Save my kids' garden bed from being destroyed!

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

The City of Somerville has given my family 4 days to destroy this beautiful flower and vegetable bed planted by my children on Powder House Blvd., else they will do it for us.
I have created a petition here-please sign and share:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-henrys-raised-bed-garden-in-somerville-ma/

Comments

[ratheripped.livejournal.com]

Not to be a jerk, but it looks like those sunflowers are about the height of the car behind it, so I understand why the city might be on your case about it. Not sure if your box is near a drive way or something, but it's dicey enough backing out onto the street, so I get why they want to enforce visibility where they can. Also, just because the flowers are that height now, doesn't mean they're not going to get taller. Sunflowers can get pretty ginormous.

Are you sure there's no place on your property or community garden nearby you can replant them?

[ron_newman]

I'd rather see the city prioritize gardening and greenery over the needs of car drivers, if that choice really needs to be made. Wouldn't the street look lovely if the entire strip between street and sidewalk were filled with box gardens?

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

By that logic, every car parked on the street is also a hazard :)

[redheadedmuse.livejournal.com]

I was just admiring that garden bed yesterday with my kids! I hope it's not destroyed.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Oh! Yes, me too, just yesterday! :(

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

Good luck. One would hope the City of Somerville would have better things to spend its time and money on.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

They probably are looking for a new thing to ticket us for, trash can lids, trash taken out too early, now flowers....

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

On a side note, did you test the soil for lead before you planted vegetables there? There are some very good reasons why not all the soil in Somerville is open to vegetable gardens. If you didn't test it, if I were you, I'd never risk feeding them to a child.

[ron_newman]

This looks like a raised bed where you put in your own soil.

[ron_newman]

That would be a reasonable concern in many parts of Somerville, but to my knowledge, Powder House Blvd. has always been residential since it was first developed, and never had industry of any kind.

[ron_newman]

Does the city, rather than the homeowner, own the land between sidewalk and street? There are so few places in Somerville where there is any such land, that I don't know the answer. In other places I've lived, you own and are responsible for land all the way to the curb, and the sidewalk is a city easement on your property.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Have you contacted your alderman and asked for help?

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Yes. He's been very supportive in the past when the diseased giant oak was cut down, and he replaced the tree by planting one on the other side of the median.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

This back-and-forth reminded me why I moved to California.....

But, since I'm still a homeowner in Somerville, I signed your petition. I think your flowers are quite lovely, add a lot to the community and in my mind increases my nearby house's value. Thanks for doing this!

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was inspired by other median gardens in Somerville. People stop and talk to us about it every day when we work--it makes our community tighter and kinder and more beautiful.

[ifotismeni]

neighbor vendettas are the worst. i'm sorry this is happening to you :/

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I didn't copy the full googlegroup message from Steve MacEachern:

"It has come to attention that there is, what was called over growth, in the tree pit area that need to be removed. The highway dept went out to cut the "over growth" only to find flowers planted. The flowers are growing to a height causing a safety problem and need to be removed. I am giving you a chance to re plant before the highway crew returns Monday July 30th to clean the grass area. If you have any questions please let me know..
Thank You
Steven MacEachern
SMacEachern@somervillema.gov
Superintendent Highway Lights and Lines
City of Somerville""

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

The letter makes it clear that the problem is the height. Can you ask them what height wouldn't cause a "safety problem" and replace the sunflowers with other flowers of a height that they can't complain about?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I signed your petition. I know about neighbors with vendettas. They're why I can't have a bird feeder anymore.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Now that is sad. I am sorry.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Signed. Good luck!

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering... you said on your petition that they're shorter than your 8 year old, but in a comment on this thread, you say that they're 5 feet tall. How tall are they?

I'm sorry your kids have to deal with your neighbors. They sound like real pieces of work. If you end up having to remove the bed, might I suggest that you bundle the sunflowers into a bouquet and have your children deliver it to them? That ought to give them a nice kick in the gut.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

Particularly since sunflowers are hyper accumulators of heavy metals like lead...sort of a nice present to give in return for their neighborliness...

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

So the thing that *I* think is the absolute weirdest about this situation is the way the city decided to contact you. Not by letter, or email, or phone, but by finding your neighborhood google group and messaging you there? That seems both unprofessional, and kind of creepy. Imagine if you got a parking ticket via Facebook, or something like that. Do you know for sure that the message even came from the City of Somerville? It's not like that kind of thing is hard to fake.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

I know, it's really odd. And creepy. The neighbors just must have simply given them the google group info because that's all the contact info they had, except our address, of course. I think, though, if it were fake, somebody, Steve MacEachern especially, would have contacted me or replied to me to rectify the impersonation...

Also, my alderman, not responding. I wonder if he only was so responsive last time because he was seeking reelection.

[umadboutscience.livejournal.com]

It's a known fact that Sunflowers are poisonous to a large percentage of the population. I for one am incredibly thankful that Somerville understands this and is willing to destroy terrorist attempts such as this.
Additionally, more space should be made for cars. The city is incredibly congested, and it's made worse by the increasing number of assholes who think this is 1904 and that cycling is an acceptable form of travel. It's time to get with the modern times, morons.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Correspondence update!

My letter:

"... I received the following email from Steve MacEachern yesterday via a message through an extremely localized google group whose address I manually distributed on paper only to the neighbors on my block on Powder House Blvd.:

"It has come to attention that there is, what was called over growth, in the tree pit area that need to be removed. The highway dept went out to cut the "over growth" only to find flowers planted. The flowers are growing to a height causing a safety problem and need to be removed. I am giving you a chance to re plant before the highway crew returns Monday July 30th to clean the grass area. If you have any questions please let me know.
Thank You
Steven MacEachern
Superintendent Highway Lights and Lines
City of Somerville"

While it is apparent that it was only one of the neighbors in our direct vicinity who called to complain about the garden bed, and since only one neighbor has threatened me, my safety, and my backyard property, I think I know who initiated this call to clear "over growth." However, I still have yet to hear back from any city official regarding this issue, except Denise Taylor, who told me she would look into the issue personally. As you can imagine, I have been hardly silent.

