Sweet Tooth Farm owner wants to preserve her original garden
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The garden where Sweet Tooth Farm started. Photo: Courtesy of Monika Owczarski
An urban farmer who has leased a former Des Moines pocket park for nearly a decade is trying to keep her farm as the city considers selling the land.
Why it matters: Monika Owczarski, who runs Sweet Tooth Farm and helps provide homegrown food to low-income families, has had a complicated history with Des Moines since officials sold other parcels of land she was farming.
Flashback: Formerly known as Royal Park, the quarter-acre plat at 1809 Eighth St. in the River Bend neighborhood was run-down and drawing complaints from neighbors. Owczarski, who lives next door, suggested using the space for a garden, and in 2017, the city agreed to vacate it and lease it to her.
- In 2018, Owczarski expanded her operations to include Central Place Industrial Park, growing her garden operation to more than an acre.
- Though she wanted to purchase the expanded garden, the city ended up selling the Central Place land to a developer in 2021, who never followed through with construction plans. Now, the city is in court trying to reclaim the abandoned property, per the Register.
So when Owczarski learned the city plans to sell the land she gardens on once her lease is up in June, she committed to doing everything she could to purchase it.
- "When you've been burned so much in the past, it just makes it hard to not be worried it's going to happen again," Owczarski says.
State of play: After her lease ends, the Des Moines City Council will consider putting the parcel up for sale, per Parks and Recreation director Ben Page.
- Owczarski is asking for the first right of refusal and says she'll pay full market value.
What they're saying: City Council member Rob Barron says he understands the city's pressure to sell the land for revenue, given the state's property tax limits.
- But he sees value in preserving the space for urban gardening, especially with the Reichardt Community Recreation Center opening nearby.
- "I'm optimistic that we can do something," Barron tells Axios.
The big picture: Beyond the Royal Park land, the city is also considering selling unused land that was part of Bates Park, also in the River Bend neighborhood.
What's next: The Parks and Recreation Board will consider the future of the land during its March 24 meeting.
- The City Council will consider the sale process.