Dear Mayor and dear Members of the Urban Ag. Committee
When I got invited to participate on the Urban Agriculture
Committee in May of this year, I clearly remember stating to the Committee
Chair that our urban farm needed help to “legalize” its farm stand that we
wanted to open in July. The Committee
Chair responded that he would work on that with Land Use.
A month later, I made the same request to the Committee
Chair and stated that unless a special permit was issued, we would find
ourselves out of compliance. The
Committee Chair stated again that he would look into that with Land Use.
A week before we opened the farm stand, I went to City Hall
and spoke to Greg Smith and Noah Berke at Land Use about the same request.
The day we opened the farm stand, on July 24, the farm
property was red tagged. I went to talk
to Lisa Martinez and Greg Smith at Land Use that same day and was told they would
look into finding a solution or special permit for our farm stand.
Lisa Martinez and Greg Smith came to tour the farm the next
Monday and stated again that they would be looking at a special pilot permit
for the farm stand.
A week and a half later, Lisa Martinez and several
inspectors came to the farm to question what building violations from a Notice
of Violations issued on the property in 2013 had been remedied. I answered truthfully and asked them to
separate the property issues from the farm issues. I am but a tenant on the property.
At the end of the meeting Lisa Martinez stated that we
needed to close the farm stand.
So why would we open the farm stand knowing that we would
get in trouble?
In 2012, at the end of our first season, I wrote to Mayor
Coss asking for his help in finding a way to make our farm stand legal. He had just awarded us the Santa Fe
Sustainable Commission Award for Best
Sustainable Food System. I sent several emails and never heard back from
him.
A month later, former Director of Land Use Matt O’Reilly
sent waves after waves of inspectors to the farm, using building violations on work
dating as far back as 1999 to try to prevent the farm from operating.
Unfortunately, due to public outrage, he had to back off a
bit!
The farm has been left to operate freely for the past couple
years, even though if I followed Mr. O’Reilly’s interpretation of the quite
vague and bias Home Occupation Ordinance, I would not have worked with more
than 2 volunteers at a time and would not have allowed school visits at the
farm.
In 2013, I attended several meetings of the Santa Fe Food
Policy Council, the body at the time in charge of drafting an urban ag. policy,
and presented a well-researched document outlining the best practices from
cities having already passed urban ag. ordinances.
When you came into office Mr. Mayor, a new staff person was
put in charge of drafting an urban ag. policy. Our staff and attorney worked diligently with
that person to help draft the content of the ordinance.
After not hearing back from that person about the status of
the ordinance, I contacted the Mayor Office several time by email and phone and
never got an answer. Only after paying a
visit to City Hall was I told that yet a new committee had been handed the responsibility
of drafting the Urban Ag. Ordinance, committee on which I was later invited.
In the first couple committee meetings, I remember that we
agreed to step back and look at a broad vision of a sustainable Santa Fe, clarifying
why urban farms are important, what purpose do they serve, what benefits do they
bring to a neighborhood, a community and the wildlife, how do they relate to
schools, poverty and food security.
Shortly after that, we were presented with a draft that is
but a photocopy of the Boston Ordinance, one of the most comprehensive,
ambitious and progressive ordinances in the country.
The draft that was created by the previous person in charge
of the Urban Ag. Ordinance, however simple and with a couple minor variations,
could have worked given that there is but one farm in Santa Fe! One farm having waited for that ordinance for
3 years in order to operate freely like every urban farm is able to do in most
cities in the United States!
Starting a whole new process, using as complicated as an
ordinance as Boston’s for a template, did not give me much hope that an ordinance
would be passed in the foreseeable future, especially since Noah Burke, and
understandably so, stated that even the simple ordinance drafted last year
would present a difficult enforcement challenge for City Staff!
In looking at Boston’s ordinance, I can only imagine the
raised eyebrows of City Staff having to enforce roof top greenhouses. I can easily predict Santa Fe residents’
(like my neighbor) reactions at City Council in hearing about shipping
container farming and roof top greenhouses!
For the past 2 years, I have worked diligently to help the
City create an urban agriculture policy.
I have given the City the fruits of weeks of research on the best urban
ag. ordinances from half a dozen cities with successful urban agriculture
movements.
During these two years, I have been prevented to sell off
the premises, welcome schools, host workshops and advertise any event that our
non-profit offered.
I grew impatient because I showed good will and cooperation
when your administration and the previous one never once attempted to help our
farm.
I invited Mayor Coss numerous times to visit the farm. Same with you Mayor Gonzales, you’ve been
invited numerous times (through your cousin and friends of ours Sonia). I also invited all the members of the Urban Ag.
Committee to visit the farm. How many of
you did visit the farm? One, as far as I
can remember.
Let me ask you all a very simple question.
How can you pretend to be qualified to draft an Urban Ag.
Policy and understand its true ramifications in a community unless you visit an
existing urban farm, talk to the people and volunteer who work there, its
neighbors and customers?
And why, through two administrations, not a single gesture
was made to assist a jewel of a project, deeply cherished and admired by many in
this City who understand how difficult and important what we do is?
Why did you not understand something I explained at length
in countless meetings I attended, that an incubator farm is critical to the
establishment of an urban farm movement?
As a non-profit, we have documented every step of our creation and
evolution. We have offered to share this
documentation with anyone wishing to start an urban farm.
Now, discouraged and disillusioned, our farm has decided to
stop operating in the City and you’ve just lost your one successful incubator
farm that could have inspired and supported an urban agriculture movement.
It is sad and truly a shame.
Poki Piottin
Gaia Gardens
