Couple ordered by town to grow grass

A Missouri couple decided to turn their entire yard into a flower garden.

It turns out, that was against a city ordinance, which says half of residents’ yards must be grass turf.

But the wife is allergic to grass.

Now a federal judge has ruled: Tough.

So Janice and Carl Duffner are vowing to fight on.

Their city of St. Peters, near St. Louis, put the Duffners on notice that they must comply with the law.

The Duffners said at the time they filed their civil rights action in late 2016 that they were subject to penalties of $180,000 and 20 years in jail for noncompliance.

The Duffners bought their home in 2002 and began landscaping that included planting beds, two small ponds, pathways and seating areas. The St. Peters Board of Aldermen adopted the turf ordinance in 2008. At some point an unidentified person complained to the city that the Duffners had no grass.

The Duffners asked for an exemption but were denied. Instead, the Board of Adjustment in 2014 told them to plant at least 5 per cent of their property with grass. They refused.

U.S. District Judge John A. Ross ruled for the city, saying the Duffners “have failed to identify a fundamental right that is restricted by the Turf Grass Ordinance.” The judge said the Supreme Court has held that “aesthetic consid erations constitute a legiti mate government purpose.”

The Duffners have vowed to appeal.