculture (or what have you). She wouldn’t want the house next door to her to be converted to a liquor store and the zoning laws protect that from happening.
A lot of laws we don’t like but we do have to abide by them, whether we agree or not. We live in the greatest country and we need to protect it with laws.
I read on a different article (a few days ago, I don’t remember the source) that she had actually asked the city if it was allowed BEFORE she planted the garden and the city said no. Then she planted the garden anyway.
Do I agree with the ordinance? No. Does it matter? No. If she actually did call them & they told her no, that vegetable gardens were not allowed in her front yard, then I guess I have no sympathy.
I don’t agree with the majority of city ordinances for my area, but I’m not going to purposely break them especially when I know better.
This may be “private” property but the government has to keep regulations. My front lawn is also my own “private” property but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with it. If you want more freedom with your property, don’t pick a place that has these kinds of regulations and find a place with more privacy. Rules are rules and if exceptions are made for non-offensive rule breakers, then when the offensive ones come along they will be able to reference things like this in their defense. Laws have to be black and white because the second you inject gray areas, there will always be somebody that wants to push it.