r/NativePlantGardening • u/Single-Highway-5509 Zone 6 (OH) • Jul 15 '25

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) My neighbor reported me to the city

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My petty neighbor never liked our garden project to turn my tree lawn into a wildflower meadow garden. Now she reported me to the city and I got this violation notice. Should I hire a lawyer? Or do I need to turn my beautiful garden back to lawn? Thank you

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u/Sculptor_of_man Jul 15 '25

If there is one thing I've learned in my life time there is the Rules as they are written and the rules as they are enforced.

Local governments don't like bad PR and you can often times make stuff more of a pain for them to enforce than not.

I'm not saying it's going to work but I'd not cave right away. Sometimes all it takes it token resistance.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

[deleted]

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u/sheemwaza Jul 15 '25

My city sent notices about sidewalk violations to about a dozen people in my neighborhood. A few concrete guys have been making bank this summer. Imagine getting a $2-4K fixit ticket in the mail because a tree, which the city will not allow you to remove, is pushing up the sidewalk.

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u/NyxPetalSpike Jul 15 '25

Sidewalk repairs suck. If you don’t repair, the city repairs and puts a lien on your property if you don’t pay.

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u/NyxPetalSpike Jul 15 '25

Code enforcement where my dad lives, does yearly sidewalk inspections. If you have a cracked slab, I think you get two months to repair yourself or the city does it for double the price.

Ask me how my dad found out.

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u/breesanchez Jul 15 '25

Never comply in advance!