2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
Technograph'I was just trying to do my job as a mother'
Beth Scarbrough, City of Champaign work toward compromise
By Patrick Wade
Posted: 3/16/07 Section: News
|
Many passers-by might not even notice the house at first glance - unless the motorists are trying to turn left onto Prospect Avenue.
The City of Champaign received a complaint "a while ago" that the hedges at 401 N. Prospect Ave. were obstructing drivers' lines of sight and making it difficult to turn left onto the busy street, said Susan Salzman, property maintenance supervisor for the city's Neighborhood Services department.
However, the hedges protect the health of one of the house's residents.
Beth and Cecil Scarbrough, the owners of the home, received a letter from the city on Feb. 20. In "an effort to keep the city safe, clean and attractive," the letter read, the city ordered the Scarbroughs to cut their eight-foot hedges down to 24 inches, or be fined as much as $750 a day, beginning March 20. They could also be held liable for any car accidents that happened at the intersection.
"We couldn't live here without (the bushes)," Beth Scarbrough said.
Beth Scarbrough said the hedges are not an aesthetic feature. Rather, Beth and Cecil Scarbrough's 8-year-old son, Cecil, has severe asthma, reactive airway disease and his lungs are three times the size of what they should be. Cecil needs the hedges surrounding the house to stay healthy.
According to a letter from Dr. Jack Thrasher, the family's toxicologist, Cecil is at "high risk for developed blood cancers and neurological damage resulting in seizures." He has been in and out of hospitals for a large part of his life.
Cecil's illness severely restricts his activity. He is home schooled and is confined only to houses which have passed an air quality test. Additionally, he cannot swim in public pools because of the chlorine.
The Scarbroughs appealed the decision in late February. Wednesday, they received a call from Neighborhood Services who said a representative from the department would visit their house to review the case May 9, when the hedges are in full bloom. The threat of the fine is suspended until then, Salzman said.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Shelby
posted 3/25/07 @ 5:54 PM CST
At least these folks have a legitimate reason for keeping their hedges so high. There are far too many residents in C-U who have overgrown vegetation in their yards that restricts a driver's line of sight at an intersection. (Continued…)
Post a Comment