UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. – University City threatened to take a homeowner to court over “weeds” in their yard.
The garden in Linda Wiggen-Kraft’s front yard has been recognized by the Missouri Botanical Garden and has appeared in several magazines.
Wiggen-Kraft said she finds it hard to believe that University City found her not in compliance with its ordinance.
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“Well, the first thought is that this must be sent to the wrong address because, as you can see, this garden has been like this for decades,” she said. “I get many, many compliments. I’ve been on tours for the Missouri Botanical Garden. My garden has been on tour for U City in Bloom, and it was just kind of a shock.”
Wiggen-Kraft’s husband called the city and found out it was not the wrong address. A notice was sent to her saying, “Weeds and turf grasses that exceed the height restrictions contained in this section shall be declared a public nuisance.”
The warning notice further said, “Failure to resolve violations, or request extension prior to deadline date, may result in this matter being referred to the courts.”
Wiggen-Kraft said she was ready for a fight.
“I would go to court. There are environmental groups that are willing to do pro bono work to go to court to address this misuse of whatever their definition, the inspector’s definition of weeds is.”
FOX 2 reached out to University City Manager Gregory Rose for a response about Wiggen-Kraft’s garden.
“I think what we do in every case, we try to work with the homeowners to let them know here are the violations,” he said. “She has two options: she can talk to the director, or she can take it up in court. I think the garden portion of it was great. We certainly encourage residents to have those beautification projects, but even within that, you can still have violations that can occur.”