Future of farm in city’s hands
Published 9:00 am Wednesday, December 15, 2004
The council decides tonight whether to buy the Bentryn land.
Eating foods birthed from island soil offers the truest connection to the land, winemaker Gerard Bentryn said as he trudged the wet ground of his Day Road
East farm.
The vegetables and fruits growing around him can transform the very cells and fibers of an island resident, drawing them closer to their home, he believes.
“If you eat some of the broccoli or beets or drink the wine here, you’re sharing the same molecular material as the place you are standing,” Bentryn said, pointing to vegetable gardens and rows of strawberry and raspberry he allows friends and neighbors to cultivate and harvest free-of-charge.
“A coyote came through the other day. Everything about him is made from the island. But so many of us just walk on it.”
Bentryn, who plans to retire soon, hopes to sell half his farmland to the city, preserving a productive landscape that fosters more than a passing connection to the island.
Heartily endorsed by the city’s Open Space Commission, the 11.5-acre, $770,000 property will go before the City Council this evening.
Bentryn has felt the pull of developers who covet his farm, and its six feet of permeable soil, full sun exposure, ponds and panoramic views.
“It’s a totally unmatchable commodity,” he said. “It’s been very tempting to cut it up into developments.”
While he seeks a nest-egg as he turns his attention to stacks of unread books and away from operating a demanding business, Bentryn said a deal with the city to preserve the land is by far his preferred choice.
“I want to live with beauty and live in a community that cares about each other,” he said. “But I’m wearing out body parts and running out of energy. I may be forced to sell. Probably, the deal with the city is the best outcome we can hope for in an area that’s only eight miles from Seattle.”
Open Space Commission member Dwight Sutton said casting a safety net over the land will ensure that one the island’s most celebrated farmlands remains crowded with vegetables rather than condos.
“It’s the archetypical farm, Sutton said. “When people ask what we mean by farming on Bainbridge Island, we say look at the one on Day Road with all the vineyards. It’s a big part of the character of the island. It has been, historically, an open, green farm – and we want to keep it that way.”
The acquisition of the northwest portion of the farm would bring the city’s preserved agricultural lands to just over 60 acres, Sutton said.
Updated last week, the city’s Comprehensive Plan puts an emphasis on protecting local farms.
With just over 220 acres of working farmland on the island, according to county listings, city planner Steve Morse said Bainbridge has “seen a clear reduction in the amount of farmland.”
The updated plan reasserts the city’s commitment to preserving agricultural lands.
While the city’s values are clear, some of the growers using the Bentryn land are leery of having the government as the new landlord.
“It could be a dictatorship,” said Akio Suyematsu, whose family has farmed the property and surrounding lands since 1928.
Suyematsu sold the 11.5 acres and other properties to Bentryn under the condition that no houses would blight the soil.
He has farmed the area for most of his 83 years, and produces 15 tons of raspberries annually on part of the property Bentryn hopes to sell.
“I’m interested in farming, not houses,” Suyematsu said. “It’s getting out of hand and I’m not in the picture any more. There’s not many options, so I hope the city makes a promise to keep it as farms. I want to see a promise in writing.”
Sutton assures growers that the property will remain farmland.
Should farming fail, Sutton said the land would revert to open space, free of houses or other developments.
“But I can’t foresee a future there without farming,” he said.
Betsey Wittick, who lives on a nearby parcel and pastures draft horses on the land earmarked for city purchase, is wary of the land becoming a park. She said she’s witnessed various interests attempt to stake claims on the Morales Farm, purchased last year by the city on nearby Lovgreen Road.
“The parks people wanted trails, the P patch people want more P patches,” she said. “My response was: Do the farmers get a stake in all the other open space land? No one answered me.”
Wittick fears trails intersecting the Bentryn farm would interfere with production and disturb animals.
Bentryn advocates building trails around the perimeter of the property.
“It’s very hard for farming people having other people walking around, poking into the fields and machinery,” he said. “And with the ponds, it could be dangerous.”
Sutton said he understands farmers’ concerns, but believes the public should be able to enjoy public lands.
“There’s a misconception that people will be tromping around all over the farm,” he said.
“People should be able to have the experience of the farm, but not be underfoot with dogs running around. We’ll keep them out of there.”
Sutton believes some trail access to the farm could help promote agriculture on the island.
“If it’s done well, people can gain a greater appreciation for farming and have more sympathy to expand ownership,” he said.
Karen Selvar, who has grown strawberries on the property since 1980, said island farmers could use some help.
“We’ve already lost a lot of farmers,” she said. “Farmers don’t make much money and can’t buy an acre on the island when it costs $100,000. It’s not feasibly possible.”
But Selvar and Wittick are also concerned that government ownership could erase the cooperative spirit that has been one of the highlights of working the land with about six other growers.
“It’s the sense of mutual cooperation that I really love about the farm,” she said. “Akio always helps me out, and I help him with the raspberries. It’s a wonderful arrangement.
“But now we’re entering a big bureaucracy that wants to ensure the needs of a lot of other potential users.”
Sutton said the present users of the farm will be first in line to lease portions of the property.
The goal is to keep the land as a working farm and Wittick, Suyematsu and the other users are the best able and qualified to accomplish that goal, he said.
Both Sutton and the growers agree that farmers must have a hand in the administration of the land.
The city has to form a farming advisory board to help steward city’s agricultural land, Sutton said, adding that the Open Space Commission advocates having farmers included.
“It has to include farmers that can speak to their concerns,” he said.
Suyematsu – who sold the rest of his farmland to the city several years ago, with the agreement that he could continue to farm it for 10 years – said he would feel more comfortable about the future of the land knowing farmers’ voices were being heard.
“The people at the city, they don’t know the first thing about farming,” he said. “Who knows what will happen unless farmers are part of it?”
It the city purchases the property, the growers are assured of at least two years of Bentryn’s stewardship.
He will continue to lease the land from the city and maintain a vineyard that produces 30 tons of grapes annually. He will also give the growers a few more years of stability.
“I want this farm to stay,” Bentryn said. “It’s a touchstone to reality. It’s difficult to have a spiritual connection to a place if it’s not also physical. And I feel it here all the time. When I eat a raspberry from here, I can see Akio in the field and the kids at work when I taste it. I’m not just putting it in my mouth.
“I’m becoming part of this place.”
