FARGO - A homeowner could face years of work and thousands of dollars in losses after a neighbor complained after he took it upon himself to plant a lawn garden next to his home on a vacant city-owned lot in Fargo.
The Fargo City Commission voted 3-2 on Nov. 27 to deny a permit for further local planting on the vacant lot. The vote revoked a permit recently granted by the lower city council to allow the lawn garden to remain in place.
Although city commissioners said the overturned decision was largely driven by complaints from residents, only one resident filed a formal appeal.
After holding the space for three years, owner Darrell Ross said the vote was "sad, shocked and disappointed."
Accept the garden and then reject it
As a professor in the School of Natural Resources at North Dakota State University, Dr. Ross Urban Ecology and Ecological Restoration. For him: 338 Ninth Ave. It seemed only natural to start programming Prairie Garden to the S. at 340 Ninth Ave. in 2020. start. When he went to his house in the village.
But three years later, after complaining that the tall grass violated the city's vegetation height laws, Ross learned he had to get a Land Management Permit (LMP) to maintain his garden. For this, he worked with the municipal forestry department.
The exemption is intended to allow gardeners to incorporate native wildflowers and grasses into their landscape instead of traditional lawns.
"It's being pushed forward," city forester Scott Ludall told the commission on Nov. 27, "(it's) now in various parks and other private areas."
However, LMPs are usually obtained before the orchard is planted, Ludall explained, rather than three years later.
After much discussion, city staff approved Ross's PMT, which requires the property owner to be responsible for the care and maintenance of the yard, cover the cost and agree to periodic inspections by the city to ensure compliance.
However, Ross' neighbor, Marilyn Seitz, strongly opposed the permit and asked two city councilors to remove the park. He feared the garden was nothing more than a weed that eroded property values and attracted pests.
The Fargo City Commission's decision to deny Ross an LMP means the park will be demolished this spring. The vote overturned the decision in favor of city staff and the city's Board of Adjustment, both of which supported the park.
Fargo City Commissioners Dave Piepkorn, John Strand and Denise Kolpak voted to deny the permit. Mayor Tim Mahoney and City Commissioner Arlette Preston voted in favor.
City officials expressed concern that the prospect of keeping the park on city property would encourage residents to do whatever they want with city property.
Disputes in the neighborhood
Ross told the forum that he planted his own micro-lawn to bring environmental benefits to his community.
"The prairies of the Midwest once stretched from North Texas to Canada," Ross said. "This ecosystem is one of the most dangerous in the world", only 1 to 2 percent are left.
The garden has also brought bees and "all kinds of butterflies, including monarchs that use the meadows," he said. Small meadows throughout the city allow pollinators to move across the landscape and connect with other meadows in the urban environment to support endangered monarch butterflies.
He paid Minnesota Native Landscapes about $4,400 to design and maintain the park.
The vegetable garden is practically in his yard, he says. In fact, he and the department confirmed that the horticultural plot was in his possession before the right-of-way was acquired. The property is not visible from the street, but it is visible from the surrounding mud wall and several nearby houses.
No one in the city mows this land and it is never used. It is surrounded by a ring of trees, he added, saying that he has taken care of it since he moved.
However, Marilyn Seitz doesn't like the prairie garden that overlooks the second floor of her house.
"The weed bed is in my backyard," he told commissioners Nov. 27. Weed is "two pleasant months of the year," he added. "In other months of the year, we see dry grass."
The park has damaged surrounding property values and is infested with pests, he added, saying the property has not been maintained.
It's "not a grassy area," Ross said, but rather a carefully selected selection of native plants and grasses.
"I understand Ms. Seitz, and I understand that people have a cultural and historical view of what is beautiful in an urban landscape," Ross said. As an educator, he spends his time educating people about the benefits of native ecosystems over traditional grass.
"Very dangerous context"
According to the vote of the municipality, the park is planned to be demolished in the spring.
Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said approving the LMP would discourage Fargo residents from making unauthorized alterations to city property. "We're setting a very, very dangerous precedent," he said.
Commissioner Arlette Preston disagreed, saying the precedent set by the city was actually "positive."
City property has "native plants or natural landscapes that are beneficial to the soil and the environment," Preston said.
Ross said the commission's vote appeared to contradict other city staff.
"What upset me the most was voting against the professionals who work for the city of Fargo," Ross said at the forum. "I felt the commissioners didn't have all the information they needed to make a decision, so I didn't ask any more questions."
He attended the November 27 meeting but did not comment publicly. He said he didn't know how the process was going and assumed the board would call him in for questioning later.
"The fact is, it's urban land," Piepkorn said. "It's not their property, so I don't think it's appropriate," I think I agree with what the neighbors said.
At a Nov. 27 city commission meeting, Seitz said he was one of 10 residents who protested the park.
"I feel like 10 people protesting weed has a little more impact than one person wanting to do whatever they want with city property," he said. "I see no reason to plant this grass in our garden."
Residents who opposed the park played a key role in Strand and Kolpak's decision to deny the permit.
"Citizens' opinion is always important," Kolpak told the forum, "and I encourage citizens to have their say on any issue."
Although the chairman of the Beach Sustainability and Sustainability Commission praised the value of Prairie Gardens, he said the city should ultimately prioritize neighborhood contributions.
"I think what matters is people's opinions and what they see outside their windows, what lives next to them," Strand said.
However, Ross doubts whether the complaint actually applies to ten residents or just one.
"All I can say is that we've had nothing but positive feedback from every Ninth Avenue resident we've spoken to," Ross said.
Seitz sent a letter of complaint to the city, saying he represents ten residents, but the only name on the letter is Seitz.
When contacted by the forum, Zeits declined to comment and the other nine declined to be named.
"Marilyn was the only one who filed a formal appeal, and she included that language in that appeal," Ludall told Fourm. The council did not receive or request statements from the other nine residents.
"I think they made a very unreasonable decision," Ross said, removing a well-established garden without proper care.
If the park is torn down, Ross plans to acquire another LMP from the city. "He would do it again" and "spend five thousand dollars more to put it in another field," he said.
