Chicago Managed Native Garden Registry Town Hall (March 2nd) at 7PM

Chicago Managed Native Garden Registry Town Hall
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021 at 7PM
RSVP (Zoom)

Join a virtual “town hall” on the proposed Managed Native Garden Registry Ordinance for the City of Chicago on Tuesday, March 2nd at 7PM. Representatives from the offices of co-sponsoring aldermen and the Department of Planning and Development will be present to provide information on the development of the ordinance and answer questions and give you the most up-to-date information on the development of the ordinance.

This event, co-hosted by the Illinois Environmental Council, Openlands, Field Museum, and Advocates for Urban Agriculture, is free and open to all.

The proposal amends the Chicago Municipal Code by creating a “Managed Native Garden Registry”—see this downloadable PDF for all changes. In summary, property owners would be able to register their native garden with the city in order to be exempt from the weed ordinance, provided they meet the following requirements (bolding ours):

10-32-055 Managed native garden registry.

(a) The Department of Planning and Development shall establish and maintain a registry of managed native gardens.

(b) A managed native garden is a planned, intentional, and maintained planting of native plants.

(c) Any person wishing to maintain a managed native garden on their property may register their property with the Department of Planning and Development. The managed native garden must be maintained in accordance with rules established by the Department. Managed native gardens in good standing on the registry shall not be subject to Section 7-28-120. Failure to maintain the managed native garden in accordance with this section and the rules may result in the Commissioner of Planning and Development removing the garden from the registry.

(d) To be eligible to be in the registry:

          (1) the managed native garden shall be on an occupied property.

          (2) the managed native garden shall contain only plants native to the Chicago region.

          (3) the managed native garden shall not have plants taller than ten inches within three feet of a public sidewalk or property line. Similarly, if a permit for a managed native garden in the parkway is acquired, any managed native garden in a parkway shall not have plants taller than ten inches.

          (4) the plants within the garden will have been intentionally planted by seed or transplantation into the garden. Owners need to be able to identify the plants contained within the garden.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the section to conflict with the
Illinois Noxious Weed Law, 505 ILCS 100/1 ef seq.

Register for the town hall this Tuesday, March 2nd at 7PM here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvcuqgqj8tE9QJaI8oMFNyH4kaISTPFHbna and come with questions/concerns.