St. Peters man continues battle with city over sunflowers for 4th year

ST. PETERS, Mo. - For four summers, Chris Bank has tended rows of sunflowers in his St. Peters front yard. What started as a hobby has now turned into an ongoing legal battle with city officials who say he is breaking the law.

Bank said he first received notice in 2022 that his yard violated a city ordinance requiring at least 50% grass coverage. He disputed the claim, saying the grass-to-flower ratio met the city’s standard, but the case still went to trial before being dropped.

The following year, Bank said, the city revised the ordinance to allow enforcement by interpretation rather than measurement. He was fined after a municipal judge ruled his yard appeared to exceed the 50% sunflower limit. Bank appealed, and before the case could reach a jury in St. Charles County, he said the city withdrew its charges.

“I knew something probably wasn’t right,” Bank 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.”

This year, the city altered the ordinance again, this time classifying sunflowers as a crop and limiting them to 10% of a front yard. Bank refused to remove his plants and is scheduled for another court appearance this September.

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

Bank also criticized the city’s priorities, pointing to an incident last year in which he said someone cut down dozens of his sunflowers. He says he provided police with video evidence and receipts for damages but said prosecutors never charged the individual.  

Bank said he doesn’t intend to give up, even as the city continues to change its ordinances. He hopes his fight will eventually force a resolution.

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