Meeting Minutes
See Below for a link to various meeting minutes:
Agenda 2010-September
Agenda
Letter of Resolution
January , 2009
The undersigned organizations and supporters are requesting your support for community gardening in Austin.
Community and home gardens are an essential part of a vibrant, livable, and sustainable city. They offer space where residents can grow their own food, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and the amount of pollution emitted as a result of transporting food great distances. Community gardens also allow those that live in apartments or have a shady yard to grow fresh, healthy food. Community gardens help to unite neighborhoods, contribute to neighborhood beautification, and connect urban dwellers with nature. They facilitate communication, foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections, encourage physical activity and provide therapeutic benefits. The impact of these spaces is immeasurable and invaluable.
The number of community gardens in Austin is small compared to other cities of similar size. The high cost of starting a community garden, limited financial assistance, and few to no incentives for sustaining a garden on private property combined with development pressures are putting community gardens in Austin in jeopardy. Therefore, we believe that the City of Austin should adopt several policy initiatives to promote the development of new community gardens and to preserve and enhance existing community gardens as follows:
· rewrite the City code to support the development of community gardens and allow a community garden anywhere in the City of Austin be designated a Qualified Community Garden (see attached for recommended changes to City code Chapter 8-4, 25, and others);
· streamline the process to establish community gardens on public property;
· designate a single-point of contact amongst city staff for community gardens (this could be the same person who supports the Sustainable Food Policy Board);
· ensure that area community gardens are represented on the newly formed City and County Sustainable Food Policy Board;
· provide assistance or incentives to neighborhood groups that establish community gardens with respect to liability insurance coverage, the installation of water infrastructure and fencing, and water rates;
· amend the City code to provide tax breaks and other incentives to private property owners whose property is used as a community garden;
· ensure community gardens are an allowable use in every zoning category and setbacks;
· include plans for composting centers at neighborhood and community gardens in the Austin Zero Waste Plan.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of community gardening in Austin. We will be contacting you in the next two months in order to further discuss these issues.
Sincerely,
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens
Sustainable Food Center
Austin Parks Foundation
Sunshine Community Garden
Blackshear Community Garden
South Austin Community Garden
El Jardin Alegre Community Garden
Alamo Community Garden
Clarksville Community Garden
Good Soil Community Garden
Deep Eddy Community Garden
Windsor Park Community Garden
Homewood Heights Community Garden
CACG Goals & Strategies
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens
Goals & Strategies
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Session Objective: Create a plan of action to: 1) identify and mobilize City resources; and, 2) strengthen policy initiatives for community gardens in Austin. |
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Goals |
Strategies |
Immediate |
Intermediate |
Long-term |
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Revitalize and expand existing and establish new gardens in the Austin community. |
1. Review existing research and conduct feasibility study for land resources. 2. Identify and contact neighborhood associations. 3. Outreach to stagnant gardens. |
1. Inventory existing CGs, and possible garden sites, potential partners. |
1. Estimate cost of starting a new community garden. 2. Outreach to those interested in starting a community garden. |
1. Create (at least 3) new gardens within next year. (do we need to identify areas to target?) 2. Mobilize community support to create a victory garden. (who? how? logistics?)
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Establish and maintain a working relationship with city government to leverage resources. |
1. Identify city leadership and familiarize ourselves with the process. 2. Research the issues and develop concrete requests. 3. Identify pre-existing opportunities. |
1a. Revise Letter of Resolution 2. Schedule meeting with Council members (Present Letter of Resolution, PARD agreement, Rules/contract, Brochure) 3. PARD consent to Rules and Contract |
1. Create educational process (campaign?) for policy makers about importance of community gardens. |
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Establish a communication network between gardeners.
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1. Establish an electronic communication mechanism. 2. Create a repository for best practices. 3. Formalize the communication network (e.g. coalition, association, etc.) |
1. Create internal and external listserv 2. Populate website |
1. Create step by step guide on how to create a community garden. |
1. Establish ambassador program to help other groups start CGs. |
1/17/2008 Meeting Minutes
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens Meeting
January 17, 2009 |2-4 pm
Windsor Park Library
Participants: Linda Booker, Nathan Wilkes, Flo Rice, Laura McAfee, Sean Garreston, Ellen Hansen, Chris Riley, Brandi Clark, Dick Pierce, Neal Lillard, Steven Hebbard, Antionette Moore, Priya Reddy, Rob Randolph, Lars Stanley, Lauren Stanley, Leslie Keller, Susan Leibrock, Sari Albornoz, Karen Banks.
Updates:
- 6 community members have been selected to serve on the Sustainable Food Policy Council, including Ms. Brandi Clark. (Congratulations!)
- Rules and guidelines, and contract for community gardens on parkland are almost ready to be submitted. Folks are asked to submit any lingering comments or suggestions to Flo Rice (frice@austinisd.org). From here, the materials will be sent up the chain of command at PARD, including through the legal dept. for final approval.
