To Our Local Community,
Before hard hats, excavators or a single signed lease, The Barlow was encouraged by the community to grow into a creative campus offering local artisans the opportunity to thrive by showcasing their goods and building lasting connections with their consumers. With the support and direction of the local community, The Barlow adopted a mission “to create and maintain a well-planned, organic environment for the community to conduct business, share food and enjoy art, wine and time together.”
This mission could extend further by including a year-round Outdoor Market. Since its inception, many talented local farmers and artisan producers have approached The Barlow in hopes of finding a “home” in Sebastopol. These producers, not yet in a position to invest in “brick and mortar” establishments, and unable to secure space in the Sebastopol town square on Sundays, are left with nowhere to go in the city they love. As the vision of The Barlow Outdoor Market progressed, these farmers and producers felt assured their dreams of selling in their hometown might finally become a reality.
To that end, The Barlow applied for a use permit with the City of Sebastopol to allow for an Outdoor Market to be held within The Barlow campus on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings.
However, we have decided to postpone the permit application process to allow time for a peaceful dialogue and to bring the attention back to supporting healthy growth and fair opportunities for our local farmers and artisan producers.
With open minds and encouragement from neighbors, both The Barlow and Sebastopol Farmer’s Market have agreed to meet, along with a neutral third party, to again discuss the possibilities of collaboration.
It’s an honor to be part of this community that cares so much to provide their opinions and hopes for Sebastopol. Thank you for keeping your hearts open. We are more powerful together than we ever could be apart.
- The Barlow