New urban farming sites face hurdles due to soil contamination

Solefood aims to establish commercial farms on 2.2 acres of city land

A Downtown Eastside urban farming enterprise must clear several regulatory hurdles before it can begin growing crops on three city- owned sites, due to soil contamination.

Two of the three sites approved for $ 1 per year leases to Solefood are former Petro Canada filling stations, both of which have been vacant for ten years. The three sites total 2.2 acres.

“We’re really excited that the city of Vancouver has decided to turn underused space into potentially productive land,” said Seann Dory executive of Solefood.

“We are really not ready to say whether we can do anything on those sites yet.”

Council made a similar grant of a half acre former scrap yard on East Hastings Street to Solefood in 2010, but the site was returned to the city after it was deemed unsuitable for agriculture. The three new properties are intended to replace and augment that grant.

Solefood successfully operates a half acre urban farm on a privately owned parking lot adjacent to the Astoria Hotel that harvested 30,000 pounds of produce last year in raised box gardens and employed six full- time workers from the local Downtown Eastside community.

The produce is sold to restaurants, at farmers markets and to local individuals and families who pre- purchase a share of the season’s crops.

To expand their operation to the new properties Solefood will be required to cap the filling sites to ensure the soil is not disturbed and the vegetable crops are protected from contamination. The cap could consist of a membrane or a concrete barrier.

Crops are to be grown above ground on raised beds.

Solefood will require an exemption from the ministry of environment stating that contaminated soils will not be disturbed before they can apply to the city for a development permit application.

The applicant will work with the city and Vancouver Coastal Health to ensure that good environmental practices for safe food production are in place.

The new gardens

are

the latest projects approved as part of Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan.

“These new urban gardens will move us closer to our greenest city goals of increasing local food assets and creating green jobs for low- income Vancouver residents,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a press statement.

The city granted $ 100,000 to Blue Heron Charitable Foundation, Solefood’s parent organization, in 2010 to develop programs that increase food security and provide training and jobs to Downtown Eastside residents.

The city will forgo about $ 24,000 in annual parking revenue from the West First Ave. property.