Urban agriculture is the subject of the worksession scheduled for May 3, 2016.
City Council approved two related ordinances at it April 5, 2016 meeting: Ordinance #2016-2074, amending the Comprehensive Plan, and Ordinance #2016-2073, amending the Land Development Code.
The City has been approached by members of the Environmental Committee to consider allowing urban agriculture as a permitted use. Urban agriculture can provide health, social, economic and environmental benefits, by providing access to nutritious, locally-grown food, opportunities for community and social involvement, a wider range of economic opportunities and can contribute to decreased stormwater runoff and increased urban biodiversity.
Although similar, an urban agriculture use is not the same as a community garden use. The City Council adopted the community gardens ordinance in February 2013. A community garden is a recreational, non-commercial, not-for-profit land use. Urban agriculture is a commercial, for-profit land use. The City has not had a tradition of agricultural activity and the Comprehensive Plan does not address agriculture as a land use.
Ordinance #2016-2074:
The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment allows urban agriculture as a use in the Low Density Residential, Low Medium Density Residential, Medium Density Residential, High Density Residential, Downtown, Downtown Core, Residential/Office, Residential/Office/Retail, General Commercial, Highway Commercial, Light Industrial, Recreation/Open Space and Public/Semi-Public Future Land Use Categories. “Urban agriculture” as defined as “agricultural activity, including the cultivation, processing and distribution of plants and other food products. This use may include horticulture, indoor crop production (including aeroponic, aquaponic or hydroponic systems) and wholesale and/or retail sales. The raising and processing of livestock is prohibited.” Staff concluded that prohibiting the keeping of livestock was appropriate, as such activity could become a nuisance due to the relatively small size of City lots.
Ordinance #2016-2073:
In order to implement the proposed addition of the urban agriculture land use in the multiple future land use categories, the Land Development Code also needs to be amended to establish urban agriculture as a permitted use in the applicable zoning districts and to provide development standards to limit potential negative impacts on adjacent properties. Urban agriculture can provide health, social, economic and environmental benefits, by providing access to nutritious, locally-grown food, opportunities for community and social involvement, a wider range of economic opportunities and can contribute to decreased stormwater runoff and increased urban biodiversity.
The proposed ordinance amends the Code to allow urban agriculture as a use in the R-1, R-2, R-3, MF-10, MF-14, MF-30, C-1, C-2, Highway Commercial, Office, Downtown, Light Industrial, Government and Residential/Office zoning districts. The Planned Development District and Residential/Office/Retail zoning districts will allow urban agriculture as a permitted use without having been amended; their permitted uses are those established for other zoning districts. No parcels in the City are zoned Public/Semi-Public; municipal facilities, parks and public schools are zoned Government. The Mobile Home Park zoning district was determined to be inappropriate for urban agriculture use, due to its development characteristics. Urban agriculture is proposed to be defined in the Code with the same definition proposed to be included in the Comprehensive Plan: “agricultural activity, including the cultivation, processing and distribution of plants and other food products. This use may include horticulture, indoor crop production (including aeroponic, aquaponic or hydroponic systems) and wholesale and/or retail sales. The raising and processing of livestock is prohibited.” Staff concluded that prohibiting the keeping of livestock was appropriate, as such activity could become a nuisance due to the relatively small size of City lots.
Wholesale and/or retail sales activity is proposed to be primarily limited to the non-residential zoning districts that allow wholesale or retail sales activity, including the C-1, C-2, Highway Commercial, Downtown and Light Industrial zoning districts, although limited sales will be allowed in the residential zoning districts through the Code’s garage sale permit process. The community gardens regulations in the Code also allow garage sales in residential districts. The garage sale regulations allow one garage sale on a site within a six-month period. A garage sale permit expires 72 hours after it is issued. Indoor crop production, which includes aeroponic systems, aquaponic systems and hydroponic systems, will only be allowed in the Light Industrial zoning district, due to concerns about the visual and physical impacts of the buildings that would house these systems and ancillary activities.
The amendments include development standards intended to minimize negative impacts to adjacent properties by addressing potential visual, noise and environmental impacts. The development standards address property maintenance, equipment and material storage, chemical use, machinery and equipment operation, accessory uses, parking and trash. The proposed ordinance states that all urban agriculture uses will be subject to an application and registration process to be administered by the City’s Environment Committee and renewed on an annual basis.
The Land Development Review Board reviewed both ordinances at its March 17, 2016 meeting. The motions to approve the ordinances failed.
The proposed new language in both ordinances is shown with underlining and deleted language is shown with strikethrough.