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September 23, 2009
Native Suburbia Under Attack: Negotiating With The Village
I went to the village today and talked to Ed from the letter. He basically refused to have any kind of constructive dialog with me. He wanted me to believe that all options were exhausted and it was out of his hands. I asked if I could speak to someone who could further consider a compromise. He said that he would pass my comments along to his boss.
The boss, Paula, called me in the afternoon and we discussed the issue on the phone. The high points being:
1. There have been complaints from neighbors about visibility as they come out of their driveways. This was puzzling to me since the neighbor's driveways are a significant distance from my plants. No specific addresses were provided but the only ones that could possibly have a claim would be on either side of me. No neighbor has ever spoken about it to me personally. I still believe that the complaints may be from someone angling to find a way to get rid of landscaping that they don't agree with.
2. We discussed the possibility of a compromise. At first she said a "reasonable" height. When I asked for something a little more quantifiable, she said that she would have to consult with the public works department. I did mention the difficulty in maintaining plants consistently at any height above 3". I am not going to be out there with a hedge trimmer and a ruler. She understood my concern.
3. Once a recommendation for height and style is established, I requested a home visit in which a village representative could convey it to me while looking at the site. She agreed that this was a reasonable request. I still don't know how I would implement their recommendations assuming they are acceptable to me, but I thought that keeping the dialog open would be a good idea.
4. No action will be taken against the plants on the parkway until we have exhausted our efforts to compromise.
5. The flagstones are being targeted as part of an ordinance designed to keep people from putting rocks in the parkway that would be dangerous to cars that accidentally go off the road. They donŐt want people slamming into boulders. She indicated that she would look into the possibility that the flagstones could be acceptable.
I still don't have much confidence that this will end the way I would like, but at least it will all grow back next year even if it is chopped down now. Then I can just wait to be cited again.