Publication Date: Friday, December 23, 2005
Fees for community-garden plots to double
Fees for community-garden plots to double
(December 23, 2005) One park commissioner labels protesters 'selfish'
by Bill D'Agostino
After one Palo Alto Parks and Recreation commissioner called gardeners protesting a fee increase "very selfish," the entire board recommended the city hike up the rent on its community gardens.
If the City Council approves the commission's recommendation next year, the fee will more than double, from 15 cents a square foot per year to 32 cents a square foot a year. That recommendation is 18 cents fewer than the council had already approved earlier this year.
During Wednesday night's meeting, Commissioner Paul Losch said the gardeners were getting a great value for their money and argued it was reasonable to ask them to pay more while the city faces a "very serious financial problem" and cuts other services.
"For those of you who have the capacity to pay more and are getting the value that you're getting, I think you're really being very selfish by saying that these fee increases are unfair," Losch said. "I'm sorry, that's very blunt talk. Most of you -- some of you -- might not like it. But that's my point of view."
In July, the council approved a fee hike as a way to recover the program's direct costs, such as water and waste collection. Numerous other programs also faced similar cuts, as part of the city's budget process.
After gardeners complained in October, the council asked the parks commission to review the fee.
Already, the gardeners have won concessions from the city. The council had approved the annual fee to jump to 50 cents a square foot in January.
The new proposed increase, to 32 cents, is possible due to proposed changes that will save the program money in water and trash-collection costs. The program costs the city more than $35,000 now, but by reducing water use and using smaller trash bins, the cost is expected to drop to about $23,000. The changes were made in discussions between city staff and the gardeners.
The new fee increase will not cover the cost of the staff that administers the program.
Another concession: The gardeners will now be able to apply for a city program that reduces the fee for low-income participants by 25 to 75 percent. Seniors were already eligible to get a 25 percent discount.
Commissioner Edie Keating pointed out that even though the general public enjoys the beauty of the gardens, the gardeners themselves get the primary benefit for the city program. Gardeners in the audience began speaking back to her in protest.
"We don't eat your food," Keating responded.
The commission approved its recommendation by a 4-1 vote; Commissioner Jennifer Hagan voted no. The vote also included a recommendation to have the gardeners' fee vary over time, depending on the health of the city's economics.
"I was troubled by the idea that certain programs were being made to pay their direct costs -- and other programs were not," Hagan wrote in an e-mail to the Weekly after the meeting.
The commission's recommendation will go to the council next year.
During the meeting, 12 gardeners spoke to the commission. Although some protested the increase, others said they were willing to pay it since gardening the public plots is a privilege, not a right.
Former Councilwoman Enid Pearson, a gardener, spoke against the new fee, noting that other cities subsidize their community gardening programs. Pearson also recommended that the city place limits on the size of people's plots, to shorten waiting lists.
The 243 gardeners in the Palo Alto program have plots ranging from 100 square feet to 1,262 square feet.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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