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# Executive Summary **Goal** Turn the disused gravel lot at 14 Hillside into a shared edible garden the neighbourhood can use, harvest from, and gather around. Forty-eight raised beds, a tool shed, a rainwater system and a small pavilion for monthly potlucks. **Why now** The water rights for the adjacent municipal plot expire in March, and the council can roll them into a community-garden allocation if a credible plan is filed by the end of February. **Scope** - Site survey, soil testing, drainage plan - Bed layout, accessibility paths, perennial border - Rainwater catchment + drip irrigation install - Tool shed and 12-seat pavilion - Year-one programme: planting days, kids' workshops, harvest festival # Background Lot 14 has sat behind a chain-link fence since the corner store closed in 2019. Three informal surveys (May 2025, August 2025, January 2026) found 78% of households on the four adjacent streets in favour of a community garden — well above the 60% threshold the council uses for community-use approvals. ## Site conditions Soil testing in November 2025 returned acceptable lead and arsenic levels (both under the EPA residential threshold), but the gravel layer means raised beds are mandatory rather than optional. Drainage runs east-to-west across a 1.4% slope, which we'll work with rather than against. ## Approach A two-season build. Season one (March–June 2026) puts beds, paths and the rainwater system in place. Season two (July–October 2026) adds the pavilion and the perennial border, by which point the first harvests are happening and we can read what the neighbourhood actually uses. # Deliverables | Phase | Output | Effort | | --- | --- | --- | | Survey | Soil report, slope map, sun chart | 12h | | Design | Layout drawings, planting plan, materials list | 28h | | Build (S1) | Beds, paths, rainwater, drip lines | 84h | | Build (S2) | Tool shed, pavilion, perennial border | 56h | | Programme | Workshops, festival, year-one calendar | 24h | | Total | | 204h | # Pricing The fixed price for the scope above is **$48,400** including materials, excluding the optional rainwater cistern ($3,800). Payment in four milestones: 20% on signature, 25% at end of design phase, 35% at end of season one, 20% at handover. # Risks - **Late frost** — March planting carries a 1-in-5 chance of a frost event after bed install. Mitigation: row covers in the bed kit. - **Water rights** — if the rights are not renewed by the council, fall back to the cistern + greywater plan. - **Volunteer turnover** — the year-one programme assumes 12 active volunteers. Below 8, the harvest festival becomes a smaller community lunch instead. # Next steps 1. Council sign-off on this proposal — by 28 February 2. Soil-amendment delivery — week of 9 March 3. Bed-build day — Saturday 21 March 4. First plantings — week of 30 March
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