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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/upset_pachyderm on 2024-02-02 03:01:38.

I just remembered this one…Shortly after I left home, my mom bought an old Victorian house. The yard was completely overgrown, and a lot of work was put in cleaning it up, trimming trees and shrubs, etc. But the tall grasses in the parking strip she left alone, because they were pretty. I don’t know if the previous owner had planted them or if they were just weeds.

The fire department knew that they were weeds, and a fire inspector left a notice on the door telling her to cut them down (I forget how far). She did not. Two weeks later, another notice. Two more weeks, and the fire inspector actually stops to talk to her. He explains the size of the fine if she doesn’t comply, and so she finally does.

But by next year the grass has grown tall again, so the whole story repeats – exactly like the previous year. Fire inspector was not happy. So mom did some research. It’s true, city ordinance said grass and weeds had to be kept cut.

So the third year rolls around, and by late summer the grass is growing high. Fire inspector didn’t even bother with the notices this time, and he was clearly peeved. “Are we going to have to keep doing this every year,” he asked? Mom smiled and said “Oh, no. I’ve fixed it all now”. And then she showed him the receipts and tags from the decorative grasses she’d bought at the garden store that spring, along with a copy of the pertinent city ordinance.

You see, while the ordinance required weeds and grass lawn to be kept cropped, they permitted “decorative plantings” of any height. She lived in that house for several decades and never mowed the parking strip after that.

ETA: A parking strip (in *some parts of* the US) is an unpaved strip between the sidewalk and the curb of the street. Frequently covered in lawn grass, or planted with small shrubs. In my block most folks have a tree or two there. It’s actually owned by the city, but the owners of the adjacent structures are required to provide the upkeep and are usually allowed to plant it as they wish.

ETA 2: I’m absolutely fascinated by all the different names for this unpaved strip. The compliance was petty, but this is really interesting!