This story was originally published by Verite News.
The City Park Improvement Association, the governing board for City Park, is set to vote on a resolution to approve a new cooperative endeavor agreement that could allow the popular youth farming program, Grow Dat Youth Farm, to remain in the park.
Park officials and Grow Dat staff did not provide a copy of the draft agreement or details on what it contains. But a vote to approve the agreement is on the agenda for the CPIA’s monthly board meeting on Tuesday (Aug. 20).
The vote will come after months of community outcry over a proposed road that would have cut through Grow Dat. City Park Conversancy, the nonprofit that manages day-to-day operations of the park, pushed for the road as part of a long-term redevelopment plan for the park. After New Orleans residents began campaigning to save the farm, going as far as disrupting a public meeting to garner feedback on the master plan, City Park leadership said that it would not renew its lease.
But after sustained pushback from Grow Dat supporters, City Park began meeting with Grow Dat to discuss how they could keep the farm and youth program in the park. Now, City Park is poised to enter into a new agreement with the youth program to keep it in the park.
The park’s master planning process is ongoing, with most of the specific plans for redevelopment not yet finalized. In April, park officials announced that the process, originally set to conclude in December, would be extended to June 2025, with the park leadership saying they hadn’t heard from enough of the community about what they wanted out of the plan.
This story is developing and will be updated.