Sustainable Agriculture vs Sustainable Energy

It's high noon for the East Quarter Community Garden where almost 100 people that grow organic crops are hoping the town does not offer to lease the land they farm to a company for a solar array.

"Are we, as a town, using the land in the best way possible for the largest number of people," asks Cherrie Corey, one of the founding members of the garden group that blossomed in the last year on about an acre and a half of land that was once fallow and overgrown with weeds.

"The town gave us its blessing to create this," said Corey as she swept her arm over the plots of land bursting with tomatoes, corn, herbs and flowers. "We have put in an unbelievable effort to work the soil, put in an irrigation system, and create goodwill."

But Town Manager Chris Whelan said the Old Bedford Road land was purchased by the town for the purpose of building playing fields.

"The land proved too wet to develop for playing fields inexpensively.," said Whelan on Monday. "And we couldn't get a farmer to till it for 4 or 5 years, until 2009.  I agreed to allow a community garden to be located there last year and did so again this year, even after Town Meeting authorized the lease of the site of solar electric power generation."

East Quarter has gone from 18 plots last year to 52 this year, and now there is a waiting list. Corey said there are gardeners from Revere, Belmont and other areas outside Concord, and together they have bonded over planting tips, mulch and watering. One plot uses old ski poles and broom handles to stake its tomatoes.

"It's phenomenally productive for a field that was fallow for four years," said Corey.

But now the garden is threatened with having to move to accommodate the solar array. The town's solar committee has identified the land as appropriate for the panels, as well as the site at the wastewater treatment plant. Other places, such as the former town dump, were ruled out.

Whelan said if the bids are favorable and the solar project moves forward, "we will find another suitable location for the community garden."

He said the solar project requires 7 to 10 acres of land, whereas a community garden can be located on a parcel as small as an acre or a half-acre.  "There are literally hundreds of acres of publicly-owned land in the Old Bedford Road area and we should be able to locate one or more sites for a garden," said Whelan.

The wastewater treatment site would utilize the area where the filter beds, cell towers, and storage area is now, Whelan said.

"This is pretty well removed from most residences, and the solar panels will be quiet and low, so hopefully the neighborhood impact will be minimal," he said. "We committed at Town Meeting not to disturb the organic farming that has been taking place there for 20+ years.  We made no similar commitment on the Ammendolia site regarding the farming that started 15 months ago at that site."

Whelan said to get the best, or lowest, price for power, vendors will want to install one megawatt or more of capacity. He said it takes about seven acres per megawatt.

"These two sites seem to have about 5 acres each, so I am hoping that between the two, we will have a viable site for a vendor," Whelan said.

Corey said the former Nuclear Metals site might be considered once it is reclaimed enough for light industry. She said it would make the land useful again. It would "redeem the land."

"For sustainability, this is a great model," said Corey of the organic garden that sprung up almost overnight.

But sustainability is also a watchword for the solar committee, which says a solar array could be translated into electricity to the town and become a model for other "green" communities. The two town parcels were identified after a survey of all parcels of five acres or more with no buildings. Town Meeting approved the two sites.

Companies that want to bid are visiting two town-owned sites on Tuesday.