So much for staying to fight the good fight, eh Julie Bass?
Oak Park garden rebel putting down Seattle roots
Mark Hicks/ The Detroit News.
Oak Park — A woman who gained an international following when she was ticketed for having a front-yard vegetable garden is taking her green leanings to a new city.
Oak Park dropped all charges against Julie Bass last month stemming from the flap. But on Monday, the mother of six announced on her blog the family is uprooting to Seattle, where her husband Jason got a job with Amazon.com."I'm trying to delay the move until we pick every single last vegetable," Bass joked Monday night.
Bass opted to plant vegetables this spring after her front yard was torn up to replace an underground pipe. In June, she was ticketed days after being warned not to grow vegetables in her yard's raised beds.
Oak Park Planning Director Kevin Rulkowski has said the city isn't opposed to vegetables, but there are ordinances in place to regulate community aesthetics.
Bass had faced charges for the garden punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $100 fine.
On the same day of the ticketing, she was cited for not having licenses for two dogs.
The vegetable garden battle garnered worldwide attention after Bass launched a blog and a friend set up a Facebook page, both called "Oak Park Hates Veggies."
Last month, City Prosecutor Eugene Lumberg dismissed the garden charges. And within two weeks, Bass was cleared of failing to have dog licenses.
Attorney Solomon Radner, who represented Bass, said it's still unclear what prompted the case, but the outcome could cast a shadow on future wranglings between city officials and residents.
"I'm hoping this brings a certain level of sanity to future prosecutions in the city of Oak Park," he said.
As for Bass and her family, plans for their relocation, and the garden, still are being finalized.
A friend plans to use her compost pile. The fate of her plot depends on the home's new owners.
Despite the controversy that sprang up around the clash for its survival, the home garden "was worth it," Bass said. "It was a tremendous thing for our neighbors and our friends. … We're sorry to see it go."
Once she and her family are resettled, Bass will decide on growing another garden in a similar spot. "It depends on the neighborhood and the lay of the land, where we are," she said.
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