City orders elderly St. Paul resident to remove decades of hard work on her yard decorations.

Iris Logan, a 70-year-old woman living in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been put in a difficult situation. After a city inspection, she has been served a notice to destroy her decades-old mosaic of rocks and art in her yard.
According to The Associated Press, the city inspector has deemed Logan's project an inconvenience to the community and has asked her to clear out any of the planters, wood, metal cans, large rocks and miscellaneous debris she has used to decorate the yard.
This comes as a surprise to Logan, as she initially started her project as a solution to the fault of yard workers who dug too deep in the ground and exposed the roots of one of her trees. In an attempt to cover the space, she used stones, statues, bricks, dirt, and planted flowers to beautify the space and she continued to add decorative art throughout the years.
The written notice from the inspector proposed that the City Council give her a deadline of Dec. 22 to clean up her project. Logan clarified that her stones don't extend beyond her yard or interrupt traffic flow, and said that she "never had a complaint" about her yard installation.

Justin Lewandowski, a community organizer who lives near Logan, was so moved by her situation that he started a petition in support of her. Within a few hours, it had gathered 150 signatures, a clear signal of how much Logan's art means to her community.
Casey Rodriguez, a spokesman for the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, said “Generally boulevards should be clear of installations or obstructions that would impede access to buried utility lines. This also keeps the tree roots clear and provides a place to shovel snow in the winter.”
The City Council will address the matter on Dec. 6. A dozen other properties in the community have also been notified to remove obstructions that may violate city code.

Iris Logan is determined to make a stand for the next person. She has already been able to rally the support of her community, and is doing her best to make sure her mosaic isn't destroyed. It remains to be seen if her appeal will be successful, but the city council's decision on Dec. 6 will give us a better idea of the outcome.

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