East Van renters told to make changes to their "yarden"

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Renters in an East Vancouver home are butting heads with city hall over their front yard.

The city says the property is untidy and isn't in "keeping with a reasonable standard of maintenance prevailing in the neighbourhood."

Miranda Nelson says she and her roommates are simply growing food the way Mother Nature intended.

"It's kind of a crazy-looking yard right now. It's early in the season. The kale has just gone to seed. We don't have nice neatly-ordered rows. We want things to grow as organically and as naturally as possible," says Nelson.

According to the city, two different neighbours have filed complaints about the yard.

The city expects changes made to the space by Saturday. Nelson says the deadline is a little unfair, given they were only notified of the problem April 19.

Not complying with the bylaw comes with fines between $250 and $2000, and $50 a day for every day the yard is deemed offensive.

Nelson, her roommates and her neighbours spent the weekend sprucing up the garden, in the hopes the city won't force them to dig it up altogether.