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A missouri man’s sunflower Garden Honoring the memory of a loved one has turned into a nasty legal battle, as city officials say Flower Violate local laws.
For four summers, Chris Banks has grown long rows of sunflowers outside his home in St. Peters, a suburb of St. Louis, despite city officials accusing him of breaking a rule that prohibits covering 50 percent of his yard with grass.
However, this year, city officials amended that rule to classify sunflowers as a crop. The designation reduces the 50 percent coverage rule to just 10 percent – a drastic change that the bank says unfairly targets it, Fox 2 reported.
“A crop is obviously supposed to be planted, consumed and grown, and then actually selling or harvesting your product, as I explained to them, I do none of that,” Banks told the outlet. “They’re a flower. I plant them like any other flower, but I don’t harvest or sell the seeds.”
Banks, who has been walking around town carrying flowers for years, said she started the garden in memory of her cousin, Jenny, who died.
“She really loved Sunflowers, and I thought it would be perfect for her to be a part of it,” he told KBTX.
The city said the giant flowers qualify as a crop regardless of how they are used. Under the new ordinance, the grassy space between rows of flowers is also counted as part of the “planting area,” which the bank says makes no sense.
“I asked them, if that’s a planting area, then what am I mowing and maintaining? Because it looks like grass to me,” he said.
During Tuesday’s court hearing, a judge ruled in favor of the city of St. Peters, agreeing that the sunflowers are a crop and that they cover more than 10 percent of the bank’s area.
City documents also show that for years, neighbors have complained about the flowers, with one saying they were “getting ridiculous to look at.”
Meanwhile, other neighbors made negative comments about Banks’ character, with one saying he was vindictive for refusing to follow city ordinance despite years of complaints.
“Being vindictive, you have to give an example. I don’t know who would say that and not give an example,” Banks told KBTX. “And obviously, if that were an issue there would be court cases over that kind of thing.”
Some neighbors appeared in court Tuesday in support of the bank, one of whom said it felt like the city was targeting the bank with its ordinance changes.
“It’s attacking her. It’s not like they care about the sunflowers,” said the neighbor, identified by her first name, Lexi. “He really stands up for what he believes in.”
Banks agrees with her neighbor’s assessment, telling the news station that she believes the city is targeting her because of a property dispute she had with her homeowners association years ago.
“You’re basically fighting the city, a city judge and a city prosecuting attorney. I mean, what’s really going to happen? I mean, it doesn’t matter what you can prove and what you can show,” he said.
one in gofundme, The bank asked to support his efforts, saying the controversy was an “abuse of power.”
The bank says it plans to appeal the case to St. Charles County, where it hopes the court will be less biased.
He said, “I really want to go in front of St. Charles, not in front of a St. Peters-biased court, but really in front of my peers.” “And if they say, ‘Yes, Mr. Banks, we’re in favor of the city,’ I’ll never grow sunflowers again.”