Steve Nordlinger, the environmentalist caught in the crosshairs of Orange County's code-enforcement office for allowing native grasses to grow unfettered on his Big Econ River property, received a visit from that office following Orlando Weekly's report of his predicament [The law of the land, Jan. 28]. After an anonymous complaint, Nordlinger, whose grass protects the thousands of seedlings of his reforestation project, originally was told to cut the grasses to 18 inches by Feb. 8 or have his property clean-cut by the county.
Another county inspector showed up on Nordlinger's property on Jan. 28 and agreed that mowing would destroy the wonderful crop. "He told me that I was right," says Nordlinger, "and that the trees are better off with the grass." The resulting extension in the deadline gives Nordlinger time to hand-shear his land.
Nordlinger now has a letter confirming the agreement. It states, in part: "As mutually agreed to by yourself and the county, an extension of two months has been made in order to accommodate you in your effort to conserve the trees."
