In 2012 A Resident Had To Fight With Ferguson Officials To Keep His Front Yard Vegetable Garden

The post is a repeat of my post A Front Yard Vegetable Garden In Ferguson Missouri from August 2012:

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In July one modest house in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson got the attention of many:

A Ferguson resident has won a battle with city officials that could be considered a matter of taste.

The resident, Karl Tricamo, had been feuding with the city for months over the vegetable garden he had planted in front of his house in the 300 block of Louisa Avenue.

The city saw the garden as a blot on the landscape and issued Tricamo a citation demanding he uproot the corn, tomatoes, sorghum, peppers and other crops sprouting there and, instead, seed the yard for grass. The garden measures 35 feet by 25 feet. (stltoday.com)

Other resources:

• Treehugger.com: Stay-at-Home Dad Wins Right to Front Yard Vegetable Garden
• Riverfront Times: Ferguson Man Fights to Grow Veggies in Front Yard
• Owner’s blog: Vegetable Garden in Ferguson, Mo.

Numerous pictures were circulated on Facebook & Twitter as front yard gardening advocates celebrated this victory. But all the pictures concentrated tightly on the garden, I wanted to understand the context. I went to Google Maps but no streetview was available just an aerial.

I knew I wanted to see the garden and street in person but it’s a 12+ mile drive — and I don’t have a car. So I caught a bus at the North Hanley MetroLink station and I was within blocks.

In an older neighborhood with mature trees locations for a vegetable garden are often limited, most vegetables need full sun.  I applaud Tricamo for fighting the City of Ferguson so he could grow food for his family.

— Steve Patterson

Weekly Poll: Two Questions About Michael Brown and Ferguson MO

More than a week ago a young man lost his life, shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson:

His mother, Lesley McSpadden, said the shooting took place as her son was walking to his grandmother’s residence.

Piaget Crenshaw, 19, said she was waiting for a ride to work when she saw a police officer attempting to place Brown in the squad car.

She then said she saw the teen, hands in the air, attempt to flee. Several shots hit Brown as he ran, Crenshaw said. She complied with a request that she give photos of the scene to authorities. (stltoday)

In selecting this subject for the poll this week my hope is to gauge reader sentiment.

The first question this week is:

Which of the following do you think happened in Ferguson MO on Saturday Aug 9th?

• Michael Brown, an innocent unarmed teenager; was murdered by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson.
• Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, forcefully stole cigars from a convenience store a half mile away; was killed by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson who used excessive force
• Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, forcefully stole cigars from a convenience store a half mile away; was killed by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson who used appropriate force
• Unsure/No Opinion

Note that the above will be presented in random order  in the poll in the upper right sidebar on the desktop layout.

The second question is: Which two of the following officials has displayed the BEST leadership regarding Ferguson? (PICK 2) See poll for list, they’ll also be presented in a random order.

Please discuss in the comments below.

— Steve Patterson

Ferguson, Missouri

The last events of last weekend were tragic, inspiring, confusing, and disappointing. Noon Saturday an unarmed young man, Michael Brown, 18, was shot by an unnamed Ferguson police officer, he died at the hospital. That night numerous protests & vigils were held. On Sunday evening more were planned, the family asked for them to be peaceful.

The photos & videos showed a large/vocal, but peaceful, crowd Sunday evening; likely the largest such event ever held in Ferguson.   I wasn’t there to see who & how it went from peaceful to lawless, including rioting, looting, and arson. Monday morning everyone is trying to make sense of the events, even though reconciling them is hard for most everyone.  Sadly, racist views often come out at times like these.

Yet we should all remember, looting & rioting takes place all over the world. It happens after major sporting events, natural disasters, and injustices. Some examples:

In 1979 people in San Francisco were upset with the light sentence Dan White received for shooting Mayor Moscone & Supervisor Milk:

Dan White, Milk’s assassin, was acquitted of murder charges and given a mild sentence for manslaughter, partly as a result of what became known as the “twinkie defense.” His attorney claimed that White had eaten too much junk food on the day of the killings and thus could not be held accountable for his crimes. He was sentenced to less than eight years in prison on May 21, 1979—the day before what would have been Milk’s 49th birthday—igniting what came to be known as the White Night Riots. Enraged citizens stormed City Hall and rows of police cars were set on fire. The city suffered property damage and police officers retaliated by raiding the Castro, vandalizing gay businesses and beating people on the street. (Harvey Milk Foundation)

From 1992:

German gangs smashed windows, looted shops and assaulted Dutch fans in 12 hours of violence surrounding Holland’s 3-1 victory over Germany in the European Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.

