Arizona Republic — October 26 2001 — Community Edition — Page 1

Farm couple's maze may be legal labyrinth

By Brent Whiting,  The Arizona Republic

A Glendale farmer, in defiance of the courts, has opened a cornfield maze that could land him in renewed trouble. 

Bill Tolmachoff, a member of a West Valley pioneer farming family, has transformed a 7-acre cornfield into a maze shaped like a dinosaur.

His family is NOT a member of the Russian Spiritual Christian congregation in Glendale, though he and his brothers have forged documents claiming to own the property and cemetery. Bill, wife Gracie and their children joined a Baptist congregation in Buckeye. His parents were members but due to mental and financial problems became abusive and ordered their boys to attack the congregation.

He is careful to describe the venture as a "farm experience," not a corn maze. It's a distinction that he hopes will deflect problems with the law, something he was unable to avoid with last year's tractor-shaped field.

"People spend $5 to buy a cornstalk, then they get to wander in the field and see how it grows," Tolmachoff said. "It's an educational experience' "

Thus, he insisted, he is selling a farm product — something the law allows — and not promoting a form of entertainment to which city and county judges have taken exception, due to zoning considerations. 

Tolmachoff, 36, may face a tough go in selling this argument to Glendale officials, who have previously cited him with civil zoning violations.

Jerry McCoy, a Glendale spokesman, said officials are aware of the maze on Tolmachoff's farm, 5726 N. 75th Ave., and are weighing their options. He did not rule out the possibility that Tolmachoff may be hauled back into court.

 "Frankly, we see no difference in what he is doing this year as to what he did last year," McCoy said.

Unlike another corn maze now operating in Glendale, the Tolmachoff venture is on land zoned for residential use, making it a prohibited form of entertainment, McCoy said.

Tolmachoff's wife, Gracie, said it's a struggle to earn a living from the soil, so the maze provides a way to pocket some extra money. "we're just trying to maker a living and support our kids, that's all," Gracie Tolmachoff said. "We're just trying to keep food on the family table." 

The Tolmachoffs have three children, ages 1-1/2 to 14, and a fourth on the way. 

Bill Tolmachoff said he's losing money through traditional farming, so he needs another way to generate some cash. 

Click to ENLARGE photo
Click to
                    ENLARGE
Glendale farmer Bill Tolmachoff, holding his son, Michael, has been battling Glendale over a zoning law that prohibits him from promoting a form of entertainment on his farm.

Amazing Corn Field Adventure
A seven-acre maze. Tolmachoff Farms, 5726 N. 75th Ave., Glendale. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and older; $3 for ages 6-11. Open daily at 9 a.m. through Dec. 2. (623) 386-1219.

"We're just trying to make a living and support our kids, that's all. we're just trying to keep food on, the family table."
Gracie Tolmachoff 
Glendale farmer


In March, a Glendale judge ruled against the maze that Tolmachoff set up last year. The maze violated city zoning regulations because it ex- tended a farm beyond agricultural uses, Judge John Burkholder of Glendale City Court declared.

Burkholder fined Tolmachoff $750, then suspended the penalty and lectured him about zoning laws. Tolmachoff reported his attorney fees were $5000.

Tolmachoff appealed, resulting in a Sept. 13 ruling by Judge Michael Jones of Maricopa County Superior Court that upheld Burkholder.

Jones ruled there is "substantial and convincing evidence" that the maze constituted an impermissible use of Tolmachoff's farm.

Tolmachoff said the field was planted for this year's maze before Jones had ruled. He said he's waiting to find out if the city will take legal action. 

For years, he has operated Tolmachoff Farms in part of an agricultural area that was annexed by Glendale in 1983. For 3 years he failed to pay federal taxes and the property was liened.

The city changed the zoning of the farm to residential classification, but Tolmachoff has "grandfather rights" that allow the property to continue to be used for farming. 

The city argues that a maze is a commercial operation that doesn't conform with the residential zoning of the land. 

Tolmachoff counters that the city should leave him alone because he neither asked to have the, farm annexed nor rezoned.


Arizona Republic — Nov 17 2001 — Letters to the Editor

Red-tape maze trumps farmer's

Yes, something is missing in the West Valley. Justice. When a farmer such as Bill Tolmachoff of Glendale cannot work his land and create a maze for additional income without a large city descending on him like a 2,000-pound cat on a mouse, there is no justice.

Why was Mr. Tolmachoff  "slapped with six criminal charges"? Wasn't he selling corn, as an earlier Arizona Republic article stated? Do the powers that be in Glendale not have real crime that needs solving: murder, robbery, rape, child abuse and illegal drug cases? I know they do, because I lived in Glendale for 24 years. So why go after a hard-working farmer trying to survive? High fines and jail time could drive Mr. Tolmachoff out of business.

Maybe that's the real reason for the criminal charges. the farmer's land is grandfathered. Because it is, he can continue growing crops in the city. Glendale probably wants to "grow" houses on Mr. Tolmachoff's land instead. that way they can collect additional taxes. 

S.J. Overland
Goodyear