Decatur Zoning Board Approves Tanyard Community Garden
Decatur Metro | March 15, 2011 | 10:06 am
Love it! ZBA member Kyle Williams writes in about last night’s approval of a new community garden tucked behind Northern Ave and Oakland Street residences…
Last night the Zoning Board of Appeals approved plans for Tanyard Community Garden (see Agenda Item No. 1 on the…agenda materials). The proposed garden is a tremendous community-led initiative to create useable greenspace in city-owned stream buffer areas that will “build strong communities” as you highlight in your post from yesterday Are Environmentalists Just “Fiddling While Rome Burns?” Our approval might also be the first official action on the new Strategic Plan:
The Tanyard Community Garden is consistent with the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan under Goal #8, which recommends that the city develop a “necklace” of planted bicycle and pedestrian linkages connecting the major green spaces of the city. The connection of the various green spaces will result in multiple benefits: I) easier, safer and more aesthetically pleasing access to existing green space, 2) “new” green space on existing public land, and 3) traffic volume and speed reductions. The City believes that the project will promote a more healthy and active community.
Tanyard Community Garden comes on the heels of ZBA’s approval of Sugar Creek Garden and is part of a citywide effort to identify and create useable community greenspace in these pockets of flood, detention and stream buffer areas.
It’s great to see a citizen board making decisions that align with our larger strategic goals, rather than just reflecting the letter of existing (possibly in line to be updated) ordinances or, worse, the agendas of its individual members. Great job, ZBA. Now that the new Strategic Plan is rolling out, I hope all our citizen boards follow suit.
I live right near one of the current community gardens, Woodland Gardens. I like that the land is preserved, but I have to say, I don’t really see the public access aspect of the garden. There is no throughway to the apartments and condos and shops bordering the garden and the garden is only officially open one Sunday per month. I rarely see any people there. Also, no dogs are allowed, although the current caretaker lets their dog have the run of the property off-leash when the garden is closed to the public. It’s kind of like living next door to a giant publicly financed private backyard.
I hope this comment doesn’t come off as too negative. I’m just wondering what the purpose of these gardens are and what community members should expect in terms of access, intent, etc….
Please somebody correct me if I am wrong, but these “community gardens” are in no way related or similar to the Woodlands Garden.
If my understanding is correct, the Woodlands is privately owned and the recently deceased owner deeded the property to the Decatur Preservation Association upon her death with the intent of preserving the property. Therefore, as a private organization, the DPA can run it anyway they see fit.
The “community gardens,” such as the one approved last night, and Sugar Creek in Oakhurst, are on city property (think floodplains and within stream buffers) where the city is allowing the community to create gardens and plant things.
Completely different.
Sounds right.
http://www.decaturpreservationalliance.org/woodlandsgarden/
Comments wanted.
I know this isn’t about a change in CSD start times, but this is in our backyard.
(not literally adjacent to my backyard)
I am so grateful to the Morse family for their spectacular gift of Woodlands Garden to us that I don’t think I could find it in me to criticize how it is managed. I am not sure about this but I think I remember reading that a daughter of the family was given the right to continue to live in the family home throughout her lifetime as a stipulation of the gift. This might be the current caretaker with a dog referenced in KW’s post.
As to the Tanyard Creek garden, I wish for bumper crops every year. I hope they harvest so many tomatoes that they have to set up a stand to give them away to poor unfortunates like myself with heavily shaded yards and purple thumbs.
I hope those tomatoes are a squirrel magnet, so our garden doesn’t get carried away.
Thinkin’ about putting in a few rows of corn down by the creek myself.
Unless it is about criticizing CSD, restaurant openings, or transit, people on this blog don’t really care to comment.