Riot police with horses and dogs repeatedly chased mobs of Germans through the center of Goteborg. The gangs dispersed and formed again, seeking openings through police lines to get at crowds of celebrating Dutchmen, but officers averted serious fighting.

Policeman Lasse Hansson said 23 were arrested, all Germans except for one Dutchman. He said charges against them included inciting riot, possession of weapons and resisting arrest. (Seattle Times)

Also in 1992, the LA Riots:

The LA Riots are mostly associated with the beating by police of Rodney King, but have a deeper and more complex background than that. We will start by looking at the background of Rodney King and the other causes to the LA Riots. (South Central History)

From 1998:

After the Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers to win Super Bowl XXXII, 10,000 fans went a little overboard and tears of joy became tear-gas-induced tears when people began flipping cars, looting and destroying the Mile High City. The Broncos’ victory and the following riot were selected as top news stories of 1998 by newspaper and broadcast members of the Associated Press. (source)

Earlier this year:

$25K in damage done to Historic century-old Pioneer Square pergola during out-of-control jubilation. About six people arrested after midnight when crowd began throwing bottles at police. Crazed students lit furniture on fire and made bonfires. Thousands throughout Seattle took to the streets to revel in the Seahawks’ victory, the city’s first major sports championship in more than 30 years. Drivers honked their horns, fans launched fireworks and at least one bonfire was blazing near the University of Washington. (NY Daily News)

But why?

The idea that people in crowds act differently — more violently, more passionately and perhaps, with a compromised moral compass — than individuals acting alone is not new. LeBon and Freud proposed it way back in early 20th century and others have since built on the theory.

But is that really the main motivation at play here?

Some, like Columbia University’s Tory Higgins don’t think so. Higgins, a professor of psychology who studies motivation, believes that riots such as the these typically occur when people feel “ineffective.” “In situations like this, there is a long period prior to the riot of feeling that you’re not in control of your own life. It may either be financial, like unemployment or a low-paying job, or political,” he says. “They basically don’t feel respected or that they’re making a difference.” (Huffington Post)

There’s so much we don’t know, particularly about the shooting on Saturday. Hopefully an impartial & transparent investigation will be conducted, and the community will accept the findings.

Why Quik Trip? It seems, based on internet hearsay, Michael Brown visited the store right before returning to the apartment complex where his grandmother lives.

Yesterday I rode the #74 MetroBus from 14th & Washington north to St. Louis Community College — Florissant Valley and back. From the Quik Trip north, for 2 miles along West Florissant, I saw busted windows, shattered bus shelters, closed businesses, and police.   The Taco Bell my husband ate at in June, about a half mile north, had a busted window. The Walgreens at West Florissant & Chambers I passed in my wheelchair in April had a boarded window, and was closed. A guy on the return bus trip was saying the Walmart 2 miles north on West Florissant was closed.

The destroyed Quik Trip was built in 1989, I remember stopping there in the fall of 1990 on my way to visit a work supervisor who lived in the subdivision behind. QT may have been considering rebuilding the location, though they had likely updated the building in the last 25 years. It’s not hard to imagine Tulsa-based QT deciding to not rebuild this location.

The Walmart & Sam’s Club 2 miles north, both looted Sunday, were also built in 1989.

The issues of the officer who shot Brown, the looters, etc should get resolved through investigation and the courts. The long-term implications for West Florissant can go any number of ways:

1. Business owners see the looting as a one time thing and resume business as usual.
2. Businesses remain but begin planning their exit strategy.
3. Businesses don’t reopen.

Hopefully we’ve seen the worst of the rioting & looting. I want Michael Brown’s family to get the justice they seek.

— Steve Patterson

A Front Yard Vegetable Garden In Ferguson Missouri

In July one modest house in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson got the attention of many:

A Ferguson resident has won a battle with city officials that could be considered a matter of taste.

The resident, Karl Tricamo, had been feuding with the city for months over the vegetable garden he had planted in front of his house in the 300 block of Louisa Avenue.

