True story
Hi, all~
Thought I'd share this true story as it happened to me two weeks ago.
Imagine hearing the doorbell at noontime and upon answering the door, a woman
in uniform sternly says "WE NEED TO TALK!"
Stumbling over my two dogs, I stepped outside and was peppered with questions
regarding my nursery operation. This lady was a zoning officer and she
wanted to know why I was running a nursery operation in the city without
permits. Her verbage was like machine gun fire-the more she said, the more I
realized she had a serious agenda
I stopped the lady in her tracks by telling her I was growing pumpkins as a
hobby. "These are pumpkins?" she said, as I walked her over to my Walters
plants, each having large fruits in various stages of growth. She spied the
200 lb orange fruit in the center of the patch, and said "THAT'S a pumpkin?"
I went on to say that besides the two plants inside the fence, I had two
plants in my side yard and one toward the front (I live on a corner lot). She
was in awe. I explained how the temporary shade cloth was necessary to block
sun and that due to drought I was watering via rain collected in large
containers. She looked impressed as I gave her the tour. I thought could see
a calm settling over her as she realized I was not in the commercial nursery
business.
Wrong! She said her office had received a complaint that I was operating a
nursery and that I had rogue plants that were growing across the street,
stopping traffic and obstructing the view of drivers and pedestrians, thereby
creating a hazard and a potential for accidents. I asked her if she thought
this was true after seeing my patch, and of course, she said no.
However, all wasn't over. She started going off on regulations regarding
property easements and rights of way. Hell bent on issuing me a citation,
she made the mistake of saying that it is illegal to grow anything on an
easement. At that point, I stifled her and said "Most homeowners grow grass
and shrubs or trees on their easements-some even have fences. So, if you're
going to give me a citation, make it tight and indefensible."
She was appalled at my candor, but agreed that she could see no offense. She
left and asked me to phone her boss to discuss this further.
Wanting to put this matter to bed, I went downtown to meet the commish armed
with photos and a newpaper article describing my hobby with a photo of my 380
pounder on the front page. After looking at my material, he laughed and told
me what had prompted this enitre episode. Seems a real estate saleswoman,
desparately trying to sell a house 6 doors down, phoned the zoning office
with the erroneous tales of my having a nursery and plants stopping traffic,
etc. She didn't feel it was appropriate for me to have a garden at all
because I was on a corner lot and everything was there for neighbors to see.
She felt my garden was an eyesore and a hindrance to her ability to sell the
home, and hoped that the commish would order me to pull my plants.
I live in a normal, average suburb, not in a prestigious gated community with
deed restrictions. I left the zoning office with the commissioner's blessing
to continue my garden. This was a great outcome.
The business ethics of this saleswoman are questionable.
Pumpkins rule~
Barb
Wishing I lived in rural NY.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumpkin-growing FAQ: http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/search.cgi
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
