Philly’s Green Commitment: New Bill To Secure Community Gardens
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- James M
- May 31, 2024
Philadelphia’s City Council unanimously approved a new law to safeguard community gardens against development, marking a significant step toward the preservation of urban green spaces.
This historic law gives the Philadelphia Land Bank the authority to give tax-delinquent land acquisition through sheriff sales priority, protecting these important public areas from the pressures of real estate development.
The measure addresses land insecurity, a significant problem that many Philadelphia community gardeners experience.
While community gardens have flourished on abandoned sites for years, locals have always had to worry about these areas being taken over by developers.
The law seeks to further secure these gardens by granting the Land Bank first dibs on tax-delinquent properties.
This legislative action aims to preserve not only green spaces but also the labor-intensive tasks and strong community ties that have developed alongside these gardens.
Philadelphia Community Gardens
Philadelphia’s community gardens serve as an example of the city’s citizens’ inventiveness and tenacity. Local gardeners have worked hard over the years to turn many derelict and abandoned sites into colorful green spots.
In otherwise run-down neighborhoods, these community gardens serve as havens for urban agriculture, supplying fresh vegetables, encouraging interpersonal relationships, and transforming otherwise ugly spaces into visually beautiful spaces.
However these gardeners’ lack of land ownership is a serious danger to their viability.
Gardeners run the risk of losing their cultivated areas to developers or other private interests if they don’t have formal ownership, which would ruin years of labor-intensive community building.
Councilwoman Kendra Brooks underlined the significance of this matter, pointing out that the city views a large number of community gardeners as squatters.
According to Brooks, “locals who have endured decades of underfunding in their communities took the initiative to clean up abandoned lots and turn them into lively community spaces through gardening.”
She emphasized the importance of the measure, which offers a formal safeguard to prevent the sale of these green areas.
The measure honors and encourages the proactive efforts of locals to better their areas and create stronger, healthier communities by protecting the land for community use.
Uncertainty over Land
Philadelphia’s urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to land insecurity, as the city plan for 2023 makes clear.
According to the plan, the main issue facing urban farmers is land insecurity; since 2008, at least 140 gardens have been lost, many of them as a result of pressure from urbanization.
According to the data, about one in three working farms and gardens are situated in rapidly developing areas, where there is always a risk that these natural spaces would be lost to new construction.
The efforts of community gardeners, who have dedicated time and energy to converting abandoned lands into useful and attractive areas, are undermined by this instability.
Areas with high rates of poverty and minority populations are most severely affected by garden losses.
A disproportionate amount of these communities, already struggling with social and economic issues, rely on community gardens for entertainment, fresh food, and a sense of belonging.
According to the city’s plan, the majority of active gardens are located in communities where people of color make up more than half of the population.
These communities lose essential resources and green areas as a result of the loss of these gardens, aggravating already-existing disparities.
Iglesias Garden board member Michael Gonzalo Moran explained why land ownership is so vital to community growers.
“Until we own the land, nothing we grow or build has any real permanence,” he stated in court, emphasizing how flimsy their efforts were.
Moran stressed that these gardens are a source of tranquility and quiet for areas such as Norris Square, and that losing the land would entail much more than the loss of green space, but rather the loss of a vital component of the community’s well-being.
His testimony emphasizes how urgent actions, such as the recently passed bill, are required to secure these areas and safeguard the financial commitments made by locals.
By giving the Philadelphia Land Bank first dibs on tax-delinquent properties during sheriff sales, the recently approved measure gives the bank more authority.
Because of this priority acquisition, the Land Bank will be able to outbid private developers or speculators when these properties are put up for sale by using its right to be the first bidder.
In contrast to being auctioned off to the highest bidder, this guarantees that properties, especially those utilized as community gardens, can be secured for public and communal use. Sheriff sales, which have been put on hold for a number of years, are expected to resume this summer.
The Land Bank is essential to the purchase and preservation of these properties for the benefit of the community.
The measure adds a number of protections to guarantee justice and legal compliance. The necessity for open bidding upon request from other interested parties is one important clause that contributes to the acquisition process’s transparency.
In addition, previous landowners who are able to reimburse the Land Bank are granted the chance to redeem their property within 60 days.
This provision gives prior owners a safety net by giving them the opportunity to recover their assets and pay off their debts.
The Philadelphia Land Bank’s executive director, Angel Rodriguez, clarified that these actions allow the Land Bank to legitimately use its ability to make priority bids in accordance with state law.
