Urban garden one step closer to reopening after vote from Des Moines zoning board

A beloved urban garden in the Woodland Heights neighborhood is one step closer to reopening to the public.

To resounding applause from neighbors and other supporters of the Woodland Realm, the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission, with a 13-1 vote, rejected a recommendation from city staff to deny its owner's request to purchase a strip of municipal right of way.

The city land extends into the garden and currently prevents Ryan Francois from finishing a 600-foot fence that the city ordered him to build last year in order to come into compliance with city code.

Right of way typically extends about a foot past sidewalks. But on High Street, where the garden sits at the northeast corner of the intersection with 24th Street, it stretches 7 to 10 feet. That's nearly a quarter of the garden's sunny, south-facing area, Francois said, and he already had been told to remove planter boxes and fruit trees that grow there.

Requests to sell or vacate rights of way are routinely granted, but city staff recommended denying Francois' request, citing concerns about access to utilities on the property. City Urban Planner Katherine Drahos denied Francois' claim he was told the city is holding onto the land in case it needs to widen High Street — an explanation that Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association President Cameron Gale said didn't make "any sense."

Commission member Chris Draper pointed to right-of-way exemptions that the city makes for commercial developers, and questioned why it would treat Francois' garden differently.

"Putting my equity hat on, I am a little concerned for proposing putting 25% to the economic viability of a citizen's plot of land into a level of uncertainty we'd likely not support if the applicant were advocating for some different type of project," Draper said. "That doesn't seem fair to me."

The commission's decision is only a recommendation. The final decision will come from the City Council.

Francois said he's speaking to a number of council members, including Josh Mandelbaum, who represents the neighborhood, and Mayor Connie Boesen. The Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association and the business association Avenues of Ingersoll & Grand have both told the city they support the Woodland Realm's return to operation.

"It's a relief for sure, but we still have City Council," Francois said after Thursday's vote. "I think we have a good chance."

Why does the Woodland Realm need a fence?

Francois is owner of Rally Cap Properties, a company dedicated to revitalizing vacant, historic properties, mostly on the west side. He purchased the half-acre lot at 601 24th St. near Ingersoll Avenue with the goal of building his first project involving new construction. But his plans for seven rowhomes encountered opposition , as neighbors worried that the added density would bring increased traffic and parking issues.

"We weren't really sure what else to do with the space. We got a lot of pushback for medium-density housing so we took some time to reassess and started gardening," he said. "It evolved from there."

Soon, the Woodland Realm was hosting gatherings with 10 to 30 attendees. Most events were free; some workshops charged fees. The revenue kept the garden afloat and paid its expenses.

Over the years, the garden, which blooms with flowers and grows vegetables, hosted events for Art Week and later served as a stop on the Peppermint Trail, the Ingersoll Avenue district's winter showcase of local businesses and shops.

But, lacking proper signage or fencing, the Woodland Realm drifted into a legal "gray area," Francois said, and eventually, a neighbor complained, saying it looked like "a homeless camp."

The city ordered Francois to build a fence and make other improvements. Francois appealed, but last November, the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied his request to waive the fence requirement and forbade the urban garden from hosting community events until it was brought up to code.

While Francois contends that a fence goes against the Woodland Realm's mission, he and volunteers have worked for months to comply, spending what he said was $18,000 on materials alone for it, signage and a storage shed.

"We pushed forward, and we've been working towards compliance," he said. "This year, I've been personally floating these expenses to try and keep this passion project alive."

William Hanson, a neighbor who had complained about the property in a written survey, told the Des Moines Register that construction of the fence took care of the issue.

"I don't care. I just picture a bunch of yuppies singing Kumbaya," Hanson said. "But I like my fence. I like the privacy."

Why didn't Francois accept offer to lease the city-owned land?

The city did offer the Woodland Realm the option to lease the land in the right of way. But Francois questioned whether a one-year or three-year agreement would guarantee the garden enough stability to make expensive infrastructure changes.

On Thursday, residents stood in line to tell the commission why they believe Francois should be allowed to acquire the land. The speakers included a member of the Des Moines Historical Society; a committee member of Invest DSM, a nonprofit that works to strengthen city neighborhoods; other urban farmers; and neighbors from throughout the Woodland Heights neighborhood.

Many acknowledged that they or their neighbors were also encroaching on rights of way.

Catherine Porter said the state owns a 20-by-20-foot triangle of her property near the Woodland Realm, so she doesn't feel as though she can make contemplated improvements. She now realizes that she also has a garden bed that lies on city land.

"I will be incredibly sad if it gets torn out," Porter said. "I will not invest any more money into this area, only where I have financial security for it. It's not worth it anymore."

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 or alathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on X at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Urban garden one step closer to reopening after vote from Des Moines zoning board