Here's the deal: After getting off the plane from Salt Lake City and making my way home to a cup of tea, I sit down at my kitchen table and I see this guy in a City of Oakland car taking photos of my garden. I go down and he said I'm out of compliance for "agricultural activities". I'm supposed to get a Conditional Use Permit for growing chard. The annual fee: $2500.Last year, when I bought my lot, I went to the planning department to find out what I needed to get a business license and all that stuff. The very nice planning person told me that by the spring, the City of Oakland would be changing the laws about urban agriculture in the city, so I should just wait. Guess that hasn't happened.
The photo taking city guy said they are going to use me as an example, and that I'll get fined around $5000 for non-compliance. All of this was triggered by one person, who complained to the animal control, who then passed it on to the city, who is now making my life hell. I said to the guy--one person caused this, that's not fair. "Life's not fair," he replied.
Novella Carpenter - author of the book Farm City - is an old friend of mine and an all-around good egg whose whole thing in life is teaching urban people how to grow and raise their own food. She certainly deserves your attention and support. However, two things from the blog that should amuse my fellow Rantburgers:
1) The posters in the comments section keep talking about how Oakland isn't being very "progressive." I beg to differ: Oakland is being extremely progressive. Stomping out any activity that is not under centralized control, heavily taxed, and completely regulated is the entire point of American progressivism.
2) It appears she was turned in by rabbit rights activists. Also very progressive, non?