HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015_06_17 Written Communication - Community GardenFrom:
Roza & Garri Grossman, Alex Grossman
PO Box 59225 San Jose, Ca 95159 408-857-0135
To:
Saratoga City Council
Mayor Mr. Miller, Vice Mayor Manny Capello, Council Member Emily Lo, Council Member
Mary -Lynne Bernald , Council Member Rishi Kumar, Mr. Michael Taylor
Re: Saratoga City Council decision to terminate agreements with non-resident
Gardeners at El Quito Park Saratoga Community Gardens
Dear City Council,
My parents and I are long time gardeners at El Quito Park Saratoga Community Gardens
and would like to appeal a change in the Gardens' policies that retroactively penalizes
existing tenants.
We understand the City needs to serve their residents first, but feel the retroactive ruling
penalizes people who invested a lot in maintaining and improving their plots (both
materially and emotionally) after the City offered them the plots that nobody was
interested at the time.
My parents also have come to rely on their plot as one of the main options for keeping them
busy and relatively healthy (my father went through multiple heart surgeries, and
gardening is one of the few things that keeps him going).
After working on the plots for hours every day, and spending thousands of dollars over the
last 8 years, it feels extremely unfair to just be asked to leave and give up the plots just
because the Garden policy has been changed retroactively.
We have proven to be the most loyal and involved tenants who helped to recover
unattended plots when City of Saratoga was in need for that, and helped to make park more
welcoming for the Saratoga residents.
The best solution we feel would be to apply the non-residents ruling to new applicants, but
to "grandfather in" the current gardeners.
Thank you,
Yours Sincerely,
Roza, Garri, and Alex Grossman
Plots G & H of the Saratoga Community Gardens
-07 -7//1