College Gives Farm a Reprieve

Thursday was supposed to be the day that Cicero Farms, well, bought the farm.

But on what would have been the farm’s last day of business, Pierce College and Los Angeles Community College District officials agreed to let farmer Joe Cicero stay on the land at least until his crops are harvested. College officials have been trying to force Cicero off 15 acres of land he has been renting for five years.

“The meeting was very successful for me and for the community,” Cicero said shortly after returning from a hastily called meeting with Pierce College President Lowell Erickson, district Vice Chancellor Neal Yoneji and other officials.

Early in October, district officials informed Cicero that his contract would not be renewed and that bids would not be solicited for use of the land. He was ordered to vacate his farm by midnight Thursday.

“I knew when I received the letter, it was literally impossible . . . to move,” Cicero said. The news left Cicero and his supporters bewildered and angry.

But early Thursday morning a glimmer of hope shined on what had promised to be a dreary day for the farmer.

Cicero Farms will be allowed to “remain on the Pierce College property so that they can sell their remaining crops,” Erickson said. But, he added, “They will not be selling Christmas trees at this site.”

Also, the school will accept bids for a new contract on the land and will allow Cicero to make an offer. If the farmer is not awarded the contract, he will be given at least three weeks to remove his property from the land, Erickson said. An exact date for the bidding has not been determined.

The school has no immediate plans for the property but is conducting a land-use study for the site, district officials said.

Cicero attributed his eleventh-hour reprieve to public outcry. Cicero Farms has become an institution in the San Fernando Valley, popular among shoppers seeking fresh produce and schoolchildren who pick pumpkins and go on hayrides.

“I don’t think we would have gotten the vice chancellor out here if there wasn’t so much public concern,” Cicero said. “The people are outraged.”

Supporters have flooded the farm with phone calls and letters and others have written to school officials, Cicero said. Some handed out business cards around the farm and campus promising to “Vote Out Incumbent Candidates” if the farm was not saved.

Erickson agreed that community concern played a role in the last-minute decision.

“That was certainly a factor,” he said. “We also felt that some of the issues that Mr. Cicero brought up were valid ones, such as the fact that he still had crops to harvest. . . . We thought we ought to sit down and talk about it and come to an agreement so that’s what we did.”

Those at the farm Thursday had thought their visit would be the last.

“We were all just talking about it,” said Jo Zeitouni, a parent chaperon with students on a field trip from Woodlake School. “I feel terrible. . . . We live in the city, but we need a farm.”

If the farm closed, “I wouldn’t feel very good,” said Zeitouni’s 5-year-old daughter, Kaley. “I’d miss it.”

At least some of the workers had prepared for the worst.

Jean Reinhart, who performs as a clown at the farm, had thought Thursday would be her last day of work. “I brought my camera to take some pictures,” she said. “I brought two rolls of film.”

It will take about a month for Cicero to harvest his corn crop.