As I think I noted here before, I am having problems with OKC code enforcement over my use of logs in my garden. (see http://www.bobwaldrop.net/?p=417 for background.) I contend that they are not trash as defined by the city ordinance, which speaks of trash as being items that are “refuse, litter, debris, paper, combustible materials, rubbish, offal, or wastge, or matter of any kind or form which is uncared for, discarded, or abandoned.”
I have yielded on some things, but I am holding out to keep a large trunk of an elm tree on our property which we use as a bench.
They also want me to enclose my compost pile. It is enclosed on two sides by a fence, and thus is not visible from the street, but I don’t want to enclose the whole thing. That isn’t actually required by the city’s code, and it seems to me that if I enclose it I could run into problems I don’t have (like anaerobic digestion). Anyway, there is going to be a hearing on this and I am being represented by an attorney, and he suggests I come up with some expert testimony (either signed/notarized statements, or articles or books that could be submitted as evidence) regarding the utility and beauty of using logs in a naturalistic landscape design.
So if anybody has any ideas on articles/books etc, or has some credentials that might impress a hearing officer, and would be willing to submit a letter to me that I could use, please contact me in private email at bwaldrop@cox.net
Bob Waldrop
Oklahoma City
