By Lynn Capuano

I am grateful for the color, life and hope in my front yard. Over 10 years, I have converted the lawn to a native and vegetable garden. Most of what grows is food for us or for pollinators, birds and other wildlife, including insects and invertebrates. The summer colors are vibrant; the flowers, plants and trees are beautiful; and the buzzing of the bees and singing of the birds is melodious. It is proof to me of the power of an individual to effect change.

You can imagine then my astonishment when I opened a letter from the Town of North Hempstead, Department of Public Safety, Code Enforcement Division recently. Correction: it was not a letter, but a notice of violation. Specifically, a notice of three violations of the Town Code related to my yard and the adjacent sidewalk.

I was both heartbroken and angry. It took me days to organize my emotions into clear thoughts.

How did this happen? No one knocked on my door or tried to reach me by phone to discuss the so-called violations, even though the missive indicated an employee of the Code Enforcement Division conducted an inspection of the premises (my yard) on a particular date, at a particular time when I know I was home.

But why my yard? Walking around the neighboring blocks for several minutes, I count seven homes with conditions similar or worse to what was cited as violative in my yard. And these are conditions in some cases that exist year-round and have existed for at least a decade.

So, again I ask why me? How is this apparently random enforcement of the Town Code not arbitrary and capricious? Why am I targeted to receive such an injurious and insulting notice?

You may be curious about what exactly the town thinks is so offensive about my yard and some of you perhaps wonder how the town has the authority to tell me what I can grow on my own property. While I will explain the basis for the claimed violations, I do not concede these violations exist in my yard, nor do I condone the indiscriminate application of the rules.
The notice cites three violations. The first cites a rule for keeping “open areas; parking spaces . . . free from weeds.” The rule also forbids plant growth of more than 10 inches and noxious weeds. There is no definition for open areas and my only parking space is a driveway, so I’m not clear how this applies to me.

There is a brief explanation offered that indicates I need to cut plants, so they don’t obstruct the sidewalk. The fact is while a few flowers bend toward the sidewalk, there is truly no obstruction of the sidewalk from anything growing in my yard. And, as mentioned earlier, there is certainly no more obstruction of the sidewalk than found from other yards in the neighborhood and far less than many which require me to get off the sidewalk to get past the plants or to immerse myself in the growth on both sides of the sidewalk.

As for the 10-inch limit, again, the ubiquity of plants exceeding 10 inches adjacent to the sidewalk is obvious, so this capricious application of the rule is unjust and inconsistent with the intent of the rule. Finally, there is not a single noxious weed in my yard and there are no trees or shrubs that constitute a hazard to a person or property (the final prohibition of the cited rule).

Arguably more important, though, is the section of the code from which this rule is pulled that states it is within the authority of the enforcement officer to vary or modify the rules where strict enforcement would affect the family unit and would be contrary to public policy, welfare and cause undue hardship. I’d say it’s clear in this case that the family unit is adversely affected and caused undue hardship. In addition to the emotional toll, I am also having to take time away from work and family to reply to this notice of violation, which closed with the threat: “THIS VIOLATION COULD RESULT IN A COURT APPEARANCE AND A FINE.”

As for the public policy this is contrary to, just look at the Town of North Hempstead’s own webpage advocating the benefits of planting native plants and advertising a native plant residential rebate program, which offers residents up to $350 to purchase (and presumably install) native plants. I could list more, but that would be superfluous; the point is made.
Yet for some reason this enforcement officer chose not to exercise her discretion.

While I am warned failure to address the presumed violations could land me in court and subject me to a fine, I am offered no recourse, no due process.

The next violation listed has to do with cleaning the sidewalks of weeds or grass. Given the appalling state of many sidewalks in town (if there are even sidewalks available), this almost made me laugh. The source of this violation is a rule that states it is my responsibility to keep the sidewalk in good and safe repair and maintain it free from filth, dirt, weeds or other objects or materials. Note, there is no mention of keeping it free from grass. Therefore, my response is, there are no weeds growing in my sidewalk; what is growing there is the same as what is growing in nearly everyone else’s yards and called lawn.

Unless the town plans to cite the plethora of residents with grass and plants growing in the cracks of their sidewalk as well, it should back off. Between working, taking care of my family, paying my bills, and occasionally having a moment to relax, pulling grass from the cracks in the sidewalk is not a priority; nor should it be for me or any of my neighbors who clearly are choosing to spend their time otherwise.

Finally, I am cited for having an old laundry sink in the yard. I filled the sink with soil and planted it with wildflowers. During the summer months the plants in the yard make the sink essentially invisible. But, even if that were not the case, the code prohibits the “accumulation of any filth, dirt, ashes, junk, garbage, wastewater, raw sewage, sewage, wastepaper, dust, rubbish, sticks, stones, wood (including log piles exposed to the weather and elements), leaves, paper or paper boxes, iron, tin, nails, bottles or glass of any kind, old cars and parts thereof, discarded appliances such as refrigerators and the like” on any premises. A sink being used as a planter is not listed.

And again, all my neighbors who have piles of wood exposed to the weather and elements in their front yards, have not received notices of violation, so why is my laundry sink planter a concern? Considering the town’s Annual Recycled Art Contest where school children are asked to create art from recyclables, I would think my repurposing of a laundry sink for native pollinator plants would be applauded.

You may not have the same aesthetic sense that I have and may choose to load your yard with pesticides to maintain a green lawn, but I hope that in this democratic society you can respect that at my home on my property, I can choose to favor pollinator friendly plants and edible plants. I’m sorry you cannot appreciate the vibrant colors and flurry of life happening in my yard.

Look out a different window.