ST. PETERS, Mo. – A St. Peters homeowner went to trial Tuesday in their case against the City of St. Peters over too many sunflowers in their yard.
Officials said Chris Bank violated the city ordinance requiring a certain turf-to-flower ratio. Bank said he did meet the requirements and refused to back down when the city threatened to take him to court.
After the trial, the judge decided to ruled against Bank, stating that he was indeed in violation of the city ordinance.
“The judge just ruled with the city. He didn’t give me an actual answer. He just ruled with the city that I was not in compliance,” Bank said.
Bank said he felt like he didn’t receive fair treatment.
“I specifically asked for measurements of the violations, like any other violation. Where was I in the wrong, and they said it’s not up to the numbers, it’s up to their own interpretation,” he said.
Bank lost his case and had to pay a fine. However, he said the fight over his yard was worth it.
“Yeah, I have to pay a $400 fine. If I don’t step up and fight this, they can do it to anybody else,” he said.
The City of St. Peters has a different view of the judge’s decision.
“Well, the judge made the decision based on the ordinance. We just responded to what our citizens were complaining about. This is the process, and this is how it all worked out,” said Lisa Bedian, a spokesperson for the City of St. Peters.
St. Peters took Bank to court in 2021 over the same issue of too many sunflowers in his yard. On the day of the trial, the case was dropped by the prosecutor.
Bank said he plans to appeal. He said if he lost, he would pay the $400 fine.