The purpose of this law, according to Rodriguez, was “drafted and introduced by the administration, city solicitor, and Philadelphia Land Bank so that the Philadelphia Land Bank can resume fulfilling an important part of its intended mission of returning tax delinquent, vacant, and underutilized property back to productive use.”
These legal frameworks assist the city’s overarching objectives of community stability and urban revitalization by guaranteeing that the Land Bank can acquire properties in an efficient manner while upholding due process.
Philadelphia’s financial difficulties in the 1990s prompted the sale of property liens as a means of raising money.
But there were drawbacks to this choice, especially for communal gardens. Private lienholders purchased thousands of property liens, including those on land used as community gardens.
Because private groups might bring the parcels to a sheriff’s sale at any time, potentially allowing developers or speculators to purchase the land, this arrangement left the future of these green places unknown.
In 2023, the city moved to resolve this problem by repurchasing liens on 91 properties in West, Southwest, and North Philadelphia that were mostly utilized as community gardens.
Repurchasing these green areas was an essential step in preventing their sale or development in the future.
The city was able to take back control of the liens and decide what would happen to these properties going forward, making sure they would always be used for communal purposes and environmental preservation.
However, Philadelphia’s growing real estate values continue to pose a danger to community gardens. A warning was issued by Councilmember Brooks on the irrevocable loss of garden land due to rising property values.
Community gardens are at risk of being auctioned off for redevelopment as developers become more financially motivated to purchase land as property values rise.
Brooks underlined the necessity of taking proactive steps to protect these natural areas and the indispensible benefits they provide to communities.
Communities will be deprived of essential green spaces and the social fabric that community gardens foster will be undermined if these areas are lost to development because it is doubtful that they can be recovered.
Advocates want stronger Land Bank decisions to better assist producers as Philadelphia proceeds with securing its community gardens.
Even after the new bill was passed, there are still issues with the small number of properties that have been transferred for gardens in recent years.
Only twelve publicly held sites have been transferred during the previous seven fiscal years for the purpose of community gardens or open spaces, according to data.
The demand for green spaces and the real distribution of properties differ sharply, which emphasizes the need for more reliable and just distribution systems.
The Land Bank’s policy, which mandates that garden clubs sign a 30-year self-amortizing mortgage that automatically reduces to zero at the conclusion of its term, is one area of disagreement.
Some who oppose the concept contend that it is onerous and could discourage gardeners from acquiring land via the Land Bank.
Community groups may face obstacles due to the long mortgage term and related restrictions, especially those with limited financial or organizational capabilities.
The Neighborhood Gardens Trust’s Associate Director for Land Preservation, Marlana Moore, has sent a request to the Council asking for help in transferring land to garden stewards.
Moore underlined how crucial it is to make sure the property Bank follows through on the parcels being given to the communities that have been caring for the property for many years.
This opinion reflects the larger aspiration of supporters for a more adaptable and community-focused method of managing land.
For the sake of all citizens, the city may better support grassroots efforts to maintain and improve green places by streamlining procedures and lowering bureaucratic obstacles.
Community gardens are vital resources for social cohesion, health, and well-being, and their preservation must be given top priority as Philadelphia struggles with land use and urban growth.
Through the identification and correction of policy flaws and proactive involvement with community stakeholders, the city may make significant progress toward constructing a more fair and sustainable future for everybody.
Conclusion:
The passing of this legislation is a major win for the community gardeners in Philadelphia and the neighborhoods they benefit.
The measure provides a lifeline to these essential green spaces by enabling the Land Bank to prioritize the acquisition of tax-delinquent properties.
This will protect the spaces from the threat of development and ensure their continued existence as community assets.
In addition to offering safety right away, the measure could make makeshift gardens a permanent part of Philadelphia’s urban environment.
The measure establishes the foundation for sustained sustainability and investment in community gardens by guaranteeing the land tenure for these areas.
Future generations will benefit from these green spaces as well, since they will be left as reminders of environmental care, community involvement, and resilience.
While we commemorate this achievement, much more needs to be done to guarantee the continuation and growth of community gardens across Philadelphia.
We urge readers to get involved in neighborhood projects and to contact PlanPhilly writers with any queries, worries, or ideas for stories.
We can keep pushing for laws and procedures that encourage fair access to green areas and advance the health and wellbeing of all citizens by elevating the voices of the community and presenting stories that are important to Philadelphians.