Is Hyattsville Ripe for Community Garden?

Talks about a garden at Hyatt Park began over a year ago, but requests from City Council have pushed back plans, which Mayor William Gardiner says now may get rolling this fall.

Resident Harold Stone has spearheaded the project, which he said was never meant to become political.

After he provided supporting documents and information to Gardiner, the council decided to wait to proceed with the garden until after other items were put in place.

Now the Council is requiring a soil survey, a land survey and at least one councilman is requesting that the Hyatt Park Community Garden Association become a 501(c)(3) before the project can move forward.

"That is absolutely ludicrous," Stone said. "The City Council has not done anything to move forward to allow this community garden to happen."

In April, the council passed a motion that delayed work on the garden until after the city's FY11 budget was adopted and the parks master plan was delivered to council.

Otherwise, we could have had a community garden this summer," Gardiner said. 

Then in May, council adopted additional conditions on the garden via a budget amendment. Included in the requirements were a site plan, a schedule for construction, and the staff and attorney's fees and operating expenses.

"I don't believe it is necessary to submit a site survey, site plan, MOUs, attorney's fees, etc. to council prior to approval and implementation of a community garden," Gardiner said. "To use a poor analogy, I think council is way into the weeds on this. It demonstrates a misunderstanding of council's role, in my view, or perhaps a backhanded effort to stop the community garden without clearly opposing it. Nothing would get done if such council requirements were made on similarly minor projects and activities."

Councilmen Marc Tartaro (Ward 1), David Hiles and William Tierney (both of Ward 2) sponsored the motion that used the budget process to impose additional, non-budget conditions, Gardiner said.

Stone suggested that Tartaro and Hiles, both active with the Hyattsville/Mount Rainier/Brentwood Boys & Girls Club, would like to see a soccer field built at Hyatt Park instead of a garden.

Both men said they support the garden, Tartaro with the above caveats. He would also like to see the garden plots doled out in a lottery system.

Hiles said he suggested a 501(c)(3) for so the project for donation purposes, but not as a requirement for the project.

Stone – who is adamant the plots have not yet been assigned – said there would be about 20 plots, about 400 square feet each. A plot would cost $35 per year.

The city and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission will likely sign a use and maintenance agreement in the next week or two –the final version has been drafted, Gardiner said. M-NCPPC has agreed to install a water line that will serve the playground and two spigots that will serve the garden area. 

The water has to be re-connected first. It was disconnected and capped as required for the demolition of the house that was previously on the land, Gardiner said.