Sep 5, 2025
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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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“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.”
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.
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[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”
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Cory Santos is a finance writer, editor and credit card expert with over seven years of experience in personal finance. Having lived and worked worldwide, Cory now calls South Florida home, helping consumers find their ideal credit card and offering impartial and approachable advice to help them navigate their best financial lives. Cory joined Wise Publishing from BestCards, with bylines in numerous digital publications across North America, including AOL, MSN, Yahoo Finance, the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and more. When he isn't scouring for the latest credit card deals and offers, Cory can be found working on his various historical research projects, jogging, or hanging out with his cats, Bentley, Cougar, and Pumpkin.
