David Martel wrote:
Such technical flaws in a citation won't affect the merit of the
citation. If you raise the issue of the date the date will be corrected. Mow
your lawn.

Your flippancy is justified; I didn't
flesh out the context of the situation.
I've made it a point to keep the public
space in front of the house trimmed and
the alley by the side of the house free
of overhanging branches. The house is one
of a few 1920's bungalows amid 1940s and
1950s houses that are somewhat more
substantial. My elderly neighbor who lives
in a similar house across the street was
hit with a similar citation at the same
time.

The area is on the brink of gentrification;
it's not far from the Anacostia watershed of
Washington, D.C. that is the object of a recent
comprehensive development plan. And this city
has seen a post-9/11 willingness of authorities
of all kinds to use their muscle -- for example,
when the 12-year-old girl was handcuffed for
eating in a Metro station.

I've lived at that address for 19 years and
have always had cordial relations with the
neighbors. None of them has ever complained
about my preference for hands-off landscaping.
The issue, ultimately, is esthetic, and the
question is whether the city can decide when
to dictate esthetics -- in the absence of
complaint -- by using regulations that were
certainly intended to penalize owners of
neglected vacant lots.

--
(Charles Packer)
ungoogled: mailboxATSIGNcpacker.org
http://cpacker.org/whatnews