On Saturday, May 18, we held a Community Garden Town Hall at St Mark's Church to discuss the new GreenThumb license agreement mailed to the garden representatives on the week of April 15. More than 130 people from across the City attended, representing 38 community gardens.
As a group we voted unanimously to call for a moratorium on signing the new license agreement until our concerns are addressed.
We are formally requesting a meeting with the GreenThumb to discuss the license.
This new license contains many new regulations, restrictions and obligations that are being forced upon gardeners. GreenThumb appears to be taking on the role of an enforcement agency rather than garden-friendly enablers.
We urge your garden NOT to sign this license at this time.
All community gardens are volunteer-run organizations. We receive no funding or staffing from the Parks Department. The new requirements, including the permit mandates and fundraising limitations, will seriously impede our ability to function.
What are the problems the new license is supposed to solve? The changes are burdensome and ill-justified. The license seems to be setting us up for failure. We have many questions that need to be answered before we can sign this agreement.
The new license in both English and Spanish along with the changes from the old one can be found on our website.
Please discuss the new GreenThumb license with your membership. We are compiling gardens' responses. Thank you for your support!
