Garden of Dreams

The Encinitas City Council on April 15 unanimously endorsed the concept of a community garden organized by volunteers.

Now, the Encinitas Community Garden organizing committee is looking for a parcel of land one to two acres in size. However, the city-owned site requested by representatives of user groups -- an unused parcel originally planned for a park -- was turned down by a 3-2 split of councilmembers’ votes.

The minority thought that a garden was an ideal use for the site. The majority stated they felt the property should be held for future sale to a developer.

The majority three councilmembers offered use of part of Indian Head Canyon, a property donated by a local family as undeveloped parkland. The Community Garden committee feels this specific parcel is unusable as a garden because it is habitat for wildlife. -- Sanford Shapiro, Encinitas Parks Commissioner