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Ohana Kuleana off the market How did Durango’s only community garden fall into private hands? by Jonathan Romeo
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hana Kuleana, Durango’s only community garden, is off the market – for now. In the few past months, the future of the community garden has been in question after La Plata County sold the land as part of a contractual agreement put in place a decade ago with Bob Lieb, a Durango resident and developer. After initial attempts to conserve the property faltered this summer, Lieb then listed the 1.2-acre parcel in north Durango for nearly $1 million for private development. Lieb, 80, did not respond to requests for comment on this story. But recent efforts may save the lush garden, nestled in a residential area in the 2900 block of East Sixth Avenue. After a failed attempt to have the City of Durango purchase the property and take over management, a group of dedicated gardeners are heading a grassroots fundraising effort to purchase Ohana Kuleana, in an attempt to forever conserve it. The asking price, and deadline to raise the funds, remains up in the air, said Chris Paulson, one of the lead organizers for Ohana Kuleana. But Paulson, who said she has been in direct talks with Lieb, is hopeful the two sides can work on an agreement that would save the garden from development. “We’re definitely moving forward,” Paulson said. “We’re not giving up.” To the highest, and only, bidder So how did Durango’s only community garden fall into private hands? La Plata County first obtained ownership of the land, within city limits, in the 1930s. By the 1950s, county records show it was deeded to Durango School District 9-R for use solely as a playground or for recreation. One condition of that agreement, however, was the land would revert back to La Plata County ownership if 9-R no longer needed it, which happened in the early 2000s. By 2010, the county was actively trying to sell off the land. According to county records, then-County Commissioners Kellie Hotter, Joelle Riddle and Wally White called for proposals for the property, but only one interested party emerged – Lieb, under the name of his company, Durango Threadworks. It should be noted Lieb served as a county commissioner from 2000-08. At the time, Lieb championed the use of the land as an organic urban farm, after a proposal for affordable housing was shot down by adjacent neighbors. “I’ve said this 100 times, and I’ll say it 101 times, the concerns of the neighbors will be taken care of entirely,” Lieb said at a January 2010 county meeting. “I want this to be their project. I’m committed to that.” Commissioners approved a contract
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Chris Paulson, one of the organizers for Ohana Kuleana Community Garden, said a grassroots effort has started to help raise funds to buy the garden, located in the 2900 block of East Sixth Avenue. Recently, the property was sold from La Plata County to Bob Lieb, who helped start the garden about a decade ago. Lieb has expressed he wants the property to remain a garden, but hasn’t taken private development off the table./ Photo by Jonathan Romeo with Lieb that allowed him to lease the land for 10 years at a rate of $3,600 a year. At the end of the contract, Lieb would then have the option to purchase the property for a non-adjustable price of $300,000. Both Riddle and White did not return calls seeking comment for this story. Hotter, whose last name is now Gosney, said in an interview this week, “The intention was very pure, and sometimes things look different down the road.” “I wouldn’t say that it wasn’t a good decision,” she said. “At the time, the way it was crafted (the contract) made sense. And, (Lieb) was the only one who stepped up and cared to do anything with (the property).” And so Ohana Kuleana (which Lieb named and means “community responsibility” in Hawaiian) opened in 2013 and has since grown to offer about 40 plots for community members, with an additional six reserved for students at the nearby Riverview
Elementary School. Led for years by the Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, the garden is now run by a group of six or so involved members. Concerns over the future of Ohana Kuleana, however, started to snowball after the county and Lieb’s contract expired in fall 2020, and Lieb, with the option to buy for it $300,000, did just that. Over the past 10 years, county records show, the land grew in value to nearly $1 million. But the new set of county commissioners, hamstrung by the 2010 contract, were unable to adjust the price or change any conditions of the sale. “For future commissioners, I hope we look to try to keep those resources in public hands going forward,” then-Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said at the time. County spokesman Ted Holteen said that commissioners in 2010 likely decided to sell the property because there was no benefit to the public to keep it or a viable use for county development.
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Lieb, for his part, said he put about $300,000 of his own money into improving the land, and addressing issues with storm water runoff and other infrastructure needs. While showing a preference to keep the grounds a community garden, Lieb has never outwardly said in public the land would be invulnerable from any sort of private development. “I don’t want it to be condos. I don’t want it to be houses. I don’t want it to be anything other than what it is forever,” Lieb said in November 2020. “But all the pieces have to fall in place.” More than a garden For many, Ohana Kuleana has become more than a place to grow some vegetables in the summer – it’s a social gathering spot, a break from the stresses of daily life, a place to reconnect with nature. Aside from private plots, the grounds are covered with pollinator plants and medicinal herbs. Volunteers even built a modest amphitheater