- Thanks to the web savvy work of Nathan the Coalition of Austin Community Gardens has a website: http://communitygardensaustin.org. (THANKS, NATHAN!!) Now all it needs is information and photos. If you would like to post information about your community garden on the website, please contact Nathan Wilkes (nwilkes2@gmail.com).
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Next Steps |
Due Date |
Responsible Party |
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Review and vote on final draft of letter of resolution (attached) |
next meeting (Feb.) |
everyone |
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Contact potential supports to get to sign on to letter |
next meeting (Feb.) |
Nathan, Antoinette, Priya, Linda, Laura |
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Finalize comments for city code changes (Lars will contact Kevin Autry with the City of Austin Development Assistance Center to arrange meeting) |
February 7 |
Lars, Sean, Dick, Ellen, Karen |
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Draft white paper of best practices/model programs |
February 13 |
Sean, Karen, Sari |
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Schedule meetings with council members |
next meeting |
Melissa (Laura, Brewster), Flo (Leffingwell), Brandi (Randi, Wynn), Scott (Martinez), Nathan (Cole), Karen (Ott) |
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Update community garden information for CACG website (see attached spreadsheet) |
next meeting |
everyone |
Next Meeting: February 21, 2009, 2-4pm, Windsor Park Library
Meeting Attendees
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Name |
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Garden/Affiliation |
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Steven Hebbard |
Good Soil CG |
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Priya Reddy |
home garden |
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Linda Booker |
Sunshine CG |
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Flo Rice |
Deep Eddy CG |
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Ellen Hansen |
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Laura McAfee |
Sunshine CG |
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Antoinette Moore |
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Brandi Clark |
Austin Eco Network/Sustainable Food Policy Board |
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Sean Garreston |
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Chris Riley |
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Susan Leibrock |
Hyde Park CG |
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Leslie Keller |
Cedar Park |
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Rob Randolph |
Commons Ford |
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Neal Lillard |
Commons Ford |
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Nathan Wilkes |
Blackshear CG |
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Lars Stanley |
Stanley Architects & Artisans/east austin resident |
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Lauren Stanley |
Stanley Architects & Artisans/east austin resident |
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Dick Pierce |
Citizen Gardener/Austin Permaculture Guild |
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Karen Banks |
Meeting Co-facilitator |
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Sari Albornoz |
Meeting Co-facilitator |
Revitalization Minutes 2008-07-30
Resulting Actions
1. Approach PARD with our plan
2. Letter of Request print publicity
3. Find a Council member sponsor
4. Lobby day at City Council
5. Approach the Mayor and create a sustainable food task force
6. Garden Tour
Community Garden Gathering Notes 2008-10-11
Saturday, October 11th, 2008, 1-4 pm at Space 12
Meeting Objective: Check-in on progress for the three Community Garden Working Group committees (Revitalization & Expansion, City Government and Communication); garner input from members of the community who are newly engaged in this issue; learn about UT Social Work class community garden advocacy project.
Participants: Emily Neiman, Valerie French, Kathy McWhorter, Melanie MacFarlane, Drew Miller, Kevin Leahy, Mohan Rao, Jane Tillman, Sue Mennicke, Karen Banks, Sam Lee, E.J. Crawford, Jessie Temple, Tane Ward, Laura McAfee, Melissa Skidmore, Robert Heil, Randy Jewart, Lauren Stanley, Lars Stanley, Joy Ruth, Ann Harkeness, Nathan Wilkes, Nashielly Victoria, Sari Albornoz
**Next meeting: Saturday, November 22nd, 2008, time and location TBD.**
Committee Updates
Communication Committee:
* Website has been created: <www.communitygardensofaustin.com>. The site is in need of work to finalize its structure, decide its content. Before this can be done, committee needs input from larger group regarding several questions:
o What kind of group are we (coalition, network, association)? What is our name?
o What is the purpose of the website (information or communication)?
o Focus of website (gardening, central resource for CGs, or just about this group)?
o Who will coordinate the website?
Revitalization & Expansion Committee
* Committee crafted a Letter of Advocacy addressed to Austin policy makers, suggesting specific policy initiatives that would foster the creation and stability of CGs in Austin. Committee began circulating letter to gather signatures from supporting entities.
* Committee members met with Austin Parks and Recreation Operations Manager Troy Houtman, who stated that PARD is willing to assist gardeners with variety of resources if they build CGs on park land. Troy also invited the CG group to contribute input to PARD’s draft guidelines for Qualified Community Gardens.
City Government Committee
* Committee edited the Letter of Resolution to fit one page
* Committee has been working the UT Social Work students on their project
* A Food Policy Advisory Board to City Council is being proposed/organized in an effort spearheaded by Edible Austin magazine publisher Marla Camp. This board appears to provide a promising opportunity to influence City Council.
* Group should push for community garden language into neighborhood plans. East Cesar Chavez Planning Team has a good example for their neighborhood.
