WARREN, Mich. – A community garden in South Warren is now fighting for its survival after struggling to reach an agreement with the city.
They also learned that the city is considering rezoning and selling the property to developers.
The South Warren Community Garden, run by non-profit Urban Seed, sits on a vacant city-owned lot on Toepfer Road near Schoenherr Road. Its current lease is set to run out in early June.
How it started
Urban Seed launched the garden last year after the city offered the group the vacant Toepfer Road lot under a one-year lease.
Urban Seed already operates a flagship garden in Eastpointe that has been running for more than a decade.
South Warren was meant to be an expansion.
Annie Saintclair lives directly across the street from the garden.
She said watching the lot come to life was really special.
“Last year, when I saw Urban Seed coming in, I was so excited because these lots have been vacant for so very long,” Saintclair said. “I’ve seen this neighborhood transition so much, and this garden is exactly what a community needs.”
The lease negotiations stalled — then took a sharp turn
Since October 2025, organizers have been trying to lock in a long-term lease with the city to give the garden some stability.
John Hofmann with Urban Seed said the group spent months waiting, only to be blindsided.
“We didn’t end up receiving the first draft of it until March,” Hofmann said. “And then April 1 is when they disclosed that they intend on rezoning and selling the property for development.”
The proposed lease also came with new restrictions.
Under the new terms, the garden would no longer be allowed to operate its produce stand, a cart that lets residents take weighed and logged vegetables, and exterior lighting would be restricted, which organizers say is needed for safety.
Jeffrey Matheus, head of the South Warren Community Garden, said the new terms were a step backward.
“When this new lease came, it was even more restrictive,” Matheus said.
He said the group’s relationship with city hall has been difficult from day one, but they kept pushing forward anyway.
“Even our original lease was very restrictive. It was hard to get, and it kind of had to be forced through on bad terms,” Matheus said. “We thought, we’ll prove ourselves.”
That goodwill, he said, has not been returned.
“We had one meeting with the Mayor, and everything seemed great last year, and then it’s just been a downward trajectory ever since,” Matheus said.
City says it’s working toward a long-term plan
Warren issued a statement to Local 4 saying the city has been working on a long-term plan for community gardens, but said zoning and enforcement remain the biggest hurdles.
“The city has provided multiple proposals and remains engaged in discussions to continue the garden in a way that is sustainable, consistent, and fair to the entire community,” the statement reads.
“The City of Warren recognizes the positive impact community gardens play in neighborhoods. I am encouraged by the strong support this project has received from residents.
My administration has been actively working with local organizers to establish a longer-term agreement. At the same time, the City has been working toward a broader solution by developing a Community Garden Ordinance.
The goal is to create a framework that allows community gardens to operate independently and consistently across the city, rather than relying on one-off agreements.
The biggest challenge in drafting a community garden ordinance is that our zoning ordinances are written relative to a dwelling.
Since vacant lots no longer have dwellings, Warren has no means of enforcing blight or addressing mismanagement.
In drafting either a Community Garden Ordinance or a contract, the language needs to be consistent with the application of the zoning ordinance to other parcels.
The original agreement with the South Warren Community Garden drafted in 2025 was a pilot project for the City of Warren for the purpose of establishing the necessary ordinance language.
The City provided a one-year lease for $1 and covered water and sanitation costs to help get the project established.
This allowed us to learn from the experience while working toward a broader policy framework.
As discussions moved forward, the City worked to develop a longer-term agreement and offered an extension consistent with City practices. The City does not typically enter into agreements exceeding 10 years.
Throughout this process, multiple drafts were exchanged, and the City made efforts to accommodate reasonable requests.
However, additional requests were introduced that expanded the scope of the agreement beyond what can be supported under existing standards.
These included requests related to number of structures, lighting, site activity, and food handling and storage.
Some of these requests could be accommodated, while others were not consistent with City policies or with how ordinances are applied and enforced across residential properties.
For example, food must be properly managed and removed to prevent attracting wildlife or rodents that could impact surrounding properties.
South Warren Community Garden’s accusations that the City of Warren has refused to provide an agreement are not accurate.
The City has provided multiple proposals and remains engaged in discussions to continue the garden in a way that is sustainable, consistent, and fair to the entire community.
Warren Mayor Lori Stone
What the garden is asking for
Urban Seed is offering to purchase the property outright, and the city could retain the right of first refusal, meaning if the garden ever closes or the organization dissolves, the city can reclaim the land.
Hofmann said the ask is straightforward.
“We don’t want the property. We just want to be safe. We just want some sort of autonomy and stability,” Hofmann said.
For Hofmann, this fight is also personal.
“This is quite literally the neighborhood I grew up in,” Hofmann said.
Matheus said he is struggling to understand the resistance from city leaders.
“It’s heartbreaking. I feel very torn about all this,” Matheus said. “I don’t understand the hate on something that is so universally beloved.”
Saintclair, who has watched the garden grow from her front door, had a direct message for city leadership.
“Mayor, come on, talk to us, please. Look us in the eye. We are not just here to aggravate you. We are here to feed people and provide a community need,” she said.
What happens next
The garden direct-seeded its first crops this past Sunday. If no agreement is reached by late May, they say they will begin breaking down the garden.
Urban Seed also received a $10,000 grant from Whole Foods to help expand the South Warren garden. That money is now on hold pending the outcome of negotiations.
The non-profit is on the agenda for the Warren City Council meeting on April 28.
Supporters plan to attend and are inviting community members to show up.
If a deal cannot be reached, Matheus said the group will look elsewhere, but the door remains open.
“We will try to do it somewhere else and just redouble our efforts in a place that cares more about its people,” he said. “I think at this point it’s really just going to be on the community to say whether they need and want us here, and whether the mayor and the city departments will listen to that.”