VIEWPOINT
BY ANITA JOHNSON
Garden
Rush Job
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same delicious food
and friendly service
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BEST THAI
for five years in a row
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new
addition – full bar
serving a wide variety of drinks and signature cocktails
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12
November 8, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com
ARE WE GETTING FULL VALUE FOR THE
COURTHOUSE GARDEN SITE?
I
t seems that Eugene city government, both appointed and some elected,
wants to seal a deal on the Courthouse Garden site (triangle site) before the
general public knows what we’re losing. The agenda item selling the nearly
two-acre site for $1.23 million plus many perks was so rushed that EW
knew about it before at least one councilor. Clearly, the city wants to avoid
a classic Eugene uproar.
This is so ironic because the Courthouse Garden, which this sale will de-
stroy, was one of the most inclusive and collaborative projects, across eco-
nomic, social, political lines, in recent Eugene history.
A little background: U. S. District Judge Ann Aiken is known nationally for
her efforts to assist federal prisoners re-entering society to lead productive lives.
Out the windows of the nationally recognized new U.S. Courthouse she saw a
disgraceful trash heap covering nearly two acres owned by the city of Eugene.
So, why not put released prisoners to work cleaning it up, planting a beau-
tiful vegetable garden to help feed Eugene’s growing hungry population? A
win-win!
The concept appealed to Ann Bettman, just retired after 30 years directing
the UO Landscape Architecture Department’s Urban Farm, and her partner, Dan
Dingfi eld, recently transplanted to Eugene from Seattle where he had been proj-
ect director of the Port of Seattle and an early organizer for the famous Seattle
Public Library.
Judge Aiken wondered if the garden could be growing and on display in
six months, in time for a national meeting of federal clerks in Eugene. Miracu-
lously, it was, starting with leaves dumped from city trucks, under the direc-
tion of Bettman and Dingfi eld, volunteering their professional time.
More than 25 local businesses signed on: Lane Forest Products, Staton
companies, Delta Sand and Gravel, Eugene Sand and Gravel, Log House
Plants, Papé Machinery, Bagel Sphere, Black Sheep Gathering, Eden Design
& Landscaping, Fall Creek Nursery, Global Delights, Healing Harvest, Imag-
ine Graphics, Island Fence, Rain Bird, Rexius, Reynolds Electric, School Gar-
den Project of Lane County, Starbucks, Stutzman Environmental Products,
Territorial Seed, the Jerry Brown Co., United Pipe and many more. The city
signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the UO, bringing in
the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, the Department of Landscape Ar-
chitecture, the Holden Leadership Center and UO Maintenance, donors of
compost. EWEB was a big player, plus the Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce.
Individuals and the David Minor Memorial Fund gave money.
Because the imposing U.S. Courthouse is a “scarecrow,” no fencing is
needed. Almost nothing has been destroyed or stolen. Strangers harvest some
berries, tomatoes, but that’s OK. It’s totally accessible to the owners, the peo-
ple of Eugene.
This summer and early fall, nearly three years later, 6,000 pounds of food
went to the Eugene Mission, the Relief Nursery and other charities. UO land-
scape architecture students learn food gardening skills and tend the garden.
One student wrote a paper describing his garden class, where he worked
alongside released prisoners and their parole offi cers, as one of his most sig-
nifi cant UO classes. This fall the UO catering program rolled in a reception
opening the year for landscape architecture. Other classes across the UO have
met there. At-risk Eugene youth have worked the rows.
A fi ne video of Eugene’s Courthouse Garden produced for free, has been
shown at federal court conferences across the country. Some jurisdictions
have copied the concept. The city of Eugene even gave itself an award for the
garden at the annual State of the City Address.
The city’s present deal for this site is a three- or four-story commercial
building with some underground but mostly surface parking. A city offi cial
told us that “this site is too important to be a garden or a park … it should be
a commercial site.” Really! Even if we accept that position, and we don’t, this
decision raises so many questions and opportunities for the public good.
What about saving some space as part of a route to the river from downtown
Eugene? What about garden and building sharing the site? What happens to
the historic Agripac cannery headquarters? Is there another viable city-owned
site for a “courthouse garden” built on this concept? Has anybody talked to the
new UO president, a criminologist, about his interest in the garden?
What if a private group offered to pay $2 million for the site? One developer
told us $1.23 million is “a steal.” Is our city government truly taking the long
view for the people of this city? ■