Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Community Gardens Policy
It is not unusual to find community gardens in major cities. What is hard to find is an officially adopted "policy" which supports and encourages community gardens. The City of Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation approved such a policy this spring (April, 1996).
The vast majority of people support the policy. However there are a few people who oppose the decision. Some of their comments are attached at the bottom of this page
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation2099 Beach Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6G 1Z4
Phone: (604) 257-8400 Fax: (604) 257-8427
The Policy
Definition:
The Board recognizes community gardening as a valuable recreation activity that can contribute to community development, environmental awareness, positive social interaction and community education. The Board will collaborate with interested groups in assisting the development of community gardens.
For the purposes of this policy, a community garden is defined as a community environmental education program operated by a non-profit society. The program has the following features:
- A piece of land is utilized by the society to produce food and flowers
for the personal use of society members.
- A community education program is in place which encourages the involvement of schools, youth groups and citizens who do not have an assigned plot in gardening activities.
Clause One:
The Board will support the development of community gardens in Vancouver through the following means:
- Providing access to information on the development and operation of
community gardens.
- Assisting interested groups in searching for suitable land for the
development of community gardens. This inventory must include City-owned land;
land controlled by other government agencies, and privately owned land.
- Assisting in the development of user agreements with the owners of sites
chosen.
- Assisting with the development of a community environmental education
program.
Clause Two:
If it is determined that park land is the most suitable site for community gardens, the following conditions will apply:
- The garden is developed at no cost to the Board, except that prior to the
first season, the Board will, at its cost, prepare the site for planting by
removing grass, ploughing the soil and adding compost.
- A community consultation process indicates neighbourhood support for the
garden.
- A garden site plan must be drawn up and approved by the General Manager. The
plan must include the layout of the plots and indicate any proposed structures or
fences.
- A non-profit society agrees to develop and operate the gardens according to a
users agreement which will specify the term of use, management responsibilities,
user fees and access procedures including the following specific terms:
- a) The term of the user agreement will not exceed five years.
b) Allotments of space must be made from a waiting list on a first come first served basis.
c) Membership in the Society, and the opportunity to be allotted a plot, must be open to any resident of Vancouver.
e) No pesticides are to be used.
f) Allotment fees charged by the society must be approved by the General Manager.
g) The Society must adhere to maintenance standards set by the Board.
h) No barriers to general public access to the site can be erected.
Further information on the policy.
Discussion
The policy commits the Board to helping groups find resource information on gardens and locate suitable sites in the City. It also describes the conditions that must apply if it is determined that a park site is to be used for a community garden.It is the intention of the policy that groups interested in establishing community gardens prepare an inventory of all land in the neighbourhood that might be suitable for such a purpose. Board staff will assist in this search.
If it is determined that a park is the only suitable site for a garden, the policy also recognizes the need to ascertain if there is neighbourhood support for the project. This is consistent with the process used for all park development projects.
As a result of the public consultation process, a number of changes have been made to the policy.
- The original proposal contained a requirement that "Use of an allotment
plot cannot exceed two years. At the end of the second year, the holder of the
plot can have his or her name added to the bottom of the waiting list." Garden
enthusiasts objected to this clause stating that the 2 year tenure was too short
in terms of the effort and commitment necessary to develop a mature plot. Members
of existing gardening societies also made the point that there is a reasonable
natural turn-over of plot holders that occurs each year. Also, staff, in
reviewing all of the material collected from Municipalities across Canada and
part of the U.S. could not find any examples of community gardens where such a
clause was considered necessary. As a result this item has been deleted from the
proposed policy.
- During the consultation process many supporters of community gardens made the
point that there is a difference between an "allotment garden" and a "community
garden" While an allotment garden may in fact be defined as only a piece of land
used by individuals to produce food and flowers for the personal use of society
members, a community garden goes beyond that to include common areas that are not
allotted to individuals, and education programs that involve schools and youth
groups in gardening activities. As a result of this input, the definition of the
policy has been changed to reflect this concept.
- a) The term of the user agreement will not exceed five years.
When the Board has permitted an organization to operate a public facility, it has been the normal practice to limit the term of the agreement to five years. This ensures that the Board has the ability to regularly review these operations to ensure that they are being administered in the public interest.
b) Allotment of space must be made from a waiting list on a first come first served basis.
This condition is to insure that the allotments are made on a fair and equitable basis. The waiting list will be maintained by each operating society.
c) Membership in the Society, and the opportunity to be allotted a plot, must be open to any resident of Vancouver.
Although the initial impetus for the establishment of a community garden usually comes as a result of local interest, parks are paid for by all residents of Vancouver, and any interested citizen should have the right to apply to receive a plot. There is opposition to the requirement from all community garden supporters. They maintain that in order for the gardens to be tended and developed and maintained to a high standard, it is crucial that the plot holders live in the community where they have easy access to the garden.
d) No pesticides are to be used.
This is consistent with the Board's Integrated Pest Management Policy.
e) Allotment fees charged by the Society must be approved by the General Manager.
This is to ensure that fees are kept to a reasonable limit. This is a standard clause in all agreements with groups permitted to operate Board facilities.
f) The Society must adhere to maintenance standards set by the Board.
This is to ensure that the gardens are maintained in a manner that is consistent with the level of maintenance on the park.
g) No barriers to general public access to the site can be erected.
The gardens must not appear to be an exclusive area where the public is made to feel unwelcome.
The opinions of those opposed to the policy.
"Park gardens are a misuse of public lands. Parks are established for the use of all. Many of our lovely public parks have children's playgrounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, soccer fields, tracks, picnic tables and beautiful gardens and trees."But cut any of this into a garden allotment, and it is now for the use and enjoyment of only one person. It becomes, in effect, a piece of private land. This is wrong, unethical and absolutely contrary to the intent of the charters which gave us our parks."
"It seems to be a 'feel-good' type of thing on the face of it, but it is very wrong. When you look at it closely, you have to ask how many people can benefit from it. There are other public lands we could utilize. Let's get away from, every time we want land, looking at public parks."
