memorandum

to: Mayor and Town Council

from: Jim Ward, Mayor Pro Tem and SEE Committee Chair

Council Member Bill Strom
Council Member Laurin Easthom
Council Member Ed Harrison

subject: Resolution Encouraging the Active Living by Design Committee to Explore Community Gardening Opportunities in Chapel Hill

date: September 22, 2008

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide information about local community gardening activities and the SEE Committee’s interest in having the Council encourage the Go Chapel Hill Active Living by Design Town Advisory Committee (ALbD) to explore options for facilitating and promoting community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill.

BACKGROUND

Community Gardens are generally defined as tracts of land that are cooperatively gardened by a group of neighborhood or community-level volunteers. In addition to fresh local produce and decorative plants, many community gardening participants also enjoy the benefits of increased social interaction, a heightened sense of community, regular physical activity and a greater connection to the local environment. Often times these gardens are open to the community at-large for plot shares and are managed by citizen volunteers. The land for these gardens is usually held in a local government or non-profit organization land trust.

There are several community gardens located within the Chapel Hill area. Prominent examples include:

Northside Community Garden: Established in April of 2007 through a partnership with the Mental Health Association in Orange County, Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) and the Orange County Extension Office, this organic garden is available to all residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and is located on County owned property at 400 Caldwell St. in the Northside neighborhood of Chapel Hill.
Carrboro Community Garden Coalition: Established in May of 2007 by the gardeners of the Carrboro Community Garden Coalition, this organic garden located within Carrboro’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at 1120 Hillsborough Rd., was developed to advance sustainable food production and increase community involvement.
Carolina Garden Co-Op: Established by an official UNC student organization known as the Carolina Garden Co-Op, this garden located behind Kenan Dorm on Battle Lane in Chapel Hill provides an opportunity for the student community to explore gardening practices and enjoy locally grown produce.

At the April 2, 2008 SEE Committee meeting, Mike Lanier of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension discussed the benefits of local sustainable agricultural practices, explaining that community gardens can offer some relief and food security as food production and transportation prices increase in a peak oil economy. In light of these interests, the SEE Committee asked the Chair to include the topic of community gardens on the next Committee agenda.

At its May 9, 2008 meeting, the SEE Committee discussed the benefits of community gardens and asked the staff to develop options for advancing community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill. At its next meeting on July 18, 2008, the SEE Committee reviewed the staff options for community gardening, discussed its preferences on how to proceed, and then crafted the attached resolution for the full Council’s consideration in September.

Listed within in the attached resolution are several items which the SEE Committee believes it will be important to address as part of the process for evaluating the scope of a community gardens program. These items include:

with assistance from the Parks and Recreation Department, the identification of Town-owned land for possible garden sites;
the dissemination of community gardening options and benefits to other Town boards;
the development of educational and promotional opportunities for community gardening;
the formulation of a policy tool to provide the option of community gardening set-asides as part of development plans; and
the identification of key resource needs and a proposed structure for a successful, long-term community gardens program.

At the July 18 meeting, the SEE Committee stressed the need to develop a program that facilitates and promotes community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill. To help in this regard, the Committee mentioned the importance of collaborating with other local organizations such as the Orange County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the North Carolina Botanical Garden to receive expert assistance, tools and other resources. Additionally, the SEE Committee identified ALbD as the appropriate lead entity to further pursuits in this area, noting the Committee’s stated focus on community gardening and its general interest in promoting physical activity through the interface between land use and design.

At its August 21^st meeting, ALbD received general information regarding the SEE Committee’s proposed resolution. The Committee responded by stating its interest and support for the resolution. Additionally, the Committee noted the need for further monetary resources in order to adequately address the feasibility of the proposed steps found within the resolution. ALbD stated that such resources would be used for initial investigative purposes such as surveying, mailings, and community outreach. Beyond the feasibility assessment, the Committee affirmed that additional monetary resources would be required for marketing, outreach, tools, seeds, infrastructure, and other aspects of program and site development. While ALbD has already begun the process of identifying possible garden sites within the community, further discussions with the Parks and Recreation Department will be required to determine roles and responsibilities as well as additional financial needs.

DISCUSSION

In the interest of advancing community sustainability by addressing the issue of food production, the SEE Committee believes that it is important to facilitate and promote community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill. Beyond the value of increased local food security, community gardening offers additional social, recreational and health benefits that will strengthen the community. Local food production can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food transport.

At the June 6, 2008 Council business meeting, ALbD informed the Council that the advancement of community gardening is one of its top priorities as an advisory board. For all of the reasons stated above, we believe it is important that the Council express its encouragement and support to ALbD in its efforts to advance community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Council adopt the attached resolution encouraging the Go Chapel Hill Active Living by Design Town Advisory Committee to explore options for facilitating and promoting community gardening opportunities in Chapel Hill.