A rally will be held Friday in support of urban farmer Thomas Jackson who returns to Toledo Municipal Court Friday after briefly being the subject of an arrest warrant.
Mr. Jackson, 1489 Milburn Ave., is charged with failing to abate a nuisance, a first-degree misdemeanor, on vacant central city housing properties that he says he is trying to turn into urban farmland.
A hearing is set for 9 a.m. Friday.
On Wednesday, Toledo Municipal Judge C. Allen McConnell issued a bench warrant with $10,000 bail for Mr. Jackson after he missed a court appearance that morning. The warrant was withdrawn today by Judge Michelle Wagner during an 11 a.m. hearing attended by Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson, of 1489 Milburn Ave., said his lawyer requested a continuance because he had a long-scheduled opportunity to attend a two-day course in compost operations at the Ohio State University campus in Wooster, Ohio, ending Wednesday.
Composting is one of the key concerns in Mr. Jackson’s case.
The rally will be held outside of the Toledo Municipal Court at 8:30 a.m. with speakers from the urban agriculture community and Mr. Jackson’s neighborhood.
The rally was originally planned for today, but Judge McConnell was not in the office, according to Sean Nestor, co-chair of the Lucas County Green Party, who helped organize the rally.
In the case filed Dec. 29, 2015 against Mr. Jackson’s company, Jackson Industries Corp., the city Department of Neighborhoods charged that single-family zoning prohibits Mr. Jackson’s operation on vacant lots he owns at 1446 Macomber St., 1505 Milburn Ave., and 2325 Swiler Dr.
The city, with the backing of some of Mr. Jackson’s neighbors, contend Mr.Jackson is illegally storing wood chips in the residential community. Mr. Jackson and his supporters say that he is building up a compost base in which to grow vegetables to sell and give away.
Judge McConnell found Mr. Jackson guilty Dec. 7 of failing to abate a nuisance. He was ordered to remove wood chips from the lots at the Macomber, Milburn, and Swiler locations by Wednesday, but his attorney requested that the case be continued so his client had additional time to get the property in order.
Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.
First Published March 30, 2017, 1:03 p.m.
