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Garden leaders urge city to protect community gardens and finalize OSU Extension contract
Summary
A Ward 3 garden lead told council that OSU Extension and the city land bank lack a contract and asked council to prevent community gardens from being listed for sale on the land bank.
Ashley Schroader, who said she is the garden lead for the West 40 Seventh Street Community Garden through OSU Extension, urged Cleveland City Council to protect community gardens and finalize a contract between OSU Extension and the city land bank.
“I'm here to speak for all of the city gardeners,” Schroder told council during public comment. She said Summer Sprout gardens have operated since 1976 and provide fresh fruit and neighborhood interaction for roughly 3,000 residents. Schroder expressed concern that land bank listings are putting community gardens at risk and asked council and the mayor to “think innovatively” about city-owned lots, suggesting uses such as solar installations that return power to Cleveland Public Power, ring gardens in flood-prone streets, leaf drop-off areas and green credits for local governments.
Schroder said she has a packet for ward leaders documenting how many community gardens exist and whom they serve. She asked city leaders to prioritize executing a contract with OSU Extension; she said that, to her knowledge, the land bank and OSU have not completed an extension contract that affects community garden operations.
Why it matters: community gardens provide food and neighborhood cohesion; Schroder said the gardens serve thousands and that uncertain land-bank status and missing contracts could jeopardize them. She framed the request as a call to use city-owned parcels to benefit residents rather than placing them on sale lists.
Council and administration response: at the meeting the mayor was present; no council motion or staff direction on the OSU Extension contract was recorded during public comment. Schroder’s remarks were part of the public comment period and did not trigger a formal council action recorded in the transcript.
Schroder closed by urging the council to put community gardens explicitly on land bank listings as protected uses and to finalize the OSU Extension agreement.
