Gill Tract Issues Dominate Council Meeting

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The voted on three items Monday night related to the future of urban farming in Albany.

Council members spent nearly three hours discussing and hearing from the public about urban agriculture, in part related to activities at the following the April take-over of the University of California-owned research field by Occupy the Farm advocates.

About 60 members of the public crowded into council chambers to participate in and listen to the conversation.

URBAN FARMING AT THE GILL TRACT

In a 4-0 vote, with an abstention by , the council passed a resolution to work with UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources to establish an area on the Gill Tract devoted to urban farming. 

(Lieber said he was concerned about soil quality and health, and was not comfortable recommending that the land be farmed until more testing takes place to ensure its safety.)

Several members of the public argued that the resolution was not strongly enough worded, and urged the council to use pending negotiations related to a nearby Whole Foods and senior housing project to push for more, or total, control of the agricultural field at San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street. 

The council did not directly address how future talks about the development, planned immediately north and south of Monroe Street, might affect the Gill Tract. But credited Occupy the Farm with bringing urban farming goals back into the spotlight. 

"The young people farming at the Gill Tract really issued a wake-up call," she said, adding that the university and the city of Albany "need to continue talking."

The resolution, which Wile spearheaded, and developed with the help of city staff, is intended to endorse the idea of negotiations with the College of Natural Resources about urban agriculture efforts at the Gill Tract. 

In an , the university said urban farming will continue this season at the Tract: "The 40 rows that will be left in place are now being watered with a reconfigured system, and will take up about 25 percent of the Gill Tract land that is currently available for planting."

The university also noted that College of Natural Resources Dean Keith Gilless, who has operational authority over the growing space, "will be seeking the broadest possible public input and participation, working in close concert with the City of Albany, local schools, residents of University Village, members of the community at large and experts from local, nonprofit organizations. He will also be working on a plan to provide safe, organized access to the site for those who will be working with us on urban agriculture projects."

Urban farming advocates, in the public comment period, urged the council to consider the undeveloped land in University Village as a whole, rather than allow it to be divided up piecemeal. They also pushed for further environmental review, public access and protection of "Albany's last great open space."

One Albany gardener, , who has been in the city for years, donned gardening gloves and handed out purple flowers in individual pots to each council member. 

"We are claiming our collective humanity," she told the council, as she passed out the flowers and asked officials to care for them as they would care for the community. "We insist you do what's best.... We're watching you. We demand our humanity back."

URBAN FARMING IN ALBANY

In a separate agenda item, the council directed staff to turn future urban farming discussions over to the in connection with the “Green Albany” campaign in the city's .

The goal of "Green Albany" includes the development of "a public planning process that involves interested parties, to evaluate potential growing sites within the City, including the Gill Tract, for additional community gardens and urban agricultural activities, with an initial report back to Council in two to four months."

Staff initially suggested that the take on the topic, but said it became clear last week that the panel has its hands full trying to make decisions and recommendations about other aspects of the Climate Action Plan. 

Sustainability Committee Chairman Tom Cooper told the council that, if Albany hopes to try to achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets, the committee could not have its attention diverted to urban farming.

"The more we delay taking action," he said, on changes designed to achieve the targets, "the more up against the wall we'll be."

He suggested the idea of an ad hoc committee to discuss the Gill Tract, which met with some support Monday night. Other speakers said they would prefer that the matter stayed with the City Council for consideration.

But city staff, and some officials and members of the public, said that would stretch city resources past the limit, and added that the questions up for discussion fell within the mission of the Parks & Recreation Commission. 

The Parks & Recreation Commission has already begun to consider possible planting on the , and has, in the past, looked at whether to try to acquire the Gill Tract from the university for farming and open space efforts.

said the discussion should build on the city's 2008 , which involved a broad spectrum of community members who worked together to investigate possible options for the Gill Tract "." 

"Green Albany" could be placed on the Parks & Rec agenda as soon as June, city staff said.

SUBCOMMITTEE TO WORK WITH CITY STAFF, UNIVERSITY

The council also voted to create a subcommittee, composed of council members and Joanne Wile, to work with the university to discuss future plans for University Village and the Gill Tract. 

Thomsen and Wile were charged with engaging university decision-makers and working with city staff on plans for the Gill Tract outside of council meetings.

They said they will report back monthly to the City Council about developments.

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we publish future stories on this topic. Read more on Albany Patch about the Gill Tract occupation.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.