[Scpg] FWD: Request for help from Fairview Gardens

[John Calvert]

Dear friends of Fairview Gardens,

Fairview Gardens, a 12-acre organic farm and educational facility in 
Goleta owned and managed by the non-profit Center for Urban Agriculture 
at Fairview Gardens and permanently protected as agriculture by a 
conservation easement held by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, 
needs your support to help us obtain approval of several permits 
(technically called 'Conditional Use Permits' or CUPs) from the city of 
Goleta to continue carrying on the farm's great work. The Goleta 
Planning Commission hearing to consider these permits will be held on 
Monday, February 11 at 6:00 pm at Goleta City Hall, 130 Cremona Drive. 
We need supporters to let the Planning Commissioners know how important 
Fairview Gardens is to our community.

WHY PERMITS ARE NEEDED AND WHAT THEY ARE FOR

These permits we are seeking do not provide for any expansion or 
intensification of the farm's operations, but merely permit the existing 
operations that allow us to operate successfully as a small, urban 
organic farm.

For many years we have provided housing on the farm to some of the farm 
crew and to interns who come to Fairview Gardens to learn about our 
operation. This housing, in trailers and yurts (substantial tents 
installed on wooden foundations), helps us to economically maintain a 
stable and skilled work force, and to carry out our mission to provide 
educational opportunities in local, organic food production.

Unfortunately, we have found that these structures did not have the 
permits from the city (or the county, before the incorporation of 
Goleta) required for onsite housing. We also find that some structures 
are in need of upgrading or replacing in order to meet the requirements 
of the zoning ordinance and to comply with codes that protect the 
health, safety, and welfare of residents of our community. Fairview 
Gardens is committed to making these changes and bringing our facilities 
into compliance. To do so, we need a permit from the city of Goleta.

Permits are also required to keep our chicken operation on site and to 
sell products from other organic farms at our stand. Chickens do their 
part on the farm by controlling pests, enriching the soil, and providing 
delicious eggs for sale. Selling products from other organic farms at 
our stand provides our customers with a wider variety of healthy foods 
and contributes to the financial success of our stand.

WORKING WITH THE CITY AND WITH THE NEIGHBORS

Fairview Gardens staff and board president have been working for many 
months with the city's planning staff to develop a plan that both meets 
city requirements and serves Fairview Gardens' needs. The application 
for a permit first went before the city's Planning Commission last 
October. At that time it became clear that many neighbors of the farm 
had significant concerns regarding the farm operation and our plan for 
improvements and compliance. Their concerns included noise, traffic, and 
parking issues, as well as concerns about the placement and adequacy of 
the housing facilities. The Planning Commissioners asked Fairview 
Gardens to try to resolve some of these issues, and then come back to 
the Commission.

Fairview Gardens staff and board members met with neighbors and have 
resolved many--but not all--of the issues. Any land use, including 
organic farming, creates some impacts on the immediate neighbors--even 
if it is fewer impacts than if the property had been developed for urban 
uses. We anticipate that there will continue to be some opposition at 
the upcoming hearing that might persuade the Planning Commission to deny 
the permit, which could result in the loss of worker housing at Fairview 
Gardens and impair our ability to provide the great community benefits 
that have been our tradition, including growing a wide variety of crops 
for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, sales of organic 
food at the farm stand, and our many educational programs for all age 
groups.

YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED

Whether you are a member of Fairview Gardens' CSA program, or a customer 
who buys products at the farm stand or at the Farmer's Market, or an 
educator who brings your students to Fairview Gardens for real-life 
lessons about food production, or a parent whose children participate in 
fun and educational events at the farm, or just someone who shares our 
goal of strengthening local food systems, you understand that Fairview 
Gardens is a great asset to Goleta and the South Coast community.

Please come to the hearing to speak in favor of the permit or to support 
others who speak. Whether or not you can attend, please send a message 
of support for Fairview Gardens to the Planning Commissioners (see below).

Thanks for your continuing support!
The Board of Trustees
Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens

You are welcome to distribute this message to those on your own lists 
who support local food systems.

– Cynthia



To contact Goleta Planning Commissioners:

Ed Easton, Chair
send to Wendy Winkler at wwinkler at cityofgoleta.org
she will forward to Ed

Ken Knight, Vice Chair
send to Wendy Winkler at wwinkler at cityofgoleta.org
she will forward to Ken

Brent Daniels, Commissioner
bdaniels at cityofgoleta.org

Doris Kavanagh, Commissioner
dkavanagh at cityofgoleta.org

Julie Kessler Solomon, Commissioner
jsolomon at cityofgoleta.org

To contact city planner, Scott Kolwitz:
skolwitz at cityofgoleta.org

All of the above can be reached by mail at:

City of Goleta
Planning and Environmental Services
130 Cremona Drive, Suite B
Goleta, California 93117


For directions to Goleta City Hall see:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=130+Cremona+Dr+Goleta+CA