For two months in 1984, unrelenting noise pulsed from huge machines that arrived to remove the last agricultural holding that bordered the farm.
For years we had been huddled up next to each other, two small farms standing against the tide of development. Though Fairview had grown and flourished, our neighbor had given in years before. His lemon orchard, now falling to the big steel blade of the bulldozer, was a wild, derelict remnant. A certain beauty emerged from this neglect, as nature reclaimed the land in the years that the orchard was forgotten. Twenty-six acres were regaining their wildness. The land was full of life. Deer, raccoons, possum, hawks and coyotes passed through a bustling society of birds, small rodents and insects.
I fought the demise of that land, feeling feeble standing in the City Council chambers with a few other locals facing off against the highly paid lawyers for the developers. The story is always the same. Land is a mere commodity to be bought and sold, something to build on, pave over, mine or drill.
We protested the sacrifice of the richest topsoil on the entire West Coast. We cited the agricultural history of this valley, our perfect Mediterranean growing climate, the loss of farmland everywhere and the importance of small farms and local food for our children. Our voices were drowned out by housing statistics, traffic studies, and promises of parks and tennis courts, all supported by sophisticated maps and graphs.
The local newspaper acted as oracle, putting forth headlines on yet-to-be-approved projects as if they were a sure thing. "Progress Hangs Concrete Shroud on Goleta Farm," the paper solemnly confirmed. The neighbor who sold the land was quoted, predicting, "Farming is a dying profession." I had to wonder where his food came from.
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We all hear stories of the greed that undermines our global environment. Until the bulldozers are idling at your back door, it is an intellectual concept. The pain for us was real. For 58 days, an army of 300-horsepower Caterpillars and dump trucks moved and buried and leveled and graded hundreds of tons of topsoil.
