Posted by Cintia Cabib | December 20th, 2011
Simplify the process to lease vacant land, provide access to water, establish a citywide composting system and encourage the planting of fruit trees: these were some of the suggestions voiced by individuals and organizations testifying at a public hearing on community gardens and urban agriculture convened by D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells on December 15. More than 25 individuals and organizations involved in D.C.-based community gardening and urban farming projects, as well as staff members from D.C.’s Office of Planning, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and Baltimore’s Department of Housing and Community Development, testified at the hearing.
Councilmember Tommy Wells, the chairperson of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation, and Planning, touted the health, educational, and environmental benefits of community gardens. He proposed that the D.C. government play a more active role to ensure that local residents have an opportunity to grow their own food. Wells noted that under the District’s 1986 Food Production and Urban Gardens Program Act, the mayor was instructed to establish a food production and urban gardens program. This program would collect and maintain an up-to-date inventory of vacant lots which would be accessible by the public and it would implement policies encouraging “the donation and cultivation of vacant lots.”
Julie Day and Rashelle Celestin, who work for Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development, were invited to describe Baltimore’s Adopt-A-Lot program, which makes more than 4,000 vacant lots available for community gardening and neighborhood beautification projects. Each lot is listed on the department’s Web site. The application process to license a vacant lot takes approximately two weeks. After the group has used the space for one year, it can renew its license for up to five years. The department works with the city’s Bureau of Water and Wastewater to provide each garden with water, charging $120 per growing season. The city has also formed partnerships with land trusts to preserve community gardens and open green spaces.
Access to water is a challenge for many community gardens in Washington, D.C. Scott Kratz of the Pomegranate Alley Community Garden in Capitol Hill explained that his garden relies on an adjoining garden center, Ginkgo Gardens, to provide the gardeners with water. Addie Cook, the president of the Fort Stanton Community Garden in Anacostia, said that the garden has not had access to water since it opened in 2001. At one time, the fire department sprayed the garden with water but that is no longer the case.
A common theme among those testifying is the lengthy and complicated process to lease vacant land. Groups that would like to lease a vacant lot must work with numerous city agencies to identify the owner, acquire permits, and determine taxes and tax liens. Stephen Coleman, the president of Washington Parks and People, pointed out that in order to build the North Columbia Heights Green community garden, his organization had to work with seven city agencies and invalidate 45 tax liens. Many who testified suggested that the city should provide the public with a list of vacant lots that are available for community gardening and urban agriculture purposes, streamline the process to lease vacant land, and designate a staff member who would work with them to coordinate the process. Several people recommended that D.C. tax codes and land use regulations be revised to make it easier and less expensive for groups to establish urban food gardens.
Through their testimony, individuals and organizations revealed that despite the barriers they face, they have managed to transform vacant land, rooftops and even the back of a truck into food-producing spaces. As they shared their success stories and the challenges they face, citizens were making the case that with more government support, the District of Columbia could become a center of urban food production.
To watch the entire hearing, visit the D.C. Channel 13 on-demand video Web site for the week of December 11-17 and scroll down to the “12/15/2011 Public Hearing, Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation and Planning.”
About the author: Cintia Cabib is a local documentary filmmaker. Her latest documentary, A Community of Gardeners, explores the vital role of seven community gardens in Washington, D.C. and shows how these green spaces are changing people’s lives, their communities and their environment.
I was sixteen years old before I had a birthday in my home town of Pittsburgh, PA. When I got off the big Greyhound bus each summer in Appomattox, VA, my grandfather would say, “Here comes my city grandson, down to the country to see how real men earn a living.” He would tease me, “Farming is hard work, and city boys do not know anything about working hard.” Then he would laugh with his big, boisterous laugh.
