City Council Scraps Plan for Downtown Farmers Market

City officials have again shelved a plan to bring a farmers market to the closed off area of Washington Boulevard downtown.

Instead, the council has instructed city staff to pursue developing the half-acre site between Culver Boulevard and Main Street as a town square where such activities as outdoor art shows and festivals could be held.

Expressing concerns about increased traffic and whether the site should be overlaid with a gravel-like substance, the council voted 3-2 last week to reject the farmers market at the closed-off area. City officials will explore other locations for such a market.

The city first proposed a market on the site in February. Council members voted to pave over the closed-off Washington Boulevard area to make room for the market. On March 14, however, the council reconsidered the idea because of concerns about the loss of grass. A farmers market on grass, said community development director Mark Winogrond, would be too expensive because of maintenance costs. Rain would also leave the ground muddy, making a mess for vendors and customers.

The Community Development Agency then proposed covering the grass on the site with “decomposed gravel,� which is granite crushed to a gravel-like consistency. But council members last week balked.

“It’s like walking on Kitty Litter,� said Councilman Steven Gourley. “For God’s sake, don’t let them put that gravel there. Just make it attractive, a place where people want to come.�

The annual operating cost of a farmers market, Winogrond said, would be $14,000, which would be paid by the city’s redevelopment agency. The agency would derive $6,000 annually from the market.

In his report, Winogrond pointed to the success of Santa Monica’s farmers market, and said that holding a farmers market in the heart of Culver City would attract more people to the other downtown businesses.