Letter Regarding Lease Termination at Majestic

Public_Letter_May26.pdf

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Dear Community Member,

We are writing to inform you that we have recently been notified by the City of Arvada that our lease for the farm site at the Majestic View Nature Center has been terminated. This lease was first signed in 2019 and in 2024 we re-signed for another 5 years with a 5 year renewal option.

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your partnership with FrontLine Farming over the years. Community and relationships are at the core of who we are, and we pride ourselves on being good partners who fulfill commitments while navigating challenging moments through communication, accountability, and thoughtful processes. We have outlined a few options below for ways to take action in support of our work in Arvada.

The decision by the City, represented by Deputy City Manager Allison Scheck and Ryan Stevenson, Director of Vibrant Communities, came as a shock to us, particularly as we had recently renewed our lease and were previously recognized for our stewardship and for supporting the food access of Arvada families. Over the past seven years FrontLine Farming has produced thousands of pounds of food annually, with 2025's season weighing in at 25,000 pounds of food! We have consistently leveraged that production into weekly donations of food to Arvada Community Table and by making organic produce available through our Community Supported Agriculture sales which have been accessed by residents using their SNAP and WIC benefits.

It was clear from our recent meetings with the City representatives that they were not interested in resolution through dialogue and have made up their minds to push us from the land. Since 2019 we have always worked in collaboration with both Majestic View Nature Center Staff and the Arvada Parks Manager to communicate and negotiate in good faith when issues have arisen. With all previous representatives we felt both mutual respect and commitment to collaboration. Since recent leadership changes, however, we have experienced repeated breakdowns in communication, disregard for our history on the land, and dismissive — at times discriminatory — treatment of our staff and leadership. New allegations and operational limits have been introduced without prior documentation or an established grievance process, and the City representatives have proceeded with programming without fully considering the FrontLine calendar (which was shared with them months ago) or consulting the communities that use the land.

As Black-led farmers and land stewards, this experience is painfully familiar. The history of Black farmers in this country is one of continually fighting to access, maintain, and remain on land while navigating unequal treatment, unstable agreements, and systems that often fail to value our labor and contributions. While organizations like ours are often asked to uphold every aspect of our agreements and operations with precision, we do not always receive the same level of transparency, responsiveness, or fair process in return. Despite repeatedly raising concerns and seeking resolution around communication, shared land use, and treatment by staff, those concerns were not meaningfully addressed by the City. Instead, while we continue tending the land, feeding community members, and attempting to navigate difficult working conditions in good faith, we were ultimately informed that our lease would be terminated this year.

Our primary concerns are:

• There has been a consistent lack of clarity around shared spaces and the need for communication between all parties before classes are scheduled, projects are initiated, or infrastructure actions are taken on the site.

• FrontLine Farming has, despite communication breakdowns, continued to engage with the City and staff in good faith, including attempts to address issues through meetings, documentation, and proposed lease amendments.

• Over the last year, the City has leveled unsubstantiated claims of lease violations against us as justification for lease termination. This is despite Ryan Stevenson previously sending written communication acknowledging that earlier claims against us stemmed from errors in internal oversight and a lack of follow-up by City staff.

• The issue surrounding the installation of an electrical wire was related to a temporary operational need connected to irrigation and infrastructure limitations on the site. While we acknowledge that we should have communicated more clearly regarding that installation, we maintain that it was not done maliciously, recklessly, or in a manner that posed the extreme danger now being suggested. Given our seven years of partnership and stewardship, we believed this issue could have been resolved collaboratively rather than used as grounds for termination.

• We have continued to endure dismissive treatment by City staff, including from senior leadership. Since the recent leadership changes, the lack of curiosity, acknowledgment, and respect shown toward our tenure on the land and our experience as farmers has been disheartening, though unfortunately not unfamiliar to many Black-led agricultural organizations navigating public systems.

FrontLine Farming has spent 6 seasons building this farm into a vibrant community resource. We have hosted plant sales, land ceremonies, educational programming, and the annual Black Family Reunion Cookout. We have welcomed hundreds of school children to the farm each season and have served dozens of CSA families annually at the Arvada site alone. We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, infrastructure, irrigation, pollinator habitat, and soil stewardship in partnership with public agencies and community organizations.

This is about more than one farm lease. It raises broader questions about who is welcomed, supported, and protected in public land partnerships, and about whether Black-led land stewardship organizations are truly given equitable opportunities to thrive.

We kindly ask our partners, supporters, and community members to write letters to the Arvada City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the City Manager’s Office expressing the vital role FrontLine Farming plays not only for Arvada, but also as an essential resource for communities across the Front Range and the state as a whole. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we would be happy to compile your letters of support and deliver them to the City. We will be at the City Council meeting on June 2nd to communicate directly with City leadership, if you are interested, please email info@frontlinefarming.org and we will ensure you receive an invitation and guidance for attending.

Please share this letter with your communities and ask local media, funders, and elected officials to request the City's documentation of the process that led to their decision.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us.

In solidarity,

FrontLine Farming