Victory! Danville Confirms Award-Winning Garden Complies with Local Code After IJ Letter

The city of Danville, Illinois will not be pursuing enforcement action against gardeners Jeremy Boggess and Kristi Church after the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter informing them that any such action would be illegal under the Illinois Garden Act.  

Earlier this year, Danville cited Jeremy and Kristi under an ordinance targeting overgrown vegetation and warned that if they did not remove their plantings, the town would do so itself and send them the bill. But Illinois’ 2021 Garden Act, passed with IJ support, guarantees that any person may cultivate vegetable gardens on their own property and bars municipalities from adopting rules that specifically regulate them. 

At a hearing held several days after IJ’s letter, city officials quickly determined that Jeremy and Kristi’s garden was in compliance with the village code. 

“We never thought we’d have to fight code enforcement to keep an award-winning garden,” Jeremy said. “Now we can finally focus on our end-of-season cleanup and planning for next year.” 

“Illinois law could not be clearer: people have the right to grow food and pollinator plants on their own property,” said IJ Litigation Fellow Ben Marsh, co-author of the letter. “We’re glad the town reached the only reasonable conclusion in this case, and we hope other Illinois municipalities take note before sending out their next notice.” 

Only a handful of states provide the same protections to gardeners, and IJ’s model legislation can aid policymakers in setting up similar protections in their own communities.