Written by Council received an interesting letter on the Kennydale Blueberry Farm, suggesting some possible new uses and identifying how we have extrapolated an initial request for a rezone into an area-wide rezone request. The letter is shown below. (Please click on it to enlarge it). I would sure like to find a way for the city to purchase this property, at fair value for the owner of course, for a park, a pea patch, or open space.
Biologists have identified this property as a special kind of Peat Bog, known as a Fen. CLICK HERE for the Wikipedia definition of a Fen. A fen differs from a bog, in that it is fed by underground springs instead of surface streams.
While I am not a biologist, and I may not have this exactly precise, it appears that the Blueberry Farm is a fen which maybe for centuries has collected underground water from the local surrounding basin (roughly bounded by Jones Road and Edmonds Ave), and enabled this water to bubble up to the surface through the living peat mass and form the headwaters for Kennydale Creek. I’m personally wondering if our installation of a major new storm drain system for this entire basin a few years ago has led to the multi-year drought at the blueberry farm. If so, perhaps we could find alternate ways to restore some of the flow of water back to the farm, if appropriate.
In any case, if the city has in any way harmed the owners of the Blueberry farm, we need to be sure we make them whole again. (It is possible that we have done the worst thing, which is making the property not work as a blueberry farm or for development.) And if the farm contains some unique geology, we should look for ways that the community can celebrate, enjoy, and protect that.
Since I am not a biologist, I will look forward to hearing from some experts in this field for their recommendations on this property.
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