City evicts community garden from land that’s been vacant for decades

WATCH: A Saskatoon community garden on a longstanding vacant lot is being sent out to pasture days before harvest is set to begin.

A Saskatoon community garden on a longstanding vacant lot is being sent out to pasture days before harvest is set to begin.

On Wednesday, the city’s planning, development and community services committee heard passionate pleas from members of the Rotary Community Garden Collective, who operate a community garden on 1202 19th Street West.

The group received an eviction letter on July 23rd, saying the address must be cleared of all garden material and equipment by Aug. 21 so the land, which is known to be contaminated, can be remediated and prepared for future development.

“The letter of eviction came as a complete surprise,” Miki Mappin, a coordinator with the collective said following Wednesday’s meeting.

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“It seems almost absurd the that the city would take a community garden that is doing really well in a very difficult location and give that garden 29 days notice to get out.”

The vacant lot was handed over to the city in 2001 after a tax lien was placed on it in 1993. The land, which has a current outstanding tax balance of $94,800 has remained vacant since the city took over responsibility.

From 2018 to 2023, CHEP Good Food Inc. operated a raised bed garden, before transferring it over to Rotary Community Garden Collective in 2024. However, the issues beneath the surface go back many decades.

According to city records, Imperial Oil built on the northwest corner of 19th Street West and Avenue L South in 1911. The complex included a warehouse, storage tanks, and two small frame structures.

Imperial Oil closed in 1976, and the property slowly fell into disrepair and was abandoned in 1995, along with an adjacent tank yard.

The city has long looked to redevelop the site, but environmental assessments and technical studies needed to clean up the land have proved too costly. The city says the most recent environmental investigations for the address were conducted in 2002 and identified hydrocarbon and metal impacts.

City administration applied for funding from the province to improve the site in April but was denied. Imperial Oil and the city began discussing remediation work when Imperial showed an interest in remediating its land adjacent to the city-owned land.

“This evolved very, very quickly, and the timelines from the contractors also evolved very quickly,” said Leslie Anderson, the director of planning and development.

Anderson said the work Imperial is offering to do would save the city roughly $500,000. Mappin feels the city is being forced into a decision, and it’s not working hard enough to find solutions.

“I think, council and the community are being railroaded by the administration — and I think the administration is allowing itself to be railroaded by Imperial Oil,” Mappin said.

“It’s surprising that the city departments are putting such difficulties for things that should be really simple.”

Anderson couldn’t say what could be done to salvage harvest this season for the garden.

The city said it planned to reach out and discuss options but hadn’t done so yet. One option was to put the garden equipment into storage for the winter and find a suitable location in time for 2026.

“There’s just no perfect way forward, unfortunately, where we sit today,” Mayor Cynthia Block said.

Mappin prefers the garden area to be left alone while work begins, then have it moved once another area large enough is ready. She said the group wants to keep the garden nearby and wants to avoid it being put in storage and then have it moved again to avoid losing momentum.

She says the open garden is used by many people in the area and is often a stopping ground for homeless people. She says one man who helped out many times last year has since found housing in Prince Albert and attributes his efforts on the garden last year to his success in finding safe housing.

“Rotary Community Garden is not just about growing food, it’s about growing relationships and community well-being,” said Bonnie Hellman, a supporter of the garden.

The city hopes it can complete remediation work this summer and fall and begin to redevelop the site for people “experiencing housing insecurity and help address other community social considerations.”

Regardless of the city’s goals, Mappin hopes the garden can return to its small area on the corner of the property.

“We wonder if there’s another agenda, why they want us out and why they don’t want us back in this site,” Mappin said. “Because after remediation, the site may remain empty for years until somebody decides to build on it.”