HerbalEGram: Volume 9, Number 8, August 2012

In late June 2012, Tulsa resident Denise Morrison filed a federal lawsuit against the Oklahoma city, which, supposedly acting under a municipal nuisance ordinance, cut down hundreds of plants growing on her property.^1,2 The event occurred nearly 1 year ago on August 16, 2011, when City workers allegedly came to her home and demolished approximately 100 species of edible and medicinal plants on her property, just 1 day after she appeared in court to address the City complaint regarding her yard with a judge who told her to return in October.^1,2

Morrison told Tulsa’s CBS affiliate, News On 6, that initially, upon receiving the complaint, she “took pictures to meet with City inspectors, but they wouldn’t listen, so she invited them to her home so they could point out problem areas.”¹ She claims the inspectors said that “everything” was unacceptable and would need to be cut down.¹ That is when Morrison said she called the police, and an officer “issued her a citation so it could be worked out in court.”¹

Because of a similar incident involving another property, Morrison familiarized herself with the City municipal nuisance ordinance that forbids plants growing taller than 12 inches — unless they are for human consumption.² This time she made sure she could prove that all of the plants on her property met that stipulation.²

Among the destroyed plants were “lemon [Citrus x limon], stevia [Stevia rebaudiana], garlic chives [Allium tuberosum], grapes [Vitis vinifera], strawberries [Fragaria spp.], apple mint [Mentha suaveolens], spearmint [M. spicata], peppermint [M. x piperita], an apple tree [Malus spp.], walnut tree [Juglans spp.], [and] pecan trees [Carya spp.].”¹ Lemon mint (M. citrata), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), and rose-of-sharon (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) plants were also removed.²

Morrison told News On 6 that she was using some of the plants to care for health conditions including arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure.¹

“Not only are the plants my livelihood, they’re my food and I was unemployed at the time and had no food left, no medicine left, and I didn’t have insurance,” said Morrison.¹ “They took away my life and livelihood.”¹

Jesse Richardson, an attorney and associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech University, noted a similar case from 2011 in which an Oak Park, Michigan, resident was cited for pulling a “Michelle Obama” and planting a vegetable garden in her front lawn (e-mail, July 23, 2012).³ The woman, Julie Bass, was threatened with 93 days of jail time because the tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo), peppers (Capsicum spp.), and other vegetables growing in 5 planter boxes in front of her home were allegedly in violation of an Oak Park City code stating:

All unpaved portions of the [screening and landscaping] site shall be planted with grass ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable live plant material.³

City of Tulsa spokeswoman Michelle Allen sent a copy of the Tulsa municipal nuisance ordinance of which Morrison was allegedly in violation to KRMG.com, a local news/talk radio station. The following passage in the ordinance describes plant life that is not permitted and appears to discredit the City’s argument for the destruction of Morrison’s botanicals:

6.         Weeds and other rank growths of vegetation upon private property or adjoining parking, including but not limited to poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac and all vegetation at any state of maturity which:

a.         Exceeds twelve (12) inches in height, except healthy trees, shrubs, or produce for human consumption grown in a tended and cultivated garden unless such trees and shrubbery by their density or location constitute a detriment to the health, benefit and welfare of the public and community or a hazard to traffic or create a fire hazard to the property or otherwise interfere with the mowing of said weeds;

b.         Regardless of height, harbors, conceals, or invites deposits or accumulation of refuse or trash;

c.         Harbors rodents or vermin;

d.         Gives off unpleasant or noxious odors;

e.         Constitutes a fire or traffic hazard; or

f.          Is dead or diseased²

The charges against Bass were eventually dropped, though according to attorney Richardson, the Oak Park government had a “much stronger” case against her than Tulsa has against Morrison.⁴

“I think as local foods become more popular, these cases will continue to proliferate,” said Richardson. “It’s the neighbors’ desire for aesthetic uniformity v. the landowner’s desire to use the property to grow produce. There aren’t any clear answers, unfortunately.”

A human-rights petition at change.org asserts that Morrison’s constitutional rights were breached, outlining them as follows:

City ordinances and bylaws may not supersede citizen rights and protections. It would seem that in this case the City of Tulsa Oklahoma violated the Fourth Amendment, in which Denise Morrison as a citizen of the United States has a right to “Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.” The Fifth Amendment may also apply in this situation, in that private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation.

At the least the City of Tulsa must recall the Fourteenth Amendment: “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.⁵

Morrison is suing for $10,000-plus in damages for the demolished plants, and the change.org petition has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures as of press time.^1,5


—Ashley Lindstrom

References

1. Fullbright L. Woman sues city of Tulsa for cutting down her edible garden. Newson6.com. June 15, 2012. Available at: www.newson6.com/story/18802728/woman-sues-city-of-tulsa-for-cutting-down-her-edible-garden. Accessed June 24, 2012.
   
   
2. Mills R. Botanical battle: woman suing Tulsa after city crew destroys plants. KRMG.com. June 21, 2012. Available at: www.krmg.com/news/news/local/botanical-battle-woman-suing-tulsa-after-city-crew/nPcC3/. Accessed June 24, 2012.
   
   
3. Kirpalani R. Woman faces jail time for growing vegetable garden in her own front lawn. ABC News. Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/vegetable-garden-brings-criminal-charges-oak-park-michigan/story?id=14047214#.UA2Q27QV2T4. Accessed July 23, 2012.
   
   
4. Tuttle B. Charges dropped against woman for front yard vegetable garden. TIME Moneyland blog. Available at: http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/15/charges-dropped-against-woman-for-front-yard-vegetable-garden/. Accessed July 23, 2012.
   
   
5. Change.org. Petition on behalf of Denise Morrison of the city of Tulsa, OK. Available at: www.change.org/petitions/petition-on-behalf-of-denise-morrison-of-the-city-of-tulsa-ok. Accessed June 24, 2012.