Candler Park woman could face jail in dispute over ‘excessive’ garden

Lexa King could face up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine because of her Candler Park garden, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Lexa King could face up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine because of her Candler Park garden, according to Channel 2 Action News.

An Atlanta woman’s Candler Park voluminous garden has gotten the attention of Atlanta city code enforcement officers, who say her plants are overgrown.

In December, King said an anonymous complaint led to an arrest citation for violating a city code that prohibits "excessive growth," according to Channel 2 Action News.

Court citation penalties allow that Lexa King could face up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, the television station found.

King said she’s been growing her garden for about 30 years.

"And since I pay the taxes and since I pay the mortgage, and since I pay the insurance, I figure I'm the one that gets to say," King said.

Channel 2 spoke to a neighbor who supports the state of King’s yard.

"We're hoping for dismissal of these charges before Lexa King appears in front of the municipal court of Atlanta to be sentenced for her crime of azaleas," Scott Jacobs said.

The longtime resident has been to court twice and has made adjustments to her yard, but plans to fight the citation at a hearing in several weeks. She said the disagreement isn’t about her or the azaleas in her Euclid Avenue garden.

“This is about our neighborhood and the way of life that we have here," King said.

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