{"id":2314,"date":"2011-07-09T23:39:21","date_gmt":"2011-07-10T03:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/?p=2314"},"modified":"2011-07-09T23:39:21","modified_gmt":"2011-07-10T03:39:21","slug":"detroit-mo-follows-michelle-obamas-example-plants-garden-now-faces-jail-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/07\/detroit-mo-follows-michelle-obamas-example-plants-garden-now-faces-jail-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Detroit mom follows Michelle Obama’s example, plants garden, now faces jail time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julie Bass got the idea from First Lady Michelle Obama — why not plant what during World War II was called a “Victory Garden” — a small veggie garden in her yard?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Julie Bass' front-yard garden -- not "suitable," according to code enforcement officer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After all, “The price of organic food is kind of through the roof,” says the Detroit-area mom. “We thought it’d be really cool to do it so the neighbors could see. The kids love it. The kids from the neighborhood all come and help.”<\/p>\n

However, now she faces 93 days in jail because a code enforcement officer says the city only allows “suitable” plants on residents’ lawns. Julie was given\u00a0a warning, then a ticket and now she’s been charged with a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s sad that the City of Oak Park that’s already strapped for cash is paying a lot of money to have a prosecutor bothering us,” Bass told a local TV station.<\/p>\n

“Vegetable gardens may be popping on abandoned land in Detroit, Michigan, but nearby Oak Park apparently likes broccoli as much as does George H.W. Bush,” observes author Selwyn Duke. “At least, that is, when it\u2019s growing in a homeowner\u2019s front yard.<\/p>\n

“Resident Julie Bass is learning this the hard way. After Bass\u2019s lawn was torn up during a sewer line\u2019s replacement, an ambitious green thumb and the price of organic food inspired her to pursue a botanical project a bit more interesting than watching grass grow. The result was five large planter boxes boasting fresh basil, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, cumbers, and more \u2014 all visible from the street.”<\/p>\n

But one neighbor wasn\u2019t so helpful. He called the city and complained, prompting a visit from a code enforcement officer. Bass related what happened next to ABC News, stating:<\/p>\n

They warned us at first that we had to move the vegetables from the front, that no vegetables were allowed in the front yard. We didn’t move them because we didn’t think we were doing anything wrong, even according to city code we didn\u2019t think we were doing anything wrong. So they ticketed us and charged me with a misdemeanor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bass now faces a jury trial and a possible 93 days in jail if convicted.<\/p>\n

Oak Park City Planner Kevin Rulkowski\u00a0explains why a Victory Garden is\u00a0not “suitable.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the definition of what ‘suitable’ is in Webster’s dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what’s common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes and flowers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

“I could sell out and save my own self and just not have them bother me anymore,” Julie told the British newspaper The Daily Mail. <\/em><\/span>“But then there’s no telling what they’re going to harass the next person about.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Our attorney spoke to the prosecutor today,” she reported this weekend.\u00a0\u00a0“<\/span>His position: they are going to take this all the way. <\/span>Officially, this means\u00a0I am facing 93 days in jail if they win. No joke.” <\/span><\/p>\n

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for July 26.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Shame on you,” writes Duke to the City of Oak Park. “What would Michelle Obama think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julie Bass got the idea from First Lady Michelle Obama — why not plant what during World War II was called a “Victory Garden” — a small veggie garden in her yard? After all, “The price of organic food is kind of through the roof,” says the Detroit-area mom. “We thought it’d be really cool…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[312,381],"class_list":["post-2314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-julie-bass","tag-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDetroit mom follows Michelle Obama's example, plants garden, now faces jail time - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/07\/detroit-mo-follows-michelle-obamas-example-plants-garden-now-faces-jail-time.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Detroit mom follows Michelle Obama's example, plants garden, now faces jail time - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Julie Bass got the idea from First Lady Michelle Obama — why not plant what during World War II was called a “Victory Garden” — a small veggie garden in her yard? 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