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Residents ask Flagstaff to protect community gardens; sustainability staff outlines relocation plans
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Summary
Public commenters urged the council to allocate funding and site gardens to preserve community gardening spaces facing closure; Sustainability Director Nicole Antonopoulos said staff are planning Bonito Garden relocation and new urban-agriculture sites and will follow up.
During the April 14 Flagstaff City Council work session, two residents urged the council to prioritize community gardens threatened by development and funding shortfalls.
"Across the city, a lot of gardens are being shuttered or in danger of being closed," said Sam Wyckoff, a public commenter. Wyckoff named specific sites, including Southside Community Garden (slated for affordable housing) and Bonito Garden (potentially used as a staging area for an Army Corps project), and asked the city to consider funding or siting that would preserve existing gardens.
Ryan Gordon, an educator who teaches gardening, supported Wyckoff and argued gardens provide educational and stewardship benefits. "If the city of Flagstaff wants to honor not only their sustainability goals but also our food action plan, then we have a lot of ways to look at this," Gordon said, urging the council to consider edible landscapes, community orchards and small plots as complementary options.
Nicole Antonopoulos, the city's sustainability director, responded that staff are preparing a relocation plan for Bonito Garden tied to the Rio de Flag project and that the city has been working with local partners to establish new community-garden sites, including a new plot at McAlester Ranch. She said staff have been coordinating with PROS (parks and recreation) and housing staff to preserve garden access where possible and that the city is developing a regional food action plan that will set a long-term vision while staff continue to look for immediate collaboration opportunities. "We are working very closely with PROS to identify relocation plots," Antonopoulos said, and offered follow-up information by email.
Council member David Spence said he would bring a request to consider comprehensive planning for community gardens back as a discussion item so staff could explore the appropriate home for such planning work (sustainability, housing, or another department).
The council did not take formal action on funding at the meeting. Staff invited community members to sign up for mailing lists and public meetings and offered technical assistance to nonprofits and residents seeking to apply for future funding.
