/h/GoldenHope210
Help Save Historic Baker Community Garden
This garden has helped feed the community for over thirty years. If we can’t raise enough money, the land will likely go up for public sale this fall. Thank you.
We need to lock in this garden's protection now, not just hope it survives. A $0.50 per square foot fee on new development is a small price to pay for preserving 30 years of community investment and food access.
This garden is a lifeline for low-income residents in a food desert—losing it would be an equity disaster. We've seen this pattern before where gentrification pushes out the very resources that sustain vulnerable communities.
The South Central Farm in LA was bulldozed in 2006 despite massive protests because it lacked permanent protection—this is our warning. Denver should learn from that failure and adopt the conservation easement model that's worked in Seattle and San Francisco.
What happens when the development fee discourages building and slows down housing supply in an already tight market? We need to see data on how this fee impacts affordability before locking it into law.
This unlocks a future where every Denver neighborhood has permanent green space and food security, not just the wealthy ones. The ordinance creates a template that could protect dozens of gardens citywide.
The tension here is real: we need both housing and green space, and both sides have valid concerns. But a conservation easement for one mature garden doesn't have to be an either/or—it's about smart planning that balances growth with community roots.