[Community_garden] Unusual Funding Needs for a Community Garden

[Amy DeShon]

Assuming you need to act fast, then these are questions you should be able
to answer (and in this order):

1. Who else wants the garden in your neighborhood? Get their names,
addresses, signatures on a petition.
2. Do you have a neighborhood association? Do they support you? Does the
Neigh Assoc belong to a city-wide association? Would those other
organizations support you?
2. Who are your other resources? What does the City Parks & Recs and Comm
Development Departments think of your idea? Do you have any commissioners
who would support you on this? What about other environmental groups? Would
they support you? List their names.
3. What about the local Foundation? Would they entertain an application?
Mostly they support non-profits. So under what organization would you apply
for funding? This is true of corporations too. Find a non-profit who wants
to do this project and have them apply for the funds under their 501(c)3
status.
4. Do you know someone who had the resources to pay the tax bill (deep
pockets) and keep the land out of "use" until you have your ducks in order?
What agreement would they need that you could pay them back?

Hum... other suggestions???

-----Original Message-----
From: community_garden-bounces at list.communitygarden.org
[mailto:community_garden-bounces at list.communitygarden.org]On Behalf Of
Julie Burleigh
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 10:21 PM
To: community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
Subject: [Community_garden] Unusual Funding Needs for a Community Garden


Dear Community Garden List Members,

My name is Julie Burleigh, and I live in South Central Los Angeles in
a neighborhood called West Adams. I would like to start a Community
Garden on my block, in a vacant lot. A Community Garden would provide
a much needed improvement to our multi-ethnic, low-income
neighborhood, reducing crime, and improving the quality of life for
many adolescents, children, adults and seniors in our community. I
have met with the LA Community Garden Council, and the LA
Neighborhood Land Trust. They have been encouraging, but I need more
help.

The vacant lot I am interested in is owned by a woman who has a long
history of problems with the neighborhood, and the city. The lot has
a history of gang use, abatement problems, and a fire about 15 years
ago. Because of $80,000 in back taxes owed by the owner, it is
scheduled for a Section 8 auction in August. There have been multiple
liens, multiple fraudulent bankruptcies, and multiple social security
numbers associated with the owner of this property. I have approached
the owner about buying the land (for $80K -- what is owed in back
taxes) -- she said that she would just file bankruptcy again so that
she could get out of the section 8 auction, and have another year to
hold on to the property. This owner has gotten out of several
previous tax sales over many years by filing for bankruptcy just
before the sale, then canceling the filing immediately after the sale
date, thus giving herself a potentially infinite number of
bankruptcies to use. This has been a nuisance property, and the owner
has used dangerous and illegal practices to get around paying taxes
and caring for her properties (last year, there was an arson fire at
another of her properties, in which firefighters were seriously
injured).

Time is running out, as the tax sale is scheduled for August. Please
let me know if you have any advice about funding so that we may offer
to buy the land at the amount it is worth (probably $250K), or if
anyone has dealt with issues of this nature in acquiring the land for
their garden. I know we could lease it from her, but its such an
unstable situation, I think it would just be better if we could buy
it...

Thank you very much,


Julie Burleigh
323-737-6211
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygar
den.org/attachments/20070701/a51cc776/attachment.html
_______________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's
services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find
out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org

To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden at list.communitygarden.org

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.commu
nitygarden.org