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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Edible Landscape Controversy Grows
  • Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 20:11:42 -0400

Greg wrote:

Hey all,

I just wanted to let you know there is a controversy growing in GIlbert that might be of interest to you. Our friend Amy Belanger has graciously put together this document. If you feel moved write a letter or make a phone call. Lets see how we can turn this into a learning moment for all involved.

Greg

If you want to be a true activist, watch the agenda of the Town Council meetings online and if the ordinance change appears on the agenda, show up prepared to comment. Be aware that, in order to comment at the public hearing in Gilbert, you must fill out a comment form indicating the item number on which you wish to be heard. The comment form will be available at the hearing. The Town Council agendas (with item numbers) can be viewed at the following url: <http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/boards/agncouncil.cfm>http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/boards/agncouncil.cfm.

To follow this issue, sign up for the permaculture listserve http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PhxPermaculture/


Amy J. Belanger
602-616-9744

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Here is the text of these news articles:


<http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=48601>

Gilbert News
Daniel Lee Thompson of Gilbert sits in front of his parents’ house, where he has made the front yard into a vegetable garden. Some neighbors worry that the foliage will affect their homes’ values.
Toru Kawana Tribune
Gilbert’s Garden of Eatin’ triggers dispute
By Beth Lucas, Tribune
September 21, 2005
Daniel Lee Thompson’s Thanksgiving corn is preparing to ripen — in his front yard. Underneath, lettuce for his family’s salad grows. The yard is filled with hills and creekbeds, and a variety of organic vegetables and fruits.
View garden slideshow.
Related Links
Gilbert
But what the Gilbert resident considers edible landscape has neighbors concerned about real estate values and appearance, and that has captured the attention of Town Councilman Dave Crozier.

Crozier wants to get rid of Thompson’s garden, which he says stands out in an otherwise well-kept neighborhood.

He asked the town’s attorneys for an opinion on whether an old ordinance that allowed Thompson to grow his plants at will applies to a suburban residence. The ordinance’s intent was to allow farmers to plant crops, he claims.

If the attorney’s opinion doesn’t allow the town to rid the yard of what he considers overgrowth, Crozier said he will push for change to the current ordinance.

"You’ve got to draw a line between unkempt decorative landscaping versus somebody legitimately trying to grow a farm in their front yard," Crozier said. "The guy is growing what appears to be a science experiment in his front yard. When you first pull up to it, it’s just like a jungle gone wild."

The issue came to light after a neighbor, Sandra Terry, wrote to the town, threatening to move away. She declined to comment on the issue.

Senior code compliance officer Steve Wallace said he receives numerous complaints about the property on West Rawhide Avenue southeast of Elliot and Cooper roads, and recently asked Thompson to pull weeds that had grown taller than allowed by ordinance. However, based on how the town now interprets its ordinance, there have been no other violations, he said.

The home is not part of a homeowner’s association.

Thompson is unflinching in his determination to grow what he said he plans to document in an independent film as an example of selfsufficient healthy living.

"Why they want to deprive themselves and not accept the bounty of God is beyond me," Thompson said. "They would allow the poisoning and death of everything in my garden — which would lead to the death of my parents."

He said he first began the garden three years ago to improve his parents’ health by providing more oxygen and cooler temperatures, as well as the fresh food. His mother and step-father are owners of the home.

Thompson’s mother, Ann Carlisle, said the healthy food, along with supplements allows her at the age of 80 to avoid prescription drugs. She said growing fruits, vegetables and flowers should be more accepted and even appreciated in such a dry climate.

"People are too busy being too busy being too busy," she said. "It’s crazy. They’d rather be watching sports on TV. How many kids even know how grass grows?"

Thompson has prepared a letter, after his last visit from a code enforcer, that he plans to send to Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman, Sen. John McCain, RAriz., and Gov. Janet Napolitano, asking that his yard be saved, and urging more planting statewide to restore water resources and oxygen in the state. He invited them to view his home.

"Come back in three weeks. You’re going to be walking through a jungle," Thompson said Monday as he watered and played music for his backyard.
Contact Beth Lucas by email, or phone (480) 898-6373


<http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/1005gr-wildgardenZ11.html>

Homegrown garden leaves neighbors cold

Cary Aspinwall
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 5, 2005 12:00 AM

Among the xeriscape, golf greens, patios and swimming pools of Gilbert, Daniel Lee Thompson has created his own little ecosystem.

Thompson's front yard is shaded by massive leaves of romaine lettuce, cornstalks, Swiss chard and towering turnip greens.

He will chomp on a turnip blossom as he shows the marigolds and sweet William blossoms he plants among the veggies to attract the right kinds of insects, the ones to eat the bad bugs. No pesticides are used in this garden.
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"This is my breakfast," he said, winking as he pulls more greens from the ground.

Thompson and the owners of the house at 602 W. Rawhide Ave. in Gilbert, his mother and stepfather, Ann and Richard Carlisle, say they are proud and enthusiastic about their homegrown organic produce. They say it's the key to their health and longevity, the reason they don't need any medications.

Some of their neighbors are less-than-thrilled, however, and have complained to Gilbert officials. One Town Council member, Dave Crozier, asked the town attorney to rule whether Thompson's garden is a code violation. If that fails, Crozier has talked about changing the ordinance that allows it.

"The question always comes down to where do you draw the line?" Crozier said. "This is over the line. I don't blame (the neighbor) for complaining - I would have, too."

The home is in Madera Parc, one of Gilbert's rare neighborhoods without a homeowners association governing what the family can plant in its own yard.

As long as the weeds are trimmed, the town can't tell Thompson to yank the Crenshaw melons from his front yard because the neighbors think it looks untidy, code compliance officers say.

"We get complaints from time to time," said Steve Wallace, Gilbert's senior code compliance officer. "It's a residential zoned area, and in those areas folks are allowed to grow crops for themselves."

Some who drive by have complained that the front yard looks like a jungle. They should see the back yard. It's a maze of kumquats, grapevines, carrots, herbs and peach trees.

It's all part of a theory to which Thompson, 57, subscribes: Man is responsible for the current drought, fire, flood cycle that has hit the United States. Arizona was all lush vegetation and forests at one time, he says.

He is an advocate of permaculture and sustainable farming methods, trying to restore the environment that has been destroyed by man.

"For me, it's the whole idea of knowing the food is safe, healthy and here for my family to eat," he said.

His 80-year-old mother doesn't have the shelf full of medications that many of her peers have to take.

"It all boils down to nutrition," Carlisle said. "What you're buying in the grocery store has so little nutrition, and it's all contaminated with pesticides."






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