Dirt fl ies on the urban garden front
Growth of garden plots and urban farms raises issues about getting along with neighbours
Urban farmer Emi Do was forced into an early harvest after a neighbour complained about the two- metre- high Jerusalem artichokes at her Kerrisdale garden last month.
The offending tubers, grown on a city- owned boulevard Do has cultivated for three years, were taller than the allowed one- metre height . A city of Vancouver bylaw officer issued a citation .
“That neighbourhood has totally embraced urban farming,” said Do, who also runs the Yummy Yards urban farming cooperative that grows vegetables in Vancouver and Richmond. “There was one complaint and unfortunately, our system currently ( dictates) that one complaint leads to action.”
The incident showcases what can sometimes happen as the explosive growth of community gardens and urban farms in Vancouver continues. According to Coun. Andrea Reimer, the number of community garden plots on city, school and park board land has more than doubled to over 4,000 in 104 locations in the past four years.
There are now at least 19 urban farms.
There’s also a growing trend of commercial developers temporarily turning over future development sites to non- profit organizations for short- term community gardens while they wait for market conditions to improve. In return, the developer’s land is reclassified by the B. C. Assessment Authority, which leads to significant reductions in taxes to the city.
Some land owners, such as Concord Pacific and London Drugs, give the difference in those taxes to the non- profits that run the temporary gardens on their properties.
In theory, turning urban spaces into farms and gardens would seem like a win for everyone. Dead spaces are greened, neighbours without gardens get to exercise their green thumbs, and urban farms create entry- level jobs and a ready source of local food for restaurants.
In practice, urban gardening can sometimes lead to conflict and angst. With perpetual complaints about theft of food, disputes over conditions of gardens and conflicts over commercial food plots, gardening can be a fractious affair.
“Yes, conflicts sometimes occur,” says Michael Levenston, executive director of City Farmer, a Vancouver urban farming resource. “Conflict in community gardens isn’t unique because people will fight over all kinds of things.”
Years ago, a fight between property owners along East Boulevard in Kerrisdale and gardeners using the adjacent CPR right- of- way led to policies for how community gardens should operate.
Now, the development of new urban farms — a reversal of the history of cities which once squeezed out small market farms as neighbourhoods expanded — has also created the need for new rules. No policies exist for how urban farms can operate.
Reimer said a report to council this fall might help resolve conflicts between urban farmers and neighbours. “There are all kinds of issues, from tenure of land to how long you can stay to how you operate it without negatively affecting your neighbours,” Reimer said. “If you are going to run an urban farm, you need some security.”
There is no plan to slow the development of food- growing within the city. In January, council adopted a strategy that would see the number of urban farms grow to 35, the addition of 13 new farmers markets, and the addition of more “edible landscaping and food- bearing trees.” There’s a demand for garden plots, with as many as 16,000 people on waiting lists.
But Vancouver’s urban green strategy has also created an issue for the city itself as developers allow temporary community gardens to get a lower property tax bracket. That can cut property taxes on the land by two- thirds. In 2009, Vancouver complained to the assessment authority, but nothing was resolved, Reimer said.
Dharmesh Sisodraker, the deputy assessor for Vancouver region, said reclassification takes place when a property owner can show that the use of the land has changed, even if it is for a temporary use. The valuation of the land doesn’t change, but the classification does.
“We’re not talking hundreds of applications, but we’re talking about tens,” he said. “For a commercial property to be reclassified it has to be a park or garden open to the public.”
A 2010 Vancouver Sun story said the city gave more than $ 212,000 tax abatements in 2009 to the Prima Properties community garden at Burrard and Davie streets. A garden on a lot next to the Astoria Hotel earned the owners $ 132,000 in tax breaks that year.
Do said the Jerusalem artichokes incident has “been a really great hub for education and discussion around food production.”
“There’s a lot of confusion around the subject and … ( this discussion allows) us to explore and challenge our current paradigm of what it means to be in a city,” Do said.