‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’
-- Is LeRoy property ‘natural habitat’ or blight?
by Ginger Holm
Gail Manahan left the June City Council meeting with a sigh of relief, as council members gave her a 30-day reprieve concerning the appearance of her property at 609 W. County Road South, in LeRoy, Minn.
On May 28, 2011, Manahan received a letter from the City of LeRoy ordering her to mow her lawn on a regular basis or the City would mow it for her and she would be billed for the service. City Ordinance, Section 92.16, subdivision (h) was cited in the letter.
Manahan requested being put on the June 6 agenda to address the council concerning the matter. She stated, when she moved to LeRoy in August 2005, the majority of her property was pastureland and her goal was to return that land to natural habitat to support "biodiversity, including soil organisms, insects, birds, butterflies and other wildlife."
The City, however, insists all the property is lawn and, therefore, needs to be mowed according to the City ordinance. Council members stated they believe Manahan's property is not being maintained, but neglected.
Manahan insists she is maintaining her property through mowing specific areas, planting native foliage in other areas and removing weeds throughout the property.
"So far, I have inter-planted red oak, arrow-wood, hawthorn, coneflowers, asters, purple prairie clover, red milkweed, and butterfly weed on my property," said Manahan in a statement she read to the council. "I garden organically and compost all vegetable matter. I also regularly cut down or dig out noxious weeds. In doing these things, I will reduce my use of fossil fuels, reduce air pollution, and reduce my carbon output, which contributes to global climate change."
She asked the council to reconsider its position claiming the City's ordinance is old and outdated, and requested the City adopt a "natural landscaping ordinance". She provided a model ordinance from another city, which was written in 2008, for the council to review and consider, as well as providing other information to inform the council of her position.
Manahan further stated, "This [discussion] has been going on for 40 years across the country. The ordinance you are citing is considered the first ordinance in a series of an evolution of weed ordinances . . . many municipalities have thrown it out."
"The vision [in the ordinance] is a 'golf course' vision. You mow everything down and everything is really neat, and you have a right to that vision, but I have a different vision and aesthetic," she said
"What I would like you to tell us is how you manage [your property]?" requested Mayor Kathy Farlinger.
Manahan stated she uses the DNR Website to identify noxious weeds and either digs them out or, on occasion, selectively uses Roundup to kill specific plants at the root.
"I mow all around my buildings. I have a garden area, I mow around that and around my raspberry bushes," she said.
Manahan explained that her lawn is kept mowed, and the rest of her property is a work in progress.
"I am trying to maintain the habitat I have and encourage it to survive, by adding more native plants. The native plants crowd out a lot of the [weeds]" she explained. "I can't just go in overnight and change everything. I have to go in and continually add things and monitor what is there."
"It's a whole life system," Manahan continued. "You should see it. I have dozens of birds nesting there. I have red-winged blackbirds who lost their habitat just south in an area they used to use every year. The killdeer who used to nest around here lost their habitat. They used to be here ‘til September. There are no killdeer in my neighborhood now. I have dozens and dozens of birds happily living in those trees, living off all the caterpillars and insects; so the system is working."
"I have a lot of birds in my yard, and I do mow," countered council member Linda Sanders. "I drove by your place tonight, and I'm sorry, but it just looks like weeds to me."
"And that's part of what happens," responded Manahan. "Until people understand what the plant's function is, it looks like weeds because it is not grass."
"If you drive around town, you will see your 'aesthetics' all over town in these homes that are foreclosed on," said council member Harold Shipman. "To be quite honest, I think it looks like hell."
"And that's your opinion," said Manahan. "I would also like you to consider where my property is. It is on a commercial block, it is backed up by commercial buildings facing south toward Iowa. I am out on the edge of town. I am not in the middle of town with everybody else with their mowed lawns. I bought it because it was kind of isolated. You have to go out of your way to go by my place. My property is normally mowed all along the perimeter. It is a wildlife sanctuary and I have a right to it."
"It's in the City limits of LeRoy. All the City ordinances apply to all the citizens," said Shipman.
Another concern brought up by the City (apart from the discussion with Manahan at the June 6 meeting) was a brush pile the City contends is a fire hazard. Manahan, who works from her home as a ceramic artist, claims the woodpile is used to pit fire ceramic pots.
"It is a brief process, less than an hour, of burning that gives the pottery a naturally-colored surface ranging from white to black," she said in a brief interview the day after the meeting.
Before leaving the meeting Manahan made one final comment.
"I have constitutional rights that provide for my freedom to choose my own aesthetic on my property," she stated. "If the council decides to move forward on trespassing and destroying, I want two weeks written notice on the time and date of such action."
A 30-day reprieve was granted to Manahan when Farlinger asked the council to consider letting the issue "stay for a month and then do a field check" to inspect the property.
"I don't think I'll change my mind, but if that is what [the council] wants to do,..." shrugged Shipman.
Council members agreed to travel to the Manahan property the day before the July council meeting to "see if there is any improvement." City council members declined to comment outside of the council meeting.
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