The gardeners were at the March 22 Sunnyvale City Council meeting to support their cause and encourage the council to approve a study of potential sites, with special focus on the vacant lot at the corner of Charles Street and Olive Avenue.

The gardeners want the space because it is centrally located in Sunnyvale, has ample open space and would make the community garden a part of the city hall block.

According to the gardeners, it is also a better site to meet the goals of the Satterberg Foundation, a Seattle-based philanthropic group that plans to give the city $40,000 to build community and senior gardens. Charles Street is in the heart of Sunnyvale and has ample parking for visitors.

But the city purchased that land intending to expand the civic center campus.

The current state of the economy, however, has stalled any expansion plans, and the lot has been left open.

The lot is part of the city's "land-banking" sites, and if it is not used for city buildings, there is talk of selling the land for revenue. But the gardeners would like to see it used for growing, if even temporarily. Several councilmembers said they wanted to find a location where a garden could be kept permanently.

"The thing that we need to do is make the gardens successful and have them in a place where we won't have to take it down and move it to another area," Vice Mayor Ron Swegles said.

The council approved the city study with a 5-1 vote, with Mayor Dean Chu voting against the motion. Councilman Otto Lee was absent from the meeting. The city is going to institute a study of several city sites, including the Charles Street lot. The council even spent a half hour discussing how the acreage on the Charles and Olive space would be specifically divided if it were selected for use.

If the Charles site is selected, the city council would give the gardeners five years to use the land before reevaluating the issue. The council could then use the site for other uses, if needed, or renew the space for community gardening.

Master Gardener Josh Salans, head of the gardeners, said the Charles Street site is so perfect that they'd rather only have five years to garden there than have a perpetual site elsewhere. He said he hopes that five years in the heart of downtown would help bring more gardening sites to the city.

In addition to seniors and other gardeners, the gardening group hopes to inspire young people to get their hands dirty in a community plot.

Laura Coatney, 17--whose mother, Starr Coatney, and grandmother, Marline Brodeur, are both in the group--wants to use a potential site at Charles Street for her Girl Scout Gold Award. She wants to make an outdoor classroom area--possibly with tree stump seats--to teach children and other scout troops about gardening.

"A lot of people my age aren't really into gardening, but hopefully my troop could help more kids get involved," Coatney said.

A plot of land in the Orchard Heritage Park was also discussed as a possible site, but a number of concerns were raised. C.J. Olson--local orchard legend and caretaker of the land--told the council that the trees there are sprayed with pesticides twice a year, and that would not allow for true organic gardens as the Sunnyvale Sustainable Gardeners envision.

There is also talk of a possible site on the John W. Christian Greenbelt in north Sunnyvale, but Salans and the group said the site was too far removed from the center of the city to be easily accessible for all, and it would instead make a better neighborhood garden in the future.

With the study approved, the future of the garden is now in the city's hands. The gardeners must wait for the study to be completed before they can dig their hands into any potential sites.

"We look forward to a resolution, and getting started with gardening," said Starr Coatney. "That's what it's all about."