The meeting went terribly, by the way. For those of you who were curious about what happened after I ponied up to the city and paid for my meeting with the Board of Adjustments---the meeting went terribly.
My kind, generous, gorgeous friend Ari and her mom, Julie, accompanied me to the City Annex where I was going to plead my case. When we arrived at the building, I was relieved to see no one else there for the meeting. When I was told I was going to pay for this meeting, I was told I was paying to offset the costs of notifying everyone in my neighborhood that I was going to appeal the citation. Thankfully, the whole neighborhood did not show up.
Thinking I was gonna present in front of the entire board, I did a bit of research to see who was on this mayor-appointed organization, and I was starting to feel optimistic about my chances of winning people over. It looked like the board chair was someone who would be sympathetic to my cause. She owned a shop downtown that sells all manner of mystical and magical goods (ya know: herbs, crystals, incense, wall tapestries, etc.), and I felt like I had a chance to help her explain to the rest of the board why growing your grass is actually a good thing.
Turns out I was presenting in front of only three of the board members, and none were the one I was hoping for. Two old bald dudes and a younger guy with a beard and long hair. The assistant city attorney took us into a conference room away from the board room and began to explain to us how the meeting was going to unfold. Just as we were getting started, two waxy old figures walked into the conference room and sat across from Ari, Julie, and me.
I said my piece. There was a lot of ground to cover, and it's difficult getting so many points across. I was so, so grateful for Ari and Julie being there. Throughout my talking, the two waxy people across from us were huffing and scoffing and talking under their breath. The attorney had to redirect them to stop or else he was going to remove them from the meeting (What is it with today's old people...) After I said my share, the attorney opened up a discussion for others in the room. One of the waxy figures that came in at the start of the meeting, a lady with bright fluffy white hair, began ripping into me and my yard. She said the yard appeared "derelict," which I'm not sure is possible when someone takes the time to go through their entire yard and tie up all of their grass.. To say the least, she was a nasty bitch. After living on this street for four years, I had never seen her before, so it's funny how miserable people show up out of the blue. Ari made some wonderful points about the physical requirements of keeping up a yard, and how that likely stands as a major burden for those in the city who can't get around or afford to have their yard mowed.
When all was said, each of the board members was given the opportunity to offer their reasoning. Much of the discussion came back to the ambiguous wording of the weed ordinance, and rather than offering a means of understanding the definition, two of the board members decided to offer their own. One of the bald board members said while he worked in construction they only planted grass in clumps, so that's just how it was supposed to be. The long-haired board member was sympathetic to the cause, saying ornamental can mean many things---we may not like them, but the interpretation is open.
I was given a final opportunity to offer my case. I emphasized that it's not the city's job to tell people what ornamental grass looks like, and it is in the interest of freedom and expression that we allow people to do with their yards what they will.
In the end, all three of the board members voted against the appeal.
I did have a constructive conversation with the assistant city attorney afterward. He came over to the house and offered some ideas on what would be acceptable given the current code. I found it hard to move away from the idea of helping the land appear more natural, and he took this to heart. It was sometime later he followed up and told me they had amended the city code to include language supporting xeriscaping and the use of drought-tolerant wildflowers, which led to the yard that I have today!
I would say it's a win for me. While I do enjoy the waves of grass in a summer breeze, the joy of endless wildflowers in your front yard is something else. Each day, a new flower opens, telling you their name, where they're from, and what they like to eat. A low hum runs through the foliage as bees, butterflies, and birds move between the plants.
While I'm out $150 for a meeting with the city, I'm happy knowing my yard is providing sustenance to myself and the other creatures in my yard. I'm happy knowing that people can now look to Idaho Falls city code as a source of inspiration rather than a line in the sand. It's still a work in progress, but I feel so at home. I was also able to make some paper with the grass clippings from the yard. It's a first for me making paper out of grass, but I think I could use this process more in the future!
Also, as a note: The summer before you begin your dissertation is not a great time to start a blog... In fact, it's actually quite remarkable that I still have fingers to type. Two years later, though, and I am happy to say I am pretty much finished with school. My plan is to be able to update people more on what I have going on through this blog from now on since I have my life back and I am trying more every day to be a better artist.
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