The city saw the garden as a blot on the landscape and issued Tricamo a citation demanding he uproot the corn, tomatoes, sorghum, peppers and other crops sprouting there and, instead, seed the yard for grass. The garden measures 35 feet by 25 feet. (stltoday.com)

Other resources:

• Treehugger.com: Stay-at-Home Dad Wins Right to Front Yard Vegetable Garden
• Riverfront Times: Ferguson Man Fights to Grow Veggies in Front Yard
• Owner’s blog: VegetableYarden in Ferguson, Mo.

Numerous pictures were circulated on Facebook & Twitter as front yard gardening advocates celebrated this victory. But all the pictures concentrated tightly on the garden, I wanted to understand the context. I went to Google Maps but no streetview was available just an aerial.

I knew I wanted to see the garden and street in person but it’s a 12+ mile drive — and I don’t have a car. So I caught a bus at the North Hanley MetroLink station and I was within blocks.

In an older neighborhood with mature trees locations for a vegetable garden are often limited, most vegetables need full sun.  I applaud Tricamo for fighting the City of Ferguson so he could grow food for his family.

— Steve Patterson

REALTORS® Upset About New Law In Ferguson

As an active licensed Broker-Salesperson in the state of Missouri I am a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, Missouri Association of REALTORS® and the St. Louis Association of REALTORS®. As a result I get lots of email from each of these organizations. It should be noted the real estate profession is one of the most organized and well funded lobbying groups. And seldom do I agree with the position they take on issues.

Here is an email I received from the St. Louis Association:

CALL TO ACTION!

This is an important issue that affects the property rights and civil rights of landlords and tenants.

The City of Ferguson recently passed bill 6731 which, in addition to other things, with regard to rental property requires:

· Property owner to obtain a license to rent property.

· Owner to run police check on themselves and submit this with the application.

· Some owners hire an ASHI inspector to inspect the property and certify that it is in compliance with all of the City of Ferguson’s codes

· Owner to hire a property manager that resides within 25 miles of your rental property and furnish the name and all contact info to the city.

· Owner to sign an affidavit affirming that none of their tenants are registered sex offenders in any of the 50 states nor SHOULD they be! First off, this is next to impossible to determine, second this puts an incredible amount of liability on the property owner. It should be noted by the way, while the city does not require any such affidavit if you are an owner occupant.

Even if you don’t own property in Ferguson or have clients that do, please still take the time to respond to this. While this is the worst example we have seen thus far of a municipality violating peoples rights we have been seeing more and more similar ordinances from other municipalities so if we don’t stop it now it may be just a short time
before laws like this spread.

The St. Louis Association of Realtors has authorized the funding for a lawsuit to fight this law. We need your help though, please email or call the City Manager for the City of Ferguson and tell him you think this ordinance should be repealed immediately. His phone number and link to email is below as well as a sample email message you can paste into your email.

If you would like to view the entire ordinance click on this link:

http://www.fergusoncity.com/pdf/Bill6731.pdf

City Manager, Arthur Krieger Akrieger@FergusonCity.com or phone (314) 521-7721.

Sample message:

Dear City Manager Krieger:

I am one of the 10,000+ members of the St. Louis Association of
REALTORS® and as a champion of private property rights I take great
exception to bill 6731 which was recently passed by your council. I
feel this, among other things, violates the property rights as well as
civil rights of landlords and tenants and would urge you to repeal this
piece of legislation.

Our association does believe in and support property maintenance and
occupancy codes & permits (both of which your city already has on the
books) provided these laws are applied to all property, not just tenant
occupied property and provided the occupancy permits are only upon
change in occupancy. Bill 6731 singles out a class of property owner
and class or occupant and applies laws to them different then
owner-occupied property and this is what we object to.

So I read through the entire bill and it seems balanced to me. Many of the requirements come into play only if the property owner has properties with violations or nuisance complaints. Absentee landlords are a problem in many areas and it seems like Ferguson is serious about the problem. Too many people see those late night infomercials about getting rich in real estate, buy a property all the way across town and then wonder why they have issues.

I think Ferguson’s actions send a clear message — if you are going to be in the business of owning rental property you need a business license and you need to conduct yourself in the best manner. If you are in the business of renting properties, their ordinance suggests, it is also wise to know the sex offender law to make sure you don’t end up renting to someone you should not. Again, a good business practice.

And owning rental property is a business. Why should these business owners not be subjected to standards that others business owners must?

The rights of the owner-occupant are being protected here, in my view. Because it is often the local homeowners that must deal with problem rental properties.

– Steve