Fair Haven Resident Fights for Red Bank Gardeners

For the past year resident Cindy Burnham has been fighting alongside Red Bank gardners to win approval from the borough of Red Bank to plant a community garden in a desirable waterfront location. Last week the council gave the group a solid maybe.

Well, it's something at least.

As the Red Bank Community Garden Committee's pleas to locate a garden at 94 W. Front St. were roundly rejected by borough council Wednesday night, again, a glimmer of riverside hope emerged when the idea of locating plots at nearby Maple Cove was introduced. 

Though the introduced a resolution championing a community garden, just at an east side location surrounded by residential properties, the gardeners were able to present the idea of planting at Maple Cove, a small piece of riverside land bookended by the and home builder K. Hovnanian. Give us a year, they asked, to which, surprisingly, the council did not immediately say "no."

Instead, the council asked the gardeners to first consider the site on Marion Street and, if they're adamant about locating the garden at Maple Cove, present a complete plan for the alternative site, along with any necessary approvals that might be needed from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

How long it would take to get the necessary approvals for the Maple Cove site, if approvals are necessary - there was some division among the group as to this uncertainty - remains to be seen. It's nearly April, and again, the gardeners still don't have a site, making the prospect of planting this season less and less certain as time goes on.

Though there seemed to be some progress, at least the appearance of progress, Wednesday night's meeting included many of the same arguments between the council and the gardeners that have been going on for more than a year. The gardeners ask for 94 W. Front St. and the council says no. When the gardeners ask why, the council, essentially, says "because."

It's really not much more complicated than that. The borough wants to protect its interest in one of its few remaining, undeveloped, waterfront properties. Gardeners loved the site because of its central location right in downtown Red Bank where it can attract the most attention. In order to put the issue to bed, the council approved a resolution in June officially denying the gardeners' request to locate at their prized location.

Still, however, the issue hasn't gone away.

At Wednesday meeting the gardeners, led by Fair Haven resident Cindy Burnham, were back at it.

"We have to start somewhere where people are able to see it," Burnham said, echoing the sentiments of established garden planters who say the key to community garden success is showcasing the garden. "This lot (94 W. Front St.) is perfect. It's underused, it's being encroached on by invasives (plant growth), and it's accessible to a lot of people."

Again, no.

But, should the gardeners produce the plan they need to locate at Maple Cove, perhaps settling won't be so bad.