FRONT YARD VEGETABLE GARDENS PROHIBITED

The Florida Supreme Court has declined to hear a case about whether homeowners can be prohibited from growing vegetable gardens in their front yards. The Village of Miami Shores passed an ordinance four years ago banning front-yard vegetable gardens and allowed the village to impose fines of up to $50 per day for noncompliance. Hermine Ricketts and Laurence Carroll had maintained a vegetable garden for nearly twenty years and took the Village to court. But two lower courts sided with Miami Shores and upheld the regulation and on Friday, justices issued a brief order saying they would not hear the case. However, there still may be hope for the couple. A committee in the Florida Senate backed a proposal sponsored by Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, who said the gardeners should be allowed to grow their own food wherever they want.