THE MIDNIGHT VANDAL AND A SHOCKING VERDICT: Why has a sunflower garden caused such an uproar in the city?
A GARDENER will go to trial over a sunflower memorial he planted in honor of his loved one.
While a court previously ruled that the garden tribute wasn’t allowed, a jury trial has been ordered.
A years-long legal dispute has spring out of a sunflower memorial a homeowner planted in his yardCredit: Fox 2 Now
After the city previously ruled against him, the case is now receiving a jury trialCredit: Fox 2 Now
A Missouri man will be granted a new jury trial after a court ruled that he wasn’t allowed to plant sunflowers in his yard.
Chris Bank started the sunflower garden in 2021 to honor his loved one.
“She truly loved sunflowers, and I thought it would be fitting for her to be part of it,” Bank told CBS affiliate KMOV.
But the garden has turned into a long-running legal battle with the city of St. Peters.
Homeowner ordered to remove memorial garden after yearslong squabble with city
In October, a judge ruled that the sunflowers counted as a crop, and took issue with the ratio of grass to garden.
Under city rules, no crop can cover more than 10% of a yard.
“I don’t harvest it, I don’t consume it, I don’t sell the seeds,” Bank said in a September interview.
“I grow them, I take them out, and in about four weeks from now you’ll never be able to tell there was a sunflower in my yard.
Bank said he first received a letter in 2022 warning him that the sunflowers violated a city ordinance.
Documents from the city reviewed by KMOV showed complaints from neighbors over the years about the garden.
One complaint said the sunflowers were “getting ridiculous to look at.”
Another anonymous neighbor complaint called Bank “vindictive.”
“In vindictive, you’d have to give me an example. I don’t know who that would be that would say that and not give an example,” he said.
In 2024, surveillance video captured a woman hacking away at Bank’s sunflowers with scissors.
Before the ruling in October, Bank’s supporters gathered in the courtroom.
“This is attacking him. This is not that they care about the sunflowers,” Lexi, one of Bank’s supporters, told KMOV.
“He’s really standing up for what he believes, being strong. But I don’t know that it is argumentative. I think it is defensive.”
Bank said that the city was targeting him due a previous property dispute with his HOA.
The city said in a statement to the outlet that they were simply following the legal process.
“When a resident complains about something, our professional staff checks things out to see if there is an issue and what needs to be done to fix the problem,” the statement read.
Say goodbye to three Apple locations as stores to close forever on June 20
“Then, they go to work with the resident or business to fix the problem. Our goal isn’t to fine someone. We work with people to try to get them to correct the situation. Our goal is to solve a problem for our residents.
“When our residents file a concern, we have to check it out. If there’s a violation, we try to work with people to fix the issue. If they don’t, we have to follow the legal process.”
SOURCE: THE SUN
https://www.the-sun.com/news/16454909/st-peters-missouri-sunflower-jury-trial/
