Coalition for a Green Glendale members have signed on to oversee and maintain the site.
Landscape drawings have been completed, and about 15 people have already expressed strong interest in securing one of 20 available plots, Neighborhood Services Administrator Sam Engel said.
Interest forms have been mailed out to area residents and schools, and on Wednesday city officials hosted a small public meeting to go over the proposed project.
“I’m very happy to get started,” said Mayor John Drayman, who initially called for program.
The concept, in addition to the policy issue of community-run gardens, is scheduled to come before the City Council for review Dec. 2.
If it’s approved, and the project is successful, city officials said the agreement would likely be used as a template for other community gardens.
Drayman is pushing for a similar garden to be part of a Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project planned for the 600 block of Geneva Street, also in central Glendale.
Under the proposed provisions of the Monterey site, gardeners would put down a $20 deposit and pay $80 annually for a full plot, $45 for a half plot.
If all the half plots are delineated, the 11,000-square-foot lot can accommodate up to 45 gardeners, said Alek Bartrosouf, a board member for Coalition for a Green Glendale.
Landscape architect Guillaume Lemoine, who designed the proposed garden, said communal fruit trees would be planted along the edges in what is being considered a model for future community-run gardens.
“Once we get this one running, we can move on to bigger and better gardens,” Bartrosouf said.
Even since the concept first took shape in September, Drayman said the benefits of converting a vacant, city-owned lot into a usable community space have grown. Beyond the environmental and social virtues that come with community gardens, the project should also give struggling residents another alternative.
“It gives them an extra measure of control over their own lives and personal resources,” he said.
