A Missouri man has battled the city over his sunflowers for 4 years — says he won’t ‘quit this fight.’ Here’s the issue

Chris Bank has been growing his prized sunflowers for years now, and his seemingly harmless hobby has pitted him against his local government in a battle that he can’t seem to resolve.

“I’ve been doing this for about four years now,” he told FOX 2 in St. Louis [1]. “It’s been an uphill battle with the city of St. Peters from Day 1, from Year 1 when I started.”

Must Read

The conflict is over just how much of Bank’s yard those flowers occupy — more than allowed in the stringent property codes of St. Peters, Missouri, a city that has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Live in the country [2].

Recent changes to those ordinances have landed him in hot water again, with a September court date. It’s a saga you’d typically expect to involve an HOA, not a city.

An annual war over his flowers

Every year, the City of St. Peters Building Department inspects the exterior of all the properties in the city. The rules, outlined in St. Peters Ordinance 8025, state that “a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the entire yard, exclusive of any pool, paved surface or sidewalk, shall be comprised of turf grass.”

And every year since 2022, Chris Bank has been battling with the department over his modest bed of sunflowers. What started as an annual tradition has turned into a headache.

First, officials claimed he violated the grass-coverage ordinance before eventually dismissing the charges.

When the city revised the rules in 2023 so as to rely on visual interpretation rather than actual measurement, they issued Bank a fresh fine.

“The 50% ratio was still there, but it was up to their interpretation,” Bank said. “They said if it looks like more than 50%, that was good enough — here’s your fine.”

He appealed, and just before the case reached a jury, the city withdrew its charges.

“I knew something probably wasn’t right,” he said. “That chance to settle all that in front of a jury and be done with the whole sunflower situation was not going to happen because St. Peters pulled out.”

Also last year, Bank reported someone cut down dozens of his sunflowers. He caught the incident on tape and shared video evidence and receipts for damages with the police, but said prosecutors never pressed charges.

Sunflowers are now a crop?

The city has recently revised its rules again, reclassifying sunflowers as a crop and limiting their presence to 10% of the front yard.

“I don’t believe sunflowers are a crop,” he said. “I, as many of my neighbors do, see the sunflowers as not just beauty, but how well they help the environment.”

“There are lots of hummingbirds, many bees pollinate through here day in and day out,” he added. “I take care of the yard and trim it by hand to make sure it’s not an issue with neighbors.”

Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching stocks — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead

What does the city say?

“St. Peters is an amazing community with friendly neighbors, safe neighborhoods, wonderful schools, a thriving business climate, beautiful parks, trails, and many other amenities that all add up to a top-rated quality of life,” said St. Peters Mayor Len Pagano.

As for Bank, he has no plans for the sun to set on his beloved flowers.

“I’m not going to quit this fight until this gets settled — at least settled the correct way,” he said.

What to read next

Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. Subscribe now.

Article sources

At Moneywise, we consider it our responsibility to produce accurate and trustworthy content people can rely on to inform their financial decisions. We rely on vetted sources such as government data, financial records and expert interviews and highlight credible third-party reporting when appropriate.

We are committed to transparency and accountability, correcting errors openly and adhering to the best practices of the journalism industry. For more details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

[1]. Fox 2 St. Louis. “St. Peters man continues battle with city over sunflowers for 4th year”

[2]. NBC 5 On Your Side – St. Louis. “Money Magazine names St. Peters as 22nd best place to live in America”

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.