No Berry Picking In July? -- Overlake Blueberry Farm In Dispute With Bellevue

BELLEVUE - Don't be fooled by the budding blueberry bushes.

Overlake Blueberry Farm, a city landmark for half a century, won't be open this summer unless a lease squabble with the city is resolved, farm managers say.

The farm, owned by the city and leased for the past 10 years to managers Ted and Nancy Harding, is mired in a lawsuit potentially muckier than the Mercer Slough bog where thousands of people flock every July to pick their own berries.

The dispute centers on the farm's familiar red barn, which the city declared unsafe in the fall. The Hardings sued the city in October, seeking an order to save the barn, which contained all the family's farming equipment.

But no court date was set, and the city condemned the building. It recently was demolished, scooped into dump trucks and hauled away.

The Hardings maintain the closing and ultimate demolition of the building, which they say came with little to no warning from the city, violated the terms of their farm lease, which recently was extended through 1994.

The city plans to build a temporary barn at the site as soon as permits are arranged, said Lori Molander, assistant city attorney.

But that might not be soon enough for the Hardings, whose farm equipment remains stored in truck trailers until a building becomes available. The Hardings say they need access to the equipment to do repairs in time to prepare for the blueberry season, which typically begins in mid-July.

The Hardings say they were locked out of the farm building for some time. All the family farm implements now are stored in a half-dozen truck trailers in the farm parking lot.

``The city's actions have made it very difficult to operate this summer,'' he said. ``They have literally destroyed the business.''

Molander responded that the Hardings themselves delayed construction of a new building by appealing the city's initial decision to condemn the barn. Negotiations to settle the squabble should be complete before U-pickers dust off their berry baskets, she said.

``Suffice it to say we are doing everything we can to make sure the farm opens on schedule,'' Molander said.

But she acknowledged she hasn't spoken to Rick Aramburu, the Hardings' attorney, for more than a month.

Aramburu said if negotiations fail, the couple will seek compensation for lost business through the courts.

``Major disputes still exist,'' he said. The city, for example, never declared the barn building unsafe when it was renegotiating its lease with the Hardings in 1989, he said.

The lease is $3,000 a year. It was raised $50 a month when it was extended for five years in 1989. It now runs through 1994.

``They were in the building for 10 years without a peep,'' Aramburu said. ``Then all of the sudden here's the city saying you've got to get out of it.''

``We were not convinced and are still not convinced that the building had to come down. We felt there could have been temporary measures to keep it up while a new building was under construction.''

Harding says the city never provided needed repairs to their building, then suddenly decided to condemn it.

``This is not Green Giant operating down there,'' Aramburu said. ``These people didn't have the money to go out and hire engineers and make plans to save what is not even their building.''

The Bellevue Parks Department maintains the 25-acre park as part of the Mercer Slough open-space area. Long-term plans call for keeping the berry farm open, but moving the berry sales area from the site to a planned farmer's market south of the Metro park-and-ride lot on Bellevue Way. Eventually, the area is to include trails and a nature center.

For now, the Hardings say, they'll continue to do what they can to prepare berry bushes for summer picking - but without equipment, not much can be done.

``All we can do is hand-prune,'' Harding said.