This past week, Q-line asked:
A movement is afoot in Santa Monica to turn a vacant lot in the Pico Neighborhood into a community garden. Residents are calling on city officials to dig deep and purchase the parcel. Should the city make the move and buy the property or is the time just not right?
Here are your responses:
“Yes, absolutely. The city should purchase that property for a community garden. Something for the citizens for a change. Think of all the money spent on the bums and lowlife from out of town areas, and the housing they are building to keep them here. Please get your priorities straight, City Council.”
“Well it’s a lot of money that the city doesn’t have but if they don’t spend it on this they’ll just end up spending it on the bums. So we might as well spend it on something that’s actually good for something.”
“I see no disadvantage if the city of Santa Monica purchases the Pico vacant lot property at current market value. By the most part, cities can plan well ahead beyond that of the individual. The property will appreciate over the years and prove to be a good investment for the city. In the meantime, it will provide a nice garden spot.”
“Yes, I think it would be a wonderful idea to make a beautiful lot in Santa Monica so we can look at beautiful flowers. I say go for it. I definitely think the city should buy the lot. We need to beautify the city, not put in more concrete. I love trees and flowers and little ponds, maybe with some ducks going ‘quack quack quack, quack quack quack.’ I also happen to be an ex-landlord in this beautiful town of Sanmalicious. So yes, let’s add more greenery, like I did on my property on 20th street. High hedges. Our so-called mayor Genser probably would not approve but that’s just too bad.”
“The time for a community garden is always. Capital ‘N,’ capital ‘O,’ capital ‘W,’ now.”
“A wonderful and productive idea. The city should establish community gardens for the benefit of people who live here. Instead, the city lavishes resources on the community corporation to encourage as many poor and near-poor as possible to move here to our socialist paradise.”
“No, it’s not big enough, and because unless the immediate residential will be able to garden it to grow their vegetables or whatever, how are you going to regulate that? I think no, no, the city should not. My name is Barbara, and I live in the Pico neighborhood. The lot is not big enough.”
“Can we get the Pico neighborhood some diapers? First they want a million-dollar park, then a multi-million dollar library, then a multi-million dollar low-income housing, multi-million dollar low-income condo ownership. Like having a city garden is going to promote anything. Mrs. Low-income-housing and her four kids are going to grow vegetables, Mr. Gang-member by growing tomatoes or marijuana will stop marking his territory with spray paint or urine. The Pico neighborhood could form a cooperative and buy the property or get some progressive actor to buy it for them or hold a raffle or bingo, anything other than spending tax-payers money. These ideas are the cause of the $23 billion state deficit. Spending other people’s money is always fun, but nothing in life is free, even tomatoes.”
