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Speakers and staff press for more support for San Bernardino community gardens; city cites limited resources and grant help
Summary
Public commenters urged funding and maintenance for a Pedley Avenue community garden and asked the council to support more gardens citywide; staff cited limited Parks & Rec resources, volunteer opportunities and pointed to a Bloomberg-funded Love Your Block grant and potential one-time CIP items.
Public comment at the budget workshop included requests for greater city support for community gardens, and Parks and Recreation staff told council that while gardens are a valued community resource they compete with higher-priority park maintenance needs.
Scott Olsen, a lifetime resident of San Bernardino, described a garden plot on Pedley and Sixth Street as “a quiet jewel in the rough” and urged the council to invest in basic infrastructure there. “Do the garden right, please,” Olsen said during public comment. Eric Marquez, who said he worked in a garden plot with Olsen, told council he supported improved code enforcement and asked the council to consider garden maintenance when finalizing the budget.
Interim City Manager Bill Garrido and Parks and Recreation staff said the city recently received a Bloomberg Foundation grant called Love Your Block — staff selected 11 projects and distributed roughly $18,000 from applications that requested nearly $41,000 in total. Garrido said the city proposes to fund qualified applicants from departmental savings so no additional appropriation would be needed.
Parks staff told council the department maintains 34 parks totaling about 508 acres and that community gardens typically rank below core park maintenance needs. Parks staff described the garden on Sixth Street as needing upgrades to irrigation and access: they estimated routine maintenance for a community garden contract (litter pickup, weed control and periodic checks) could run roughly $800–$1,000 per month, with higher costs if irrigation or road/path repairs are required.
Councilmembers asked staff to include community-garden projects in the list of one‑time items staff will bring back in the first quarter for council consideration if reserves improve. Garrido and staff also encouraged community groups to help with volunteer maintenance while the city assesses capital upgrades and grant opportunities.
