Couple to be fined $500 a day for having a garden

[DreamGypsy]

110. The reporting is all a bit confused...

and hence, confusing.

From the more thorough report:

If the couple decides keep the garden, then they will have to pay $500 per day. The Christian Post is reporting that an Orlando city code prohibits residents from growing fruits and vegetables in their front yards.

Following the Christian Post link gives me "select json from cp_data where label='wwwhomepage52' and applied=1...". Not too useful.

The other note from the article is:

According to The New York Times, the Helvenstons’ front yard lacks a “finished” look as dictated by the code.

Following The New York Times link one finds:

Mr. Padin contacted the city, which cited the Helvenstons for violating section 60.207 of Orlando’s Land Development Code (failure to maintain ground cover on property) and set a deadline of Nov. 7 to comply.

Here's the full text of section 60.207 from the Orlando Code:

Sec. 60.207. - General Requirements.

Sec. 60.207. - General Requirements.permanent link to this piece of content

The property owner, occupant and/or agent shall be jointly and individually responsible for installing landscaping, according to accepted commercial planting procedures, using plant materials of species which are native or adapted to the Orlando area.

Existing Plant Material. The Zoning Official may adjust the application of standards contained herein, in part or in whole, to allow credit for healthy plant material on a building site prior or subsequent to its development, if such an adjustment is consistent with the intent of this Chapter. Existing plant material native to Central Florida should, in particular, be retained.

Protection. The Zoning Official shall be authorized to require landscaped areas to be protected from vehicular encroachment with effective wheel stops or curbs.

Anchoring. Wherever new medium or large trees are installed they shall be provided with anchoring to maintain the tree in a vertical upright position for a period of at least one year, in order to provide sufficient time for their roots to become established. Single staking of trees shall be prohibited.

Tree Health. Trees used to satisfy the requirements of this Part shall be in good or fair health as defined by this Chapter. A determination as to the health of trees need not be made in advance of their use; however, poor tree health may be established at any point during the development process in either one of the following ways:

(a)

The applicant may claim poor tree health as a reason to remove an existing tree which would otherwise be required to be retained to satisfy the requirements of this Part. To do so, the applicant shall submit an expert evaluation by a landscape architect, horticulturalist, urban forester or other expert as part of his tree removal permit application.

(b)

The Parks Official in coordination with the Zoning Official may claim poor tree health as a reason for disallowing a new or existing tree for use in satisfying the requirements of this Part. The applicant may rebut such a claim by submitting an expert evaluation by a landscape architect, horticulturalist, urban forester or other expert to the Parks Official, who shall make a final determination. If the expert evaluation recommends recuperative measures to improve tree health, the Parks Official may condition the retention of the tree upon these measures, and may reassess the health of the tree after a one-year recuperation period.

Quality. Plant materials used in conformance with provisions of this Part shall equal or exceed the standards for Florida No. 1 as established and revised by the Florida Department of Agriculture. Grass sod shall be clean and reasonably free of weeds and noxious pests or disease. Grass seed used shall meet requirements of the FDOA quality control program.

Irrigation. Irrigation systems shall be installed according to manufacturer's specifications and the Standard Plumbing Code. All automatic irrigation systems as required by this Part shall be maintained in proper operating condition. Automatically controlled systems shall be operated by an irrigation controller that can provide water to high, moderate, and low water use zones and turfgrass areas on different schedules. Moisture sensor and/or rain gauge equipment shall be required on automatic irrigation systems to avoid irrigation during periods of sufficient rainfall. The use of low volume, emitter or target irrigation is preferred for trees, shrubs and ground covers. Irrigation systems shall be operated to conform to St. John's River or South Florida Water Management District mandatory water use restrictions, when applicable.

Berms. When a berm is used to form a visual screen in lieu of, or in conjunction with, a hedge or wall, such berm shall not exceed a slope of 3:1, and shall be completely covered with shrubs, grass or other living ground cover.

Ground Covers. Ground covers shall be planted in a manner so as to present a finished appearance with reasonably complete coverage under normal growing conditions within 12 months after planting. All improved property in the City, including residential, shall have ground cover or turfgrass installed and maintained in those areas not otherwise planted or covered by structures or pavement.

Hedges. Shrubs used to form hedges shall be of a non-deciduous species, shall be a minimum of 24 inches in height above grade at the time of planting and shall be spaced not more than 36 inches apart and maintained so as to form a continuous visual screen 30 inches in height above grade, under normal growing conditions, within one year after planting.

Turf Grass. Grass shall be of a species normally grown as permanent lawns in the City of Orlando. Grass areas may be sodded, plugged, sprigged or seeded except that solid sod shall be used in swales or other areas subject to erosion.

Tree and Shrub Installation. Grow bags and containers including synthetic burlap shall be completely removed from the root ball prior to planting. All twine or wire shall be cut off from around the trunk at the top of the rootball. Trees and shrubs shall be mulched to a minimum depth of 2 inches with organic mulch at least to the perimeter of the rootball.

(Ord. of 9-16-1991, Doc. #25097; Ord. of 4-20-1992, Doc. #25634)

Seems to me like the applicable section is Ground Covers:

Ground covers shall be planted in a manner so as to present a finished appearance with reasonably complete coverage under normal growing conditions within 12 months after planting

The New York times article discuss the general trend of edible gardens. It also defuses the comments on these thread about current tract housing, subdivision requirements, etc.:

Mr. Helvenston spent last Super Bowl Sunday planting the garden outside his 1940s cottage, in a neighborhood of modest houses close to downtown. Orlando’s growing season is nearly year-round, and Mr. Helvenston, a self-employed sustainability consultant for the building trade, said he saw the garden as “a budget thing” — a money-saving supplement to the chicken coop he and his wife, Jennifer, installed a few months later behind their house.

Ok. I'm done. Excuse me, I need to go get a life.