Comments on: Food Bad, Lawns Good? Berkeley Bureaucrats Target Transition Activist

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:06:23 +0000

One of my neighbors in Berkeley hired someone to jackhammer out a curbside strip of the sidewalk in front of her house, then planted a dense high thick hedge in her newly created personal parking strip. The hedge makes it pretty much impossible to park in front of her house because you can't get in or out of the passenger side door, and since the street is quite busy, it's not easy or very safe to unload kids or groceries on the street side and a handicapped or elderly person should not park there at all. Around my neighborhood in Berkeley this is about the worst hedge, but I see quite a few other places where people have planted stuff in the parking strip that makes the parking strip just about impassable - thick bushes with no gaps between them, even the occasional yucca. Another neighbor has a small wooden frame that they have put in the parking strip, right next to the street side. This kind of stuff seems very common. It's actually pretty annoying and I wonder why the city doesn't cite some of these people, since all these violations are pretty easily visible. So on the one hand, Asa may be being singled out; on the other hand, maybe people should leave the parking strips a litle more clear.

By: christopher dopp

christopher dopp — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:25:53 +0000

Asa, Your activism is commendable,,,,They leave us no choice,,,amazing! Disclosure is the foundation for a complaint. Where are these rules posted ? I have never heard of this. Berkeley has become so fascist. Keep me informed and let me know if I can help.

By: Suz Lipman

Suz Lipman — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:14:08 +0000

This situation is outrageous. The fact that it's happening in Berkeley just increases the irony and stupidity. I just posted about it on my blog, slowfamilyonline, which is dedicated to getting people out in nature, growing their food and practicing other sustainable, joyful acts.

I really thought the culture was moving away from waste and toward practicality, beauty, and community, all of which a front-yard garden represents. Asa, I wish you success with your gorgeous garden and with rectifying this dumb situation. Chris, I'm glad you called our attention to it.

My post on the garden is here:

http://tinyurl.com/slowfamily-berkeleygarden

My post on the rise of front-yard gardening in general is here:

http://tinyurl.com/slowfamily-bumpercrop

By: Asa Dodsworth

Asa Dodsworth — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:12:24 +0000

if some of you want history on the matter,
yes there was compost in the front yard, about eight years ago. And a school bus to deliver people to protest activities. The compost was removed about eight years, ago and the bus moved on to around the same time. The bus was never illegal, it was a large bus on our small road, some people wanted it to be illegal, but its not illegal to possess one or park it in front of your house. At this early juncture the code enforcers tried to force us to remove the garden beds. This assault was rebuffed when several neighbors called the city staff, and a respectable Manager from the Neighborhood services division, Michael Caplan came to visit the garden and told us that it was totally acceptable and would not be threatened by the city code enforcers again.

In 2005, we were cited for having an illegal floral arbor over the sidewalk. The circumstances that produced this citation were the product of our neighbors dangerous heavy that hung about four feet off the sidewalk. Everyone in the neighborhood complained regularly about this dangerous limb. It took the city four months to respond the this situation, and when they did they decided to harass us for the arbor, and the fruit trees again. I told them quite simply that they weren't gonna get anything out of the trees as long as Michael Caplan was around. And we fought instead about the arbor, which I agreed to remove.

During this struggle the media was contacted by a neighbor and we had a sweet little, only in Berkeley article [[http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2005-06-10/article/21578?headline=City-Fines-Bring-End-To-Arbor-On-Acton-By-RICHARD-BRENNNEMAN]] , where bikerider found the above accusations of misconduct. These were accusations that were already three years old at the time, and many of them were for fabricated or for things that were not actually illegal.

Now its 2009 and Berkeley is in a campaign against blight, inwhich the code enforcers are granted greater discretion and credibility. I have recorded testimony by code enforcer Maurice Norrise in which he admits that no neighbors have now nor ever complained about the fruit trees and garden beds. That the complaint the began this process was unilaterally filed by another code enforcer Gregory Daniels. The neighbors are not distressed by this garden, why on earth would they be? And there is no justifiable reason the code enforcers should be involved.

BTW, Books are made for enlightening, not throwing.

Additionally Michael Caplan is no longer in the Neighborhood Services Department. And Angela Gallegos Castillo and Jim Hynes, the two current neighborhood services managers, are pretending they don't have the authority to intervene.

So how about some facts,
--90 of gardens in Berkeley have a vegetation over six foot tall,
--80% of them have vegetation that obstructs traffic, whether, its pedestrian, wheel chairs or people getting out of their cars.
--My garden does not obstruct anyone. and its gorgeous.

By: Cranky_Old_Batt

Cranky_Old_Batt — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:09:40 +0000

So this is how the city is going to keep from going bankrupt. I used to love walking by the chaotic front yard gardens when I lived downtown. Maybe less than 1% looked like places for vermin to hide out. Less than 1%! The rest were just either neat flowers, and small food plantings or wildflower style plantings. A nice little reminder of real nature nestled in the grime of the city, not scummy at all. $hame on you Berkley city council!

By: gazer

gazer — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:44:08 +0000

Wow, in my neighborhood of Cleveland, I'm happy when people just pick up the trash that's blown into their yard/tree lawn and/or don't generate said trash themselves! I'd kill for the type of growth shown in your pictures. That said, comment by bikerider above makes sense - there's probably more going on than currently meets the eye.

By: Mim

Mim — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:45:57 +0000

The woman you spoke with, Max, is likely as close to the truth as anyone in this is. I will write about what is happening to Asa and I will make phone calls.

Humans have a right to eat, and a right not to have to buy their food from industrial agribusiness. Hang in there, Asa Dodsworth! I hope many people will make calls and let the people who are persecuting this simple urban farmer know how totally unethical and shameful their behavior is.

By: bikerider

bikerider — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:10:58 +0000

Admittedly, Berkeley permit office can be nasty to deal with, but this report has a lot of missing information that leads one to conclude that there is two sides to this story.

Berkeley code enforcement won't look at a property unless it receives complaints from neighbors. If published reports are correct (this has been going on since 2003), Asa has had plenty of problems in that regard; i.e. encroaching on public right-of-way (sidewalks) with compost bins and delivery vans, leaving construction material on front yard, people camping out, etc. I'm not saying he did any of those things, but the permit office generally gives opportunity to correct problems before fines are levied. They only "throw the book" if a property owner is repeat offender.

BTW, all my neighbors in Berkeley grow huge urban gardens, on their property and in nearby traffic circles. Nobody from the city bureaucracy has ever complained.

By: Andy B from Jersey

Andy B from Jersey — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:32:31 +0000

WOW!! Berkley?!?! My friend who is attending grad school out there is right to call it Bezerkly.

My veggie garden in suburban NJ keeps on creeping further into the front yard as my trees grow bigger and shade out the garden in the back.

No worries yet but I'm concerned.

So much for Berkley being a bastion of progressive, liberal thinking. This obvious example of selective and excessive enforcement by a government entity is literally the most fascist thing I've read in a while.

By: taomom

taomom — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:03:02 +0000

Wow, Berkeley is arguing for lawns over gardens? Berkeley?!? It boggles the mind.