Garden Power

People are Connecting with Nature and Each Other as the City Encourages Building More Community Gardens

The City of Santa Barbara manage two community gardens, including Yanonali Community Gardens | Credit: Randi Baird

This story originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Green Guide 2025/26,
a collaboration publication between ‘Santa Barbara Independent’ and ‘Bluedot Living‘.

Ricardo Venegas may be the perfect person to run a community garden. The longtime neighborhood outreach coordinator for the City of Santa Barbara is a natural green thumb, tending to a dozen fruit trees at his home ― cherimoyas, persimmons, figs, grapefruit.

Warm and affable, Ricardo is also a through-and-through people person, a requirement when working with a diverse group of gardeners in a limited public space. He started his career mentoring gang members and now oversees the Santa Barbara Arts Alliance, a program that helps city youth spearhead service projects like graffiti abatement, neighborhood clean-ups, and public murals.

On a recent Thursday, Ricardo stood among the 47 plots of Rancheria Community Garden and remarked on the array of edible plants growing there. In addition to the standard fare of corn, lettuce, and beans, he pointed to a stand of lemongrass, some Mexican pepperleaf, and a small area dedicated to herbal tea and Indian spices.

“It’s a great way to exchange food and culture,” Ricardo says of the community cross-pollination that naturally occurs in such a place. “For a lot of people, it’s an escape. It’s disconnected from national politics and the stresses of everyday life.”

Rancheria’s plots ― like the 85 others across town at Yanonali Community Garden ― are 10 feet by 20 feet, larger than at most public gardens. Two of them are raised for those with limited mobility. They’re almost always all full, so to cut down the waiting list and increase access, the city recently enacted a few rule changes.

The plots at Yanonali Community Garden are 10 feet by 20 feet, larger than at most public gardens. | Credit: Randi Baird

Plots are now limited to one per household, and abandoned spaces choked with weeds are more quickly reclaimed. “Some people are excited about it, but then get turned off by the work and maintenance,” Ricardo explains.

The majority of gardeners live within a half-mile of their plots, and most make the trip by foot. At Rancheria, on their own accord, they’ve added a picnic table, a hammock, and a few benches. “It’s like a little park,” Ricardo says, where families bring their kids for sunshine and fresh air. One plot was divided between tomato vines and a makeshift play area with two small stools and smattering of toys.

Ricardo Venegas runs the community gardens for the City of Santa Barbara with a green thumb and a friendly, inclusive manner. | Credit: Courtesy Ricardo Venegas

At the moment, two community gardens are all the city can manage, says Ricardo, who often personally helps gardeners spruce up and protect their plots. He recently assisted a woman hoping to fend off a family of raccoons with some new fencing and helped build a tool shed now stocked with shovels, rakes, and hoes.

Funding is tight, he explains, and resources are limited. As a community service, roughly 90% of the program is subsidized by the Parks and Recreation budget. In fiscal year 2022, for example, the annual rental fee for a garden plot was $67, and the total revenue from rent was $9,782. The cost to manage and operate the program, however, was $70,659, with $12,636 in water, $1,000 in materials and supplies, and $66,805 in administration and oversight, which includes management of the rental process and fee collection, weekly inspections, repairs, and ongoing maintenance of the common areas and infrastructure.

To encourage residents to develop their own community gardens, Santa Barbara has a process for making such spaces official. They’re permitted in all zoning districts (except the coastal zone) and even allow animals like bees, chickens, and rabbits, as long as regulations are followed. Gardens are limited to a half-acre in size and must operate only between dawn and 30 minutes before sunset.

Among the other requirements are creating an operational plan with insurance and lease agreements; designating a person who will serve as liaison between gardeners, property owners, and the city; identifying a landscape plan that includes irrigation, grading, and any structures; and describing efforts to engage with schools, neighborhood organizations, service providers, or other nonprofit organizations to offer access.

It’s a process that requires commitment and patience, but the benefits pay dividends far beyond fruits and vegetables. “Gardens offer a lot of value to the city and the community just by being here,” Ricardo says. “They’re places where people can meet one another, trade recipes, and exercise,” not to mention reduce Santa Barbara’s carbon footprint. “They’re places of healing.”

For more information on how to start your own community garden, visit santabarbaraca.gov.