Victory! Los Angeles Resident Holds on to His Urban Garden

Ron Finley's South Los Angeles property isn't like any other on the block. Thanks to his supporters and Change.org, it will stay that way.

Los Angeles regulations mandate that residents maintain their homes' parkways, the city-owned strips of grass that separate the curb from the sidewalk. While most citizens water and mow their parkways, Finley decided to do something more useful with the plot in front of his Crenshaw-area home. He turned it into a vibrant urban garden, growing a variety of fresh fruits and veggies like watermelon, kale, and tomatoes.

His seemingly innocuous hobby got him into trouble with the law.

While the oasis was a big hit with most neighbors and passersby, Finley's produce patch was technically illegal. L.A. regulations say that residents must apply for and obtain an expensive permit before growing food on parkways. One neighbor's complaint and Finley's lack of a permit earned him a citation, and officials threatened to make the gardener turn his cornucopia back into a patch of grass.

That didn't set well with Finley's supporters, one of whom launched a petition on Change.org. Like Finley, Anne McKnight is a member of L.A. Green Grounds, an organization that helps create urban gardens in the South Los Angeles community. She started a petition urging the L.A. Department of Public Works to let Finley keep his garden, and more than 900 Change.org members signed onto the campaign. That momentum — along with media coverage and grassroots activism — prompted officials to cancel Finley's hearing and let him keep growing his garden.

"The councilmembers were watching Change.org," Finley said. "They were aware of what people were saying and they were aware of the fact that people were disgusted in the fact that they would tackle something like this."

The decision is certainly momentous, both for Finley and the Crenshaw community. South Los Angeles is a food desert and one of the most economically depressed regions in America. The area has high rates of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related illnesses, and accessing fresh, organic fruits and veggies is not only difficult, it's expensive. Finley's garden provides those fruits and veggies, and his venture proves that Crenshaw residents have the power to ensure their own local food security.

Thanks to supporters and members of the Change.org community, Finley can keep providing that local food security. "The response was heartwarming," Finley said. "I would like to extend joy and gratitude to Change.org and all those that stood up for our cause since the beginning."

Photo credit: LAGreenGrounds via Flickr