* Robert Heil with the City of Austin’s Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department suggested that group have in mind answers the following questions when approaching the City:
o What site requirements does a community garden need?
o Where are they needed?
o What is our definition of a community garden? Currently, the City is working on revising its definition of CGs in chapter 8-4 of the city code (which states that in order to be designated as a Qualified Community garden, the garden must be located in areas designated by the council for Community Development Block Grant program centralization or in a predominantly low-income area) and we should communicate recommendations as to what the new definition should be.
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o
Ideas for definition:
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+ Committee wants to open QCG designation to all CGs.
+ Allow community gardeners to sell food? Home based Occupation: currently it’s okay to conduct business from residences, but not legal if part of the business is in your yard (e.g., growing food for a garden).
UT Student Project
* Students are working on a brochure to present to policy makers including background of CGs in Austin, benefits of CGs, and suggestions for policy initiatives that would benefit CGs.
* Question: Should group create a second version of the brochure as a resource guide encouraging neighborhood associations to create CGs in their neighbhorhoods?
World Café Brainstorming
Round 1 Question:
Who are we? What name should we use? Who do we target?
* Name suggestions: Urban Garden Advocates, Austin Garden Stewards, Austin Community Gardens Advisory Council, Austin Community Gardens Advisory Panel, Community Gardeners Coalition, Austin Community Garden Advocates, City Garden Group, Austin Community Gardens, Austin Urban Farming
* Group decided to delegate responsibility of choosing a name to Karen Banks, Drew Miller and Melissa Skidmore. Karen agreed to collect suggestions and recommend a name to the group via email.
Round 2 Question:
If our success was completely guaranteed, what bold steps might we choose to take with the City of Austin to ensure support for community gardening?
Bold steps:
* Remove existing barriers to establishing CGs in City Code
* Improve access to land, facilitate long- term land access
* Use eminent domain to gain access to under/unused utilized land
* Locate all available city land that is not suited for buildings and would make good gardens – turn into gardens
* Establish a city position to oversee CGs
* City provides yield goals for given geographical areas
* Reserve land for urban food production/CGs
* Water rates lowered for gardens/Incentivize H2O collection & use for food production
* More rain water collection support/City installs rain water systems
* Enroll LCRA support of CG
* Convene a Garden Day/Garden tour
* We all need to speak with an educated/aware voice or become a well-informed chorus sharing intent and executions
* “Right to grow food” law
* Prevent neighborhood associations from prohibiting converting lawns into vegetable gardens
* Require that developers produce a given food yield from each development they construct
* Requirement from developers for money/land to be used for food production
* Seek to establish pocket gardens walk-able from every residence/Garden in every neighborhood
* Program for land donations
* Establish incentives for landowners
* Mayor/City officials must have gardens
* Turn cemeteries into gardens
* Schools, community any government related program serve only local food/70% of food consumed in Austin grown local
* Garden match up service. Online posting system where people can locate nearest garden and co-gardeners to share plots with
* Marry urban food production and habitat at creation a climate change mitigation efforts
* No work on Fridays for anyone to allow time to spend in garden
* Land tenure for CG’s on city
* More markets for local grown food growers-business connections
* Roof top gardens on government buildings
* Curbside compost with recycling
Action Items:
1. Put into action group’s web-based communication system by:
1. Finalizing the webpage content and layout
2. Deciding who will take responsibility for managing the group’s website
As no responsible party was decided upon for these items, Sari will call for volunteers via email.
1. In an effort to establish a clearer identity for the group, Karen, Drew, and Melissa will take the lead in deciding on a name.
1. Begin meeting for shorter periods on a monthly basis and dispense with committees in favor of working as one large group. This should facilitate better communication and quicker progress in achieving our objectives. Suggestion was made that future meetings (with the exception of the already-scheduled next meeting) take place during the evening on weekdays. Next meeting: Saturday, Nov. 22nd, 2008, time and location TBD.
1. Group representatives will begin attending public participation sessions the City of Austin will be conducting as they update the City’s comprehensive plan. Robert Heil will let our group know through Sari when these take place.
1. Group members will resume circulating the Letter of Resolution to collect signatures from community garden groups and other entities likely to offer support. Responsible parties: everyone.
1. Sari will be in touch with Melanie MacFarlane about the UT students’ project. She will collect any suggestions from the CG Gathering group about the brochure and communicate these to Melanie. The main issue in question is whether or not two versions of the brochure should be created, one directed toward policy makers and the other directed toward neighborhood associations.
1. Many CGs will participate in the Urban Farm Bike Tour December 6th, 2008 to help raise awareness about CG issues. Marla Camp and Leslie Luciano from the Bicycle Sport Shop are organizing this tour. Sari is the contact person for CGs wishing participate.
Resources for Grant Funding:
* Hogg Foundation Center http://www.hogg.utexas.edu/index.html.
* The Thematic Issues & Community Engagement group at UT, for assistance with research grants
