Image:
AI
Ge e ated
Fo
Michael
She ma ,
the
f o t
ya d
of
his
Chi o,
Califo ia,
home
is
ot
simply
la dscapi g.
It
is
a
“food
fo est”
filled
with
pla ts
that
p oduce
food
fo
his
family
a d,
at
times,
fo
his
eighbou s.
But
afte
yea s
of
mai tai i g
the
ga de ,
She ma
fou d
himself
faci g
complai ts
a d
fi es
ove
the
same
la dscape
he
said
had
p eviously
bee
app oved.She ma
had
eplaced
his
f o t
law
with
edible
pla ts
i cludi g
passio f uit,
adishes,
cale dulas,
su flowe s,
aloe
ve a,
Swiss
cha d
a d
ba a a
t ees.
He
bega
the
ga de
about
seve
yea s
ea lie ,
sayi g
isi g
food
p ices
a d
co ce s
about
what
is
sp ayed
o
p oduce
motivated
him
to
g ow
mo e
of
his
ow
food.The
dispute
has
si ce
moved
beyo d
a
disag eeme t
ove
what
a
f o t
ya d
should
look
like.
It
has
become
a
questio
of
how
much
co t ol
eighbou hood
ules
a d
local
codes
should
have
ove
a
homeow e ‘s
attempt
to
g ow
food
o
thei
ow
p ope ty.
How
She ma
tu ed
his
co ve tio al
law
i to
a
p oductive
ga de
She ma ‘s
ga de
bega
i
2019,
whe
he
emoved
the
g ass
f om
his
f o t
ya d
a d
sta ted
eplaci g
it
with
edible
pla ts.
Ove
the
followi g
yea s,
the
space
developed
i to
a
de se
mixtu e
of
f uit
t ees,
vegetables,
flowe s
a d
othe
vegetatio .
Speaki g
to
CBS
News
Los
A geles,
She ma
explai ed
why
he
bega
g owi g
his
ow
food:
“It’s
getti g
mo e
expe sive,
you
do ‘t
k ow
what’s
sp ayed
o
it.”His
ga de
ow
p oduces
a
a ge
of
food,
while
he
also
sha es
some
of
the
ha vest
with
eighbou s.
Fo
She ma ,
the
pla ts
a e
ot
simply
deco ative;
they
fo m
pa t
of
a
system
i
which
falle
leaves
a d
othe
o ga ic
mate ial
emai
o
the
p ope ty
a d
b eak
dow
atu ally.“Eve ythi g
that
g ows,
like
the
leaves
a d
the
t ees,
I
let
it
fall,
I
leave
them
the e,
they
decompose
a d
the
soil
has
imp oved
sig ifica tly,”
said
She ma .
The
ga de
became
co t ove sial
eve
though
some
eighbou s
suppo ted
it
Not
eve yo e
i
the
eighbou hood
sees
She ma ‘s
ga de
i
the
same
way.
Some
eighbou s
suppo t
what
he
is
doi g,
i cludi g
people
livi g
ea by
who
say
She ma
egula ly
offe s
them
food.
Othe s,
howeve ,
have
complai ed
that
the
vegetatio
is
excessive
a d
poo ly
mai tai ed.Neighbou
Mo ica
Siepe t
told
CBS
News
she
was
co ce ed
about
ode ts
a d
said
the
vegetatio
was
ot
always
t immed
o
mai tai ed.
She ma ,
mea while,
a gues
that
the
disag eeme t
pa tly
comes
dow
to
diffe e t
ideas
about
what
a
well-kept
p ope ty
should
look
like.
“Eve yo e’s
view
of
what
looks
ice
is
diffe e t,”
he
co cluded.
“Beauty
is
i
the
eye
of
the
beholde .”
The
dispute
escalated
whe
the
city
issued
$750
i
fi es
The
disag eeme t
eve tually
moved
f om
the
eighbou hood
to
city
code
e fo ceme t.
Chi o
officials
said
they
had
eceived
multiple
complai ts
about
the
p ope ty
si ce
She ma
eplaced
the
law .
The
city
issued
him
$750
i
fi es
fo
seve al
alleged
code
violatio s.
