We’ve been busted!
Dear Industrial Community Association:
I am writing on behalf of Choicelunch, the company that currently occupies kitchen and office space in your area. Our company, provides healthy, sustainable school lunches for 80 schools in Southern California.
An important element of our lunch program is our focus on locally sourced, sustainable produce, and on child education of where food comes from and how it is grown. Earlier in the year, my Executive Chef, Travis Jones, came to me and recommended that we utilize the mostly barren planter boxes in front of our building to grow a vegetable, herb, and tomato garden. I thought this was a fantastic idea, and would prove to be a great example to kids and parents who come to tour our facility that real food can be grown virtually anywhere on this earth where there is soil, sunlight, and water. Only one 2′ bush that was very close to death was removed, and the entire planter box has been revived with lush, green vegetation. The idea has proven successful, and the garden, though small, has had a very large impact on everyone who visits our facility.
I understand now, however, that the planter boxes are considered common area, and that we did not obtain the proper written approval from this Board to plant in the area. I understand from your most recent letter that you wish this garden removed.
It is with great sadness and, admittedly, frustration that we receive this request. My frustration stems from the fact that, although we did not receive proper written approval, you are enforcing the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit. Your organization cited, “These restrictions [are] a means of maintaining harmony in the community, and ensuring that property values are at the highest level possible.” Let me address both of these points.
First, threatening to have the landscaper uproot a functional teaching garden that produces real food and is providing a positive example to current and future generations who come in contact with it simply because the proper written authorization was not maintained is doing absolutely nothing to maintain harmony within this community. Quite conversely, it is leading us to look around and question the legitimacy of some practices of others in the community.
Second, and much more importantly, I would strongly encourage you to reconsider exactly how our garden impacts property values. The landscaping, or lack thereof, that it replaced was more eyesore than beautification, and the garden, which we maintain entirely on our own, adds life and charm to the building entry. To me, as a tenant, the single most important factor in maintaining property values is not landscaping. No, the single most important factor is vacancy. There is no reason to believe that a vegetable garden in the planter boxes directly in front of our building has a negative impact on property values in the community. The same cannot be said for a vacancy in the building.
I would like the Board to reconsider your decision, and to grant us written permission to utilize the common area planter boxes in front of our building for our garden.
I look forward to your reply.
Kindest regards,
Justin Gagnon
CEO, Choicelunch