I have also written the following to my alderman and to Steve MacEachern, also with no reply:

"Hello Steven,
I would very much like to know what an acceptable height for flowers is--and also how that differs from standards for shrubs planted in Blvd. medians and how this differs from standards for trees. As you know, a very wide and tall tree was removed from this very spot.

Also, we have begun a petition here:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-henrys-raised-bed-garden-in-somerville-ma

And, as this google group's contact information was given (manually delivered on paper printouts) to about 20 households in our direct vicinity, I think we do know the folks who initially complained, and we would be happy to mediate if they cannot or do not wish to talk to us themselves.

Much discussion has also taken place here (as well as with Groundwork Somerville, our alderman, and representatives from city Hall:
http://davis-square.livejournal.com/2959342.html"

(unfortunately, some elements of my email was premature, as I have not received as much "discussion" from Alderman Trane or Groundwork Somerville, as I had hoped at the time of this email's writing.)


I hope that someone will be in touch with me about the future of the garden we grew in the median between sidewalk and Blvd. where a very old and beautiful tree was recently cut down. My child loves gardening, more than anything--and this is saying something for a child with manifold skills and innate gifts that benefit both his community and his school. The destruction of his bed would be worse to him than watching a city official come by our home to destroy his violin, his bike, all his toys and his soccer ball at once.

I feel so powerless right how, in a way I never thought I would. My son loves one thing more than anything--gardening, whether it be and plants and trees or veggies and flowers--and I can't really do much to keep his new garden going for him on my own. I thought the City supported urban agriculture, what with that new farm on South St., etc. I would love to hear back from any city official about Henry's garden bed's fate.

I understand *now* why people with children move to Lexington and Newton and Belmont for their kids. They can garden, enjoy nature, and live without constant urban stress of close-packed neighbors who watch and criticize your every move and call the police if your kid takes off his swim shorts in the wading pool in your own yard, bureaucratic decisions made without input from affected parties, and the luxury of more yard space so that one can plant flowers in front of one's home without a dramatic municipal ultimatum for those plants' speedy removal.

Please take some time to read the above links -- the davis square livejournal is full of may details and nitpicking, as well as the petition I created ( replete with photos http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-henrys-raised-bed-garden-in-somerville-ma/).

Thank you, me

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Tom Champion's message to me:

"Thank you for copying the Mayor's Office on your email message to our Board of Aldermen. Since yesterday morning, when you began posting your comments and petitions on Davis Square LiveJournal and Facebook – and since your midday telephone call to me – Denise Taylor and I have taken several steps to develop a better understanding of the issues you have raised.

Yesterday afternoon, I visited Powder House Boulevard to view the box garden, and to take some additional pictures of the site and its surroundings. I made some preliminary inquiries into the rules applying to the use of city-owned grass verges such as the one on which you decided to create your garden. I was not able until this evening to close the loop with Superintendent MacEachern, but I have now been able to speak with him at length. Denise Taylor has been looking into whether the sunflowers could be transplanted and, if so, whether there might be a communal garden space nearby that would be a convenient place for you and your son to continue to experience the pleasures of urban gardening in a sanctioned location.

Based on what you have told us, and what I have learned so far, you decided to build this raised box garden on public property without consulting either the Department of Public Works or your neighbors. So far as I know based on my discussions with the DPW, the City does not object to residents planting and tending small flowering plants in the plots surrounding City-planted and City-owned trees, but structures of the size and type you have created – and collections of flowering plants of the height to which yours have grown – are not permitted on these public way verges anywhere in the city.

We are happy in the midst of our other duties to explore what options may be open to you. And, while we continue to explore these options, I can assure you that no action will be taken to remove the box garden you built on public property. I can also assure you that we will report back to you, and any other interested parties, as soon as we are satisfied that we fully understand the matter. I should emphasize, however, that both Denise and I will ultimately defer to the judgment: of our DPW colleagues: this is their field of expertise.

I appreciate your patience while we continue our review.

Thank you again for all of your communications.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Champion
Executive Director of Communications and Cable
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
tel. (617) 625-6600 ext. 2620
fax (617) 776-8061"

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Today in Arlington I noticed several curbside planters full of sunflowers which looked remarkably similar to this one. There hasn't been an epidemic of visibility-related car accidents near them.

So I think the safety complaint is way overblown.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

I agree. Now when I walk around the town, I find myself looking at similar contained plantings, and trying to understand the difference between ours and the ones I see (I know what the difference is, what with the neighbor's complaint and all, but still). The idea for this garden came from seeing others that are similar.

So like I said before if these sunflowers are unsafe, I can at least do a photo album of other beautiful curbside gardens/plantings and keep that for the long winter months ahead.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Cut the tallest 6-8 flowers into a nice bouquet, and leave the rest be. That way at least the next time the issue comes up you can say that you appreciate the height limitations and do not want to cause hazardous safety conditions. Then fight them on everything else. Good luck - I bet they will try to get you to remove the wooden box, though :-(

[ron_newman]

I walked by this today and yesterday, and can confirm that it is quite far from any street corner, and therefore cannot cause any 'visibility' problems.

[astropurpurea.livejournal.com]

Here is an updated petition reflecting the current (unknown) fate of our urban garden. There are also additional pictures of the recent protest. Take a look, sign, and share.

www.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-henrys-raised-bed-garden-in-somerville-ma/