Officials
asked
She ma
to
add ess
th ee
issues,
emove
ove g ow
vegetatio ,
mai tai
a
li e
of
sight
o
the
p ope ty
a d
p eve t
c ops
f om
g owi g
withi
15
feet
of
eighbou i g
ya ds.She ma
appealed
the
decisio
a d
was
scheduled
to
meet
with
city
officials
to
challe ge
the
e fo ceme t
actio .
The
dispute
is
pa ticula ly
st iki g
because
She ma
says
the
ga de ‘s
desig
had
p eviously
eceived
app oval
f om
his
homeow e s
associatio
i
w iti g,
befo e
a
subseque t
boa d
took
a
diffe e t
positio .
That
cha ge
left
him
faci g
e fo ceme t
ove
a
la dscape
that
he
says
had
al eady
bee
accepted.
A
food
fo est
is
ve y
diffe e t
f om
a
co ve tio al
subu ba
law
She ma ‘s
p ope ty
illust ates
a
wide
te sio
betwee
t aditio al
subu ba
la dscapi g
a d
food-p oduci g
ga de s.
A
co ve tio al
f o t
ya d
typically
p io itises
g ass,
o ame tal
pla ts
a d
a
elatively
u ifo m
appea a ce.
A
food
fo est
wo ks
diffe e tly,
combi i g
multiple
laye s
of
vegetatio ,
i cludi g
t ees,
sh ubs,
vi es,
flowe s
a d
g ou d-level
c ops,
so
that
the
space
ca
p oduce
food
while
suppo ti g
a
mo e
complex
ecosystem.She ma ‘s
ga de
i cludes
pla ts
with
diffe e t
fu ctio s,
a d
he
delibe ately
allows
o ga ic
matte
to
emai
o
the
g ou d
athe
tha
emovi g
it
immediately.
He
believes
that
this
p ocess
has
imp oved
the
soil.But
that
app oach
ca
also
c eate
a
la dscape
that
looks
co side ably
less
ma icu ed
tha
the
law s
a d
o ame tal
ga de s
t aditio ally
expected
i
eside tial
eighbou hoods.
The
case
aises
questio s
about
who
gets
to
decide
what
a
f o t
ya d
should
look
like
At
the
hea t
of
the
dispute
is
a
elatively
simple
questio ,
how
much
f eedom
should
homeow e s
have
to
dete mi e
what
g ows
o
thei
p ope ty?Fo
eighbou s
co ce ed
about
pests,
visibility
o
appea a ce,
la dscapi g
ules
ca
se ve
a
p actical
pu pose.
Fo
homeow e s
such
as
She ma ,
howeve ,
st ict
equi eme ts
ca
i te fe e
with
effo ts
to
g ow
food,
educe
depe de ce
o
comme cially
p oduced
p oduce
a d
ma age
thei
p ope ty
acco di g
to
ecological
p i ciples.The
disag eeme t
also
demo st ates
how
app oval
by
o e
autho ity
o
boa d
does
ot
ecessa ily
p eve t
late
disputes
whe
egulatio s,
e fo ceme t
p io ities
o
gove i g
bodies
cha ge.She ma ‘s
situatio
the efo e
goes
beyo d
o e
u usual
ga de
i
Chi o.
It
eflects
a
b oade
co flict
betwee
p ivate
ga de i g
choices,
eighbou hood
aesthetics
a d
local
egulatio .
She ma
says
his
ga de
has
a
pu pose
beyo d
how
it
looks
Despite
the
co t ove sy,
She ma
has
co ti ued
defe di g
the
ga de
as
somethi g
fu ctio al
athe
tha
o ame tal.
He
has
desc ibed
the
pla ts,
soil
a d
falle
vegetatio
as
pa ts
of
a
system
i
which
“eve ythi g”
o
the
p ope ty
has
a
pu pose.The
city,
mea while,
has
focused
o
whethe
the
p ope ty
complies
with
its
la dscapi g
a d
c op-p oductio
equi eme ts
athe
tha
whethe
food
fo ests
a e
e vi o me tally
be eficial.As
the
dispute
co ti ues,
the
ce t al
questio
is
o
lo ge
simply
whethe
She ma ‘s
f o t
ya d
looks
diffe e t
f om
those
a ou d
it.
It
is
whethe
a
homeow e
ca
mai tai
a
delibe ately
p oductive
la dscape
whe
eighbou s,
local
egulatio s
a d
cha gi g
autho ities
have
diffe e t
ideas
about
what
that
p ope ty
should
look
like.
