Support For A Community Garden Withers

It seemed like a simple idea at the time, but starting a garden isn't as easy as finding a plot of land and sowing some seeds.

Mary Warner knew there would be some rough patches to be worked out in order to get a community garden started in Corte Madera. After a year of banging their heads against a political wall, it seems Warner and the Corte Madera Community Garden board have had enough.

"We're done," Warner said, drained after a year-long campaign.

"It's very frustrating to all of us," she said. "All the things we felt we had done properly to get a garden started seemed to be ignored or our time was wasted."

The group originally proposed carving out the garden in a site in Town Park near Pixley Avenue. That proposal met with staunch opposition from longtime residents who preferred that the park remain mostly open space, and from the Audubon Society that expressed concern over its impact on local waterfowl.

"Town Park isn't the right location," wrote Corte Madera resident Chris West. "Taking away part of the Park and fencing it off behind a locked gate so that a relatively few people who pay to have access to it for their own private use is just plain wrong. I hope all who read this will let our Town Council know that Town Park isn't for sale — or even for lease — to a group that intends to keep everyone else locked out."

The group and Town leaders explored alternative sites, including the Porter Cooley area and another plot within Town Park that would be closer to the Park Madera plaza. The San Clemente area was also mentioned as a possibility, but that will be the future site of a new school.

"Town Park is where the need is. There are alternative sites on the east side. Porter Cooley would be fine, but there's no interest," Warner said.

Warner explained that, while Bayside Corte Madera gets plenty of sun, many people there already have gardens and don't have as much interest in a community garden. Town Park would have been more centrally-located for residents in the more shaded hillsides of town who wanted a community garden.

"We had a lot of support a year ago. We met with all the groups concerned and no one objected at the time," Warner said.

That support has quieted down recently, though. There were only a handful of people present at the last Corte Madera Parks and Recreation meeting to rally for the garden. There were even fewer members of the public who spoke against the garden, but their voices seemed to carry great weight.

"With this new site by Park Madera, we heard the Audubon Society would want an environmental impact report," Warner said, "and we'd have to file for a federal tax code (as a non-profit). We don't have the resources for all that."

The community garden had some support from the Town Council, especially from Michael Lappert, Carla Condon and Alexandra Cock, according to Warner. They might have the chance to weigh in again at the June 19 meeting to rescue the garden.

"Let's let the town decide if they really want a garden," Warner said. "But right now we're not really getting the support from the town we need."