Santa Fe Springs gardeners rally against closure ahead of tonight’s council meeting

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA — Gardeners are mobilizing against the planned closure of Santa Fe Springs’ decades-old community garden and are calling on supporters to pack Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The 2-acre garden has 120 parcels where residents grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Some have tended plots there for decades, including a woman in her 90s who organizer Ann Marie Marmolejo said has gardened there for more than 30 years and still visits multiple times a week.

In an Aug. 21 letter, the city notified gardeners that the site at 10145 Pioneer Blvd. would permanently close Oct. 1 and ordered them to clear their plots by Sept. 28. The city is establishing a new community garden at the Gus Velasco Neighborhood Center, with about two dozen smaller parcels planned — a fraction of the 120 parcels at the existing garden.

Gardeners were also given until Aug. 31 to sign a Mutual Termination and General Release Waiver as part of the transition. Gardeners in good standing were given the opportunity to apply for a parcel at the new Velasco Center garden.

The city held a meeting with gardeners Aug. 29 to present the relocation plan. Marmolejo said the presentation largely repeated information already included in the city’s mailed packet, while staff declined to answer key questions about why the garden was being closed. She said gardeners asked officials to halt the timeline and arrange a meeting with city decision-makers, but staff declined to pause the deadlines.

Marmolejo said gardeners felt pressured to sign the termination agreement during the meeting. According to Marmolejo, city staff told gardeners they would not have an opportunity to receive a parcel at the replacement garden unless they terminated their existing agreements.

“Somebody said, ‘Okay, well, if we don’t sign that, then that means that we’re not going to have an opportunity to get a parcel here,’ and they said yes,” Marmolejo recalled. “You need to terminate your current contract so that we can give you a new contract here at the neighborhood center. But you must sign that.”

But on Monday—the day the paperwork was due—Mayor Pro Tem Annette Rodriguez told Marmolejo the process of having gardeners sign termination agreements was being temporarily placed on hold.

“No resident member needs to sign that paperwork, that has been put on hold,” Rodriguez wrote in a text message provided to The SELA Sun.

In a separate email, Rodriguez confirmed the signature process was being “temporarily placed on hold” to allow further discussion of residents’ concerns.

“We want to assure our residents that their voices, concerns, and well-being remain a priority,” Rodriguez wrote.

Marmolejo said Councilmember Bill Rounds told her Aug. 30 that gardeners could remain at their current plots through Dec. 31, when their existing agreements expire, rather than leaving by Sept. 28.

She said Assistant City Manager Nicholas Razo repeated that assurance Monday during an in-person conversation at the garden in the presence of several other city officials, including City Manager René Bobadilla, Parks and Recreation Director Gustavo Hernandez and Rounds.

The SELA Sun contacted the city manager and Parks and Recreation Department Monday morning with questions about the closure, relocation, reduced number of plots, termination agreement, and how the decision was authorized. The city had not responded as of publication. This story will be updated if a response is received.

Still, Marmolejo wants the relocation itself stopped.

“We don’t want to relocate,” Marmolejo told The SELA Sun. “This is green space, and what you’re giving us is just like a plot on the side of a building. If you really put an investment in this and valued it, this could be the highlight of Santa Fe Springs.”

Marmolejo said gardeners plan to ask city leaders to halt the relocation and hold additional public meetings before deciding the garden’s future.

The controversy is not listed as an action item on tonight’s agenda, meaning the council generally cannot take action on it. Gardeners can raise the issue during public comment, while councilmembers can direct staff to investigate or bring the matter back on a future agenda.

The Santa Fe Springs City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 11710 Telegraph Road.