Land Ownership and Challenges of Not

 I have lived on the same little acre of land in a cute but unassuming 800 square foot home for 15 years. Although we are just renters, we have managed to make the place our home in every way. My kids were raised here and our apricot and peach trees have grown from tiny seedlings to full fledged producing trees.  We converted the 650 square foot garage into a successful retail floral business and have grown a diversity of flowers on this property to support that business. We have maintained the landscape and created a whimsical and fun agricultural environment. We have raised horses, a few head of cattle, kept laying hens, turkeys and ducks. We have even harvested olives from the very large 75 year old (at least) mission olive trees on the property. And yet we are just tenants, renters, serfs.

Last year the Landowner, came to us with a notice that he was raising our rent and building a second home on the property. Our Democrat led legislature has determined that there is a "housing crisis" and to combat this so called crisis, they relaxed zoning and have even encouraged development of the smallest residential lots with additional dwelling units. Our landlord decided to take advantage of this and built a 1000 square foot home on "our" backyard. We lost our riding arena, 3000 square foot flower and herb gardens and our privacy. Our sense of place has been disrupted and we have been reminded that we are merely tenants. Because we pay rent, we have rights to the house, but because we only pay rent, we do not have rights to a home. This is California's real crisis.

This is over development, cloaked in the cape of social services. This is profit over people and the environment. The goal of this legislative effort is urbanization. The conversion of rural and semi-rural communities into slums. 

My family is not the only victims of this ill fated effort. Farmers throughout the region are facing eviction and displacement due to increased development pressures. And it is not just housing development that tenant farmers are challenged by. Warehouse development to provide storage and distribution of cheep and convenient stuff to the masses is also a huge problem. Amy's Farm, a decades old educational and production farm lost their lease after the landowner decided a cash payout for warehouses was a better business decision than local and sustainable food production was.

Currently, Corona Farms, another well established family run farm with 2 years left on their lease, face an uncertain future as their landlord has decided to cash in on the high cost of land by selling the land in which Corona Farms has built a sound and healthy business on. 

I could point out another dozen catastrophic situations tenant farmers face across the region and state. And yet, our legislature turns a blind eye to these issues. All the while small businesses, families and local food security suffer. 

I am not a Republican or Democrat and this article is not intended to pick a political side. Ultimately, the major political parties are two arms of the same beast. I do hope that the consumer and the voter consider what each candidate does and says, and how this might impact our communities and our food system.