i sent a letter to the mayor of the city of orlando in support of the helvenstons, and here is the response i received. i have no idea if this is true or not, and i have no idea what jason’s response to it will be, but in the interest of fairness i want to keep you informed of what both sides are saying. when i hear back from jason and/or jennifer, i will tell you what they have to say. all i will say at this point is that, from my personal experience, it is wise to keep in mind that city government officials will sometimes cast things in a certain light in order to maintain a public persona that “keeps up appearances”. as i said, i have no idea what is true or not true, and i am far away from florida, so i really have no way to verify this one way or another. this leaves me in the very un-enviable position of trying to keep people informed but possibly passing on some mistakes. if that happens, i hope you will correct me and forgive me. i am trying my best to stay in the loop and get it right.
here is the mayor’s letter:
Dear Citizen,
Thank you for reaching out to us on the topic of residential
gardening. I would like to clarify some information regarding this
topic that has been inaccurately reported by some media outlets.
The City has put the Helvingston’s code violation case on hold and
they will not be fined or held to any compliance schedule under that
originally issued code violation.
This case has brought forward the need for the City to make changes to
our code to better reflect our commitment to environmental
responsibility and we are currently in the process of drafting
amendments to this code that will encourage the use of residential
vegetable gardens as a sustainable source of producing food.
To reiterate, the Helvingston’s will not be fined and not held to any
compliance schedule under the originally issued code violation. That
case is on hold. Since then, City staff has been meeting with the
community and residents (including the Helvingston’s) to fully
understand the issue and get input from the entire community. Using
the input from several community, neighborhood and round table
meetings, the City is in the process of drafting recommendations and
guidelines to amend the existing code to allow for front yard
vegetable gardening in residential districts.
The City remains committed to sustainability and working together to
make Orlando one of the most environmentally conscious cities in the
country. To learn more about the City’s sustainability efforts,
please visit cityoforlando.net.
Sincerely,
Buddy Dyer
Mayor
Jan 14, 2013 @ 16:37:53
sounds like the major is in favour of some reasonable accord & is approaching new social needs and developments with and open and democtratic mind… send Buddy Dyer a hug!
Jan 14, 2013 @ 18:29:40
Oh my they formed a plural with apostrophe-s. Perhaps they should be issued a code violation citation.
I’m glad to hear they’re amending the existing code to allow for front yard
vegetable gardening in residential districts. It seemed that the version of the code that you posted earlier allowed front yard vegetable gardening, but sort of “zoned” it almost out of existence, and also, for all practical purposes, required it to be literally invisible. The illustration given at the Patriot Gardens blog is most illustrative.
Think in terms of firing up your word processor and setting the page margins to three inches on all four sides, and then setting the default text and background colors to white on white. Hopefully the new code will be substanially more permissive!
Waitaminnit. Oh noes! That condescendingly restrictive document is the proposal?? Oy vey!
Jan 14, 2013 @ 19:44:41
1-14-2013 I got on the phone and discovered that all the City Council is aware of this case but only District 3 is “in charge” of the Helvenstons’ case. I was very impressed with the staffer’s professionalism and understanding concerning front yard gardening. She informed me that the City of Orlando is in the process of rewriting their laws about this.
A major concern there is water usage. The Helvenstons live in a densely populated “urban” area of town, not out in the suburbs. One of the problems with gardening in such an environment is when one has 8′ high corn in the front yard right down to the sidewalk, emergency responders can’t see the house #s from the street.
Also, on an aesthetic level, the Helvenstons have apparently left a lot of bare dirt for a year now in their yard. Their garden is not orderly, no raised beds, just “stuff” all over the place. Unsightly.
I got a follow-up email from the phone call, part of which is in my following post.
Grant
Jan 14, 2013 @ 19:52:42
Here is the official Public notice sent out by Council District 3 regarding the rewriting of city of Orlando laws re front yard gardening:
…You are cordially invited to attend the Municipal Planning Board (MPB) Meeting on Tuesday, January 15th where an amendment to our landscaping code will be vetted on the subject of front yard gardening. I do think that meeting will shed light on how much diligent research our staff has been doing about incorporating front yard gardens into our landscaping code long before this media attention began. Our planners have certainly looked at many of the ideas from across the country to provide a comprehensive solution. I am also very proud of the many community gardens our city and its residents have spearheaded to allow like-minded neighbors to come together to garden together and build community at the same time.
Below is the item that will be discussed at MPB
http://www.cityoforlando.net/planning/cityplanning/MPBMeetings.htm (Municipal Planning Board)
http://www.cityoforlando.net/planning/cityplanning/MPB/2013/01Jan/LDC2011-00020.pdf (MPB Item concerning Front Yard Gardening)
As for some history on this issue, our landscaping ordinance was proposed to be amended in April 2011 in order to promote water efficiency as well as green practices and technologies. The proposal was vetted by MPB but wasn’t sent to City Council for final adoption as other changes continue to be considered to make it as comprehensive and forward-thinking as possible. One of those changes was how to handle the practice of front yard gardening. So that is where we are today. The proposal that came in front of MPB in 2011 is now being proposed to be amended again, before it comes to City Council for final approval, to deal with the practice of front yard gardening. The original amendments in April 2011 were done in conjunction with changes being made in Winter Park and Orange County to promote our similar goals of water management and green practices.
Just for clarification on the case you mentioned in your e-mail, no fines or action of any kind have been issued against the property owners in College Park. As it relates to property owners that received code enforcement notice regarding front yard gardening, Code Enforcement hearings and any potential fines have been put on hold until MPB and City Council consider the proposed front-yard garden policy above.
Jan 14, 2013 @ 20:03:32
Congratulations Julie! You have won another battle (or winning is impending). When a City Councilperson and Mayor gets phone calls and emails from all over America, they have to do something to fix the situation.
The City of Orlando seems very willing to find a win/win solution and are changing their laws.
YEA!!!
How long and how many Victories before you get summoned to the White House to receive your Medal of Honor and sleep in the Lincoln bedrooom?
Grant
Jan 14, 2013 @ 20:05:43
The Presidency is all into “Green” tech and what could be more “green” than green beans? HA!
Grant
Jan 14, 2013 @ 22:57:15
Medal of Honor is a military award, but there’s always the Medal of Freedom…
Jan 14, 2013 @ 22:58:11
Maybe comfrey. But definitely not turfgrass.
Jan 22, 2013 @ 22:38:24
Saw something on Fecebook that seemed relevant. DIY gardening is under attack in many many places, including Panama. The FB URL, for those who are logged in there, is https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.414041125343972.98692.100002142658424&type=1
The text, run through Google Translate:
Two comments, also via Google Translate, names of commenters not included here:
Jan 23, 2013 @ 13:09:23
oh, man…