Panel Liaison to Join Community Garden Discussion

In an effort to gather more feedback from residents about planting a possible community garden in town, the has appointed a liaison to meet with the ad hoc Hermosa Beach Community Garden Committee.

Even though commissioners Robert Rosenfeld and Don DeMaderios were absent at the commission meeting Tuesday night, the panel appointed Rosenfeld as a liaison as the community garden group explores possible places to grow a community garden.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Commissioner Laura Raymond about appointing a liaison. “We need a community strategy here to make sure residents are informed along the way. We need to create public forums for people.”

The community garden group has been studying the idea of growing a local garden since last year in September, and first considered .

Some residents who live near the park voiced concern about space restrictions in the area and argued that a garden could worsen limited parking.

“I think it has become obvious that Bicentennial Park is not the place to have a public garden for people who come in. We have parking problems, the lighting system is poor, there’s no fencing,” said Hermosa Beach resident Jim Stevens to commissioners Tuesday.

“The way that this has been handled has been almost an insult to the neighbors and people who live next to that park and behind that park,” he added. “I have nothing against community gardens. They’re a great idea. But Bicentennial Park should be eliminated from consideration.”

The community garden team is still in a very early planning stage, said Green Task Force member Lisa Ryder Moore, who spoke on behalf of the community garden group Tuesday.

Since the Bicentennial Park suggestion, the community garden group has considered adding other locations to its list, such as Valley Park, South Park, and on Monterey Boulevard, which has expressed interest in getting involved in the project.

“We’d like to have the goal, if we can, is to have more than one garden—to have a couple of small little gardens. It’s not going to be a big expensive thing. Our first garden we want to be very simple,” Ryder Moore said.

But for now, as ideas continue to sprout, no major decisions have been made. The community garden group will further study options with liaison Rosenfeld and then present its findings to the Parks and Recreation Commission.