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| <back | home Organic Farm at the Dalidio Ranch? by Rosemary Wilvert At the January 28 public forum on the fate of the Dalidio Ranch, 22 citizens spoke for an alternative to the owner’s planned shopping center, most advocating a large organic farm, and others adding outdoor restaurants, a flower garden, a large park with space for music and dance, a science discovery center for kids, a large regional branch library, connections with future bike paths, some small retail businesses. A “rising tide of awareness,” one speaker called it. Five citizens spoke for the shopping center, one saying Ernie Dalidio should have his way “so we don’t have to travel outside the area for discounted prices,” and another, that “we need the tax advantages for the sake of city services.” One, from Los Angeles, spoke for an amusement park with large cartoon mascots at the entrance, arcades, and slot cars, to give kids something to do “because kids are our future.” One person advocated just one box, a Target, in the area adjoining the existing shopping center. Maybe that kind of compromise would encourage this longtime farmer, Dalidio, to leave the rest of his class-one soil uncovered, to honor his roots. If we leave the amusement parks (and box stores) to Orange County, with 131 acres here, there’s room for all the other alternatives, enhancing each other, a community-enhancing space for residents and tourists alike. A Tribune article recently noted that to market our county in the competition for tourism dollars, our Visitors and Conference Bureau is proposing a tax on occupancy of lodgings in order to raise almost $2 million. Why not make SLO a more enticing – instead of more expensive – destination? If we preserve the culture and uniqueness of San Luis Obispo, the tourists will (continue to) come, all the more if we don’t undermine the retailers in another unique asset, our downtown. A quarter-century down the road when we’re no longer trucking produce thousands of miles, we’ll look on our 131-acre piece of prime agricultural land as incalculably more valuable than several more box stores. Our grandchildren will thank us for not asphalting it over. In a similar situation in Goleta, the 12-acre Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens feeds 500 families with organic produce and provides farm visits for schools and tourists. Saved from developers by Michael Ableman and a coalition of donors, including the Land Conservancy, the land is in a permanent trust. (See its story on the 33-minute documentary film “Beyond Organic,” narrated by Meryl Streep, available at the HopeDance Film Library / Store. See ad in the print issue. Also, mark your calendars: Cal Poly is bringing Farmer Ableman to speak on June 1.) Voters in San Luis Obispo rejected Dalidio’s Marketplace project in April, 2005. He then took it to the county for approval, hoping to annex the developed land later to the city. Speakers at the January forum commented that development should be by the city, not the county, because it will impact the city, and that property owners should respect the community’s values. In December, Supervisor Jerry Lenthall assembled a 15-person citizens’ advisory committee to meet six times, saying he wanted to get the views of this cross-section of the community to the full board. Following pressure from county residents and the media, its closed sessions were later opened to the public. Its January forum of public presentations, however, was not attended by most of the supervisors or committee members. (It was videotaped.) The Tribune’s opinion page has been alive with ideas for green alternatives, one letter to the editor recently adding community gardens to the mix. One way or another, let your vision for a gateway to SLO – this last prime land surrounded by development – be known to the Board of Supervisors and to all of us fortunate enough to live in our incomparable county. I hope someday to take my granddaughter for inspiration and recreation to a green place named Dalidio. Rosemary Wilvert and her husband farm their city lot in SLO with 26 fruit and nut trees, veggies, and three hens. Contact her at rwilvert@sbcglobal.net. <back | top^ |