An effort to keep local governments out of homeowners’ vegetable gardens has returned to the House.
Rep. Elizabeth Fetterhoff, R-DeLand, filed a measure (HB 145) Wednesday intended to prevent local governments from regulating homeowners’ vegetable gardens. The measure mirrors a bill (SB 82) by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, that is scheduled to be heard Tuesday in the Senate Community Affairs Committee.
The proposal stems from a legal dispute between homeowners Hermine Ricketts and Laurence Carroll and the Village of Miami Shores over an ordinance that banned front-yard vegetable gardens. The couple had maintained a front-yard garden for nearly two decades but uprooted their vegetables when faced with the possibility of fines. They challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance but lost in court.
The bills by Bradley and Fetterhoff revive an effort from the 2018 legislative session. The Senate passed a Bradley-sponsored bill, but the House did not go along. The new bills are filed for the 2019 session, which starts March 5.
Source: News Service of Florida