Laying a weathered hand on a steel-framed greenhouse " one ofseveral abandoned on his property " Jack Bodger touches what wasonce an engine of wealth and recognition for Lompoc, and for thecompany his great-grandfather conceived in the early 20thcentury.
Bodger Seeds, a division of John Bodger and Sons Co. that was soldin 2009 to a German-owned company, once provided seeds to nurseriesnationwide. Now the grounds that once brought pride to thecommunity of Lompoc is a ghost town of vacant warehouses andcommercial facilities that costs Bodger $25,000 a year toweed.
"There's nothing in there but weeds," said Bodger, referring to hisgreenhouses on the city's southwest side.
Before he can find a use for his property other than agriculture,Bodger must convince the City Council to move the urban limit lineto include his property and pave the way for zoning change anddevelopment.
City leaders have been reluctant to do that.
In May, the City Council returned the issue to the PlanningCommission. On Aug. 10, the commission tossed it back to thecouncil, voting 2-2 on whether to recommend annexing the 270 acresbelonging to Bodger and several other property owners in the BaileyAvenue corridor.
That proposal has lacked strong community support and drawn the ireof environmental activist groups who prefer that the land bepreserved.
"It's so important to look at the history of this," said JoyceHowerton, advocacy director for Santa Barbara County Action Networkand a former Lompoc mayor. "It's the only thing that hasn't changefor over 20 years that I have known (in this city). There has beenconsistent opposition to doing anything west of the city.
"That has been one of the few issues where you have a diverse groupof people on the same side of the issue. It says a lot that peoplein this community want to preserve the farmland."
At the heart of the argument is how Lompoc will develop into thefuture.
Bodger's family helped build Lompoc to prominence in the flowerseed industry. Jack Bodger said he would like to support futuregrowth in Lompoc " but his vision does not match the community, sofar.
In 2008, Bodger teamed with other property owners to create theBailey Avenue Specific Plan for development in the area and spent$350,000 doing it.
Bodger's property is bordered on three sides by residentialdevelopment, which he said is a clear indication that the city'sintent is to allow development there. He said he has no interestdeveloping the land right now, but he would like a zoning change sothe option would be available in the future.
Bodger owns 98 acres on the southern end of Bailey Avenue. Thereare 23 unused acres " property he has tried unsuccessfully to leaseout.
"We've come to a junction point in our family history," Bodgersaid. "Our family has been around here for more than 100 years, but(agriculture) is no longer our primary business."
Agricultural roots run deep in the Bodger history. A fourthgeneration Bodger, Jack's great-grandfather came to the UnitedStates via Ellis Island. He came to California by train and he usedearnings from landscaping to start a seed business. Bodger and SonsCo. began in Los Angeles in 1912, then moved to Lompoc in 1925 fora climate perfect for growing sweet peas.
Bodger's earliest memories of flowers came as a 12-year-oldtraveling to Pennsylvania to see seeds from around the world beingplanted and battle-tested against one another.
Standing in the sun for hours, the boy would plaintively watch hisdad walk rows of flowers for hours, comparing the growth anddevelopment of different seeds.
"He was out there for hours and I couldn't get it," Bodger said. "Ididn't have the maturity to understand the scrutiny he put intoeach row (of flowers)."
Bodger went from working the fields as a teenager to takingphotographs of flowers for the catalog and, eventually, up togeneral manager of the Environmental Seeds Department. He becamepresident of John Bodger and Sons Co. after his father died in2003.
The rise of "big box" retail stores like Walmart and Lowe's maderunning the company a losing battle. The demand for fast-growthseeds that were guaranteed to sprout within a week's time made itdifficult to compete.
In a move to align with the times, Bodger and Sons Co. nowspecializes in real estate management.
"We have these commercial buildings that have no use when they'reempty," Bodger said. "We're trying to find out what to do withthis. I don't think (agriculture) is the best use of theproperty."
With the debate over land use comes questions over the future ofthe city. Howerton said that the focus of developers should be oninfill, building the city from within.
"I think we're losing the community on so many different levels,"Howerton said. "The only continuity we have had since I lived hereis the farmland. You go out to look at some farm and it energizesyou. My husband's great-grandparents worked the land " it's stillhere. Now it's slowly being eaten up."
Bodger disagrees. He said the cool coastal climate and relativeseclusion and lack of traffic would make an ideal place for peopleto retire.
"Why would people want to move to Lompoc?" Bodger said. "It's got abeautiful climate, beautiful locations. This is the last stage of(a retiree's) homeowning cycle. They don't drive and the childrendon't go to school."
Councilman Bob Lingl said while he sympathized with landowners inthe area that he did not support a decision to develop the land atthis time.
"I feel like I need to stay on my original (campaign) promise onthis is prime agriculture land," Lingl said. "As far as theproperty owners, they purchased the land understanding it wasagricultural land. It could not be developed."
He said agriculture is important to the community.
"We live here because we enjoy the agricultural valley and thisclean fresh air," Lingl said. "We don't want to be Orange Countyright now."
Bodger said the city gains nothing by leaving his property outsideof city lines, but he can do nothing but wait for a councildecision.
"(Lompoc) is no longer the flower seed capital," Bodger said. "Thisis evolution, change. I see potential here as a retirementcommunity."
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