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| A Resident Grows environmentally friendly yard, gets summonses from town EDGEWATER PARK — Among the tidy, brick ranch-style homes with closely-cropped lawns on Stevenson Avenue, one yard sticks out like, well, a green thumb. RESIDENT: Grows environmentally friendly yard, gets summonses from townNOT IN YOUR BACKYARD
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/16/07THE ASSOCIATED PRESS EDGEWATER PARK — Among the tidy, brick ranch-style homes with closely-cropped lawns on Stevenson Avenue, one yard sticks out like, well, a green thumb. Vicki Wozniak's garden in this town near Philadelphia is designed to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other winged critters. It is one-eighth of an acre almost totally covered by sunflowers, honeysuckle, azaleas and many other plantings. But to local officials, her friendliness to wildlife looks like a nuisance. They've accused her of failing to maintain her property, a charge she is contesting. A municipal court trial is scheduled for July 24. Wozniak is not the only New Jersey resident trying to do right by the environment but running afoul of local officials who want lawns to be neat. The message the residents say they are getting: You can try to save the Earth, but not in your back yard. Last week, Township Administrator Linda Dougherty told the Burlington County Times of Willingboro that she was afraid Wozniak's yard was becoming a major mosquito breeding ground and concerned that it didn't look like nearby properties. Environmentalists see the message as a major barrier to a greener Garden State. "We've zoned for conformity," said Jeff Tittel, the director of the Sierra Club in New Jersey. "We have also taken away individuality and taken away the ability for originality." After she bought her house about seven years ago, Wozniak, a 50-year-old information technology specialist, began adding to the landscaping the same way she did in other places she had lived. She let the shrubs get big, so big they blocked out her front windows. She put in butterfly bushes and a small pond. The trouble began in 2003, when the township property inspector started leaving yellow warning stickers on her door advising her that she needed to spruce things up. She says she kept doing what she was asked, even knocking down an old shed that was leaning. But she kept getting notices — about 60 of them through 2005, she said. During that time, she went to an Audubon Society class on how to create a critter-friendly yard and had her lawn certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a backyard habitat. Wozniak has dozens of bird feeders and almost as many bird baths and bird houses. There are grape vines and raspberry bushes. She says that this time of year, she spends at least 14 hours a week maintaining her garden. Last year, she said, the township left her alone and her place was featured in a local garden tour. But this spring, the troubles began again. Last month, Wozniak received a court summons. One notice to Wozniak said: "Your property has become (a) blight to your neighborhood, with its overgrown landscaping, bushes and weeds. . . . There is accumulated debris and is in an unsafe condition." Wozniak is worried about the prospect of facing a $1,250 fine if she's found guilty. That amount is about what she figures she spends each year on the yard. | ||||||||
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Don't give up, Vicki!
Posted by: bormaninrb on Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:56 am
Where's Al Gore when you need him?
One more year and I retire. I'll make a gazillion dollars on my house.
And then move out of NJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: SharkRiverJim on Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:25 pm
Posted by: Astro on Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:25 am
Posted by: thenews on Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:52 am