The Grapevine Prairie Garden

Dear Council,

My name is Tim Yatko. I have spoken to you before in support of apartment recycling, backyard chickens, and preserving the trailer park community near my house.

You may have seen my news story in the Dallas Morning News last week. If not, here is a link. I know some people had trouble accessing it through the DMN paywall. I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already.

I want to take a moment to highlight the need for updating the “high grass and weed” ordinance. As currently written, it does not distinguish between turfgrass and native plants, leading to unnecessary enforcement issues. I propose the following updates:

• Clearly define the differences between turfgrass and ornamental native plants while establishing an objective definition of “weed.” Right now, in my experience, anything code enforcement doesn’t recognize is considered a weed.
• Implement a plan submission process so residents who want to cultivate native gardens can do so by submitting a planting plan and are at least recognized as ‘people gardening with intent’.
• Establish an appeal process. Currently, there is none. Cases automatically proceed to citation and court or, in a heavy-handed approach, the city can send mowers to any yard they deem non-compliant without even a hearing—an action I was recently threatened with by the City Attorney. Ironically, someone with a junk car in their yard has more due process than a resident growing Texas natives.

Additionally, I want to address the City Attorney’s comments to Dallas Morning News, where he stated: “Objectively, this yard is not in keeping with community standards from both an aesthetic and public safety perspective.” These claims were made without evidence. There is no indication that my yard poses any kind of public safety threat. And if the City Attorney and Code Enforcement were truly concerned about community standards, they would have addressed multiple instances of noncompliance in my neighborhood—such as cars and trailers parked on grass in side yards, clearly visible from the right-of-way. For years, my neighbor across the street had an RV parked on his lawn, yet that was never an issue with Code Enforcement or the neighbors issuing complaints against my yard.

I also feel that, despite my efforts to take up this cause to ensure others don’t have to go through the same ordeal, staff are unfairly increasing pressure on me to comply with their interpretation of the code without having gone to trial. While the trial was postponed to allow time for a potential ordinance update, their actions don’t inspire much confidence in the process. Just a week after the initial trial, Code Enforcement was sent to document my property and issue notice of violations for the same issue, and later I was threatened with mowers if I fall out of compliance. I ask that you direct staff to stay away from my yard while this process unfolds and ensure that any code revisions genuinely support residents who choose native landscaping. I hope you will take my ideas into serious consideration as you work toward a fair and reasonable update.

Best,
Tim Yatko