Chapter 6.2
Food Security and Sovereignty

• ALL
• Remove Code Barriers
• Create Incentives
• Fill Regulatory Gaps

Permit Commercial Agricultural Activities in Urban/Suburban Areas and Allow Them to Satisfy Open-Space Requirements

INTRODUCTION

This recommendation consists of two ordinances to permit commercial agricultural activities in certain districts and encourage such activities by allowing them to qualify for open-space requirements. While commercial agricultural operations have historically been prohibited in urban and suburban areas, they represent a possible avenue to bringing fresh, local produce to more areas. Urban and suburban commercial agricultural operations take many forms and encouraging them can be a unique tool for supporting agricultural production and education in non-traditional places.[1] Permitting commercial agricultural operations in urban or suburban areas brings agriculture closer to highly populated areas.[2] Local governments can define “commercial agriculture operations” in a variety of ways that may include community gardens, small agriculture farming, rooftop gardens, gardens in downtown city plazas, front or back yards, or any other space that can accommodate agricultural activity. Including these spaces in urban and suburban areas may be a way to provide local economic security, increase neighborhood health, encourage youth to become active, and aesthetically enhance run-down areas that otherwise go unused.

Because zoning regulations often prohibit commercial agricultural operations,[3] some local governments have been allowing commercial agriculture in urban and suburban areas either as a by-right use[4] or by instituting a permit program.[5] Generally, ordinances addressing urban and suburban commercial agricultural operations include provisions to address noise levels, chemical storage, water management, and waste and manure management.[6] Ordinances may permit products of urban commercial agricultural operations to be sold directly at farmers markets, or to restaurants, grocery stores, or off- or on-site food stands.[7] (For our brief discussing rights to sell produce on-site in urban areas, see Farmers Markets in a Variety of Districts and Temporary Farm Stands).
In addition to allowing commercial agricultural activities in urban and suburban areas, these ordinances encourage such activities by allowing them to qualify for open-space requirements. Open-space set-aside requirements are used to regulate the amount of space that should remain undeveloped on a given parcel.[8] Much like setback requirements, these set-asides act as a constraint on developers by limiting the amount of space on which a developer can place structures. The justification for open space requirements includes providing recreational space, preserving natural land, and protecting wildlife.[9] But to developers and residents of the area, open-space may be viewed as underutilized land. Allowing for commercial agricultural operations to satisfy open-space set-aside requirements can represent a compromise where open spaces in high-density areas are available for agriculture, education around agriculture, and commercial agricultural activities.[10]

EFFECTS

Commercial agricultural and gardening operations in traditionally prohibited areas can help resolve issues of food scarcity and limited access to sources of nutrition and recommended daily vitamins.[11] Statistically, areas affected by “food deserts” (areas where affordable and nutritious food is limited or non-existent) and “food swamps” (areas where unhealthy food options are predominant) are commonly concentrated in low-income areas where residents’ mobility is restricted.[12] Permitting commercial agricultural operations in various locations and various types can help provide access to fresh, nutrient dense produce and can help alleviate nutrition deficiencies in communities.[13] In turn, consuming fresh, nutrient dense produce promotes nutritious diets in communities.[14] Becoming less dependent on store-bought food is beneficial from an environmental perspective because it decreases purchases of non-reusable plastic and lessens the demand for food transportation.[15] Localizing the production of foods by using urban agriculture reduces the amount of fossil fuel consumed to transport food and dispose of food waste.[16] Increasing the amount of food produced locally allows a community to cut down its carbon footprint while eating nutritiously.[17] Local economies can also experience a boost through the development of small businesses and the employment opportunities attendant to them.[18]

Urban commercial agricultural operations and gardens can help mitigate stormwater flows by absorbing rainwater runoff.[19] The increased vegetation also helps reduce the heat island effect found in areas where concrete surfaces and buildings dramatically amplify hot temperatures.[20] Plant life’s carbon-trapping capabilities decrease both air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.[21] Aesthetically, establishing commercial agricultural operations can add color to otherwise grey urban centers.[22] They can also be used to spruce up vacant or abandoned lots that can become eyesores for neighborhoods trying to attract investors or residents.[23]

Open space requirements counteract the consequences of “urban sprawl,” a term used to describe unguided rapid development that results in a drain on communities that have to provide services to the area, such as schooling, or sewer and water service.[24] Urban sprawl’s effects are countered by the open space requirement necessitating a planned, controlled approach to building out.[25] Places that utilize open space also see a rise in both commercial and residential surrounding property values.[26] Businesses often select locations with ample open space to increase quality of life for their employees.[27] Retirees cite living in an area with ample recreational opportunity, which open space provides, as a prime factor in choosing a new permanent residence.[28] Developers have the potential to save on costs when utilizing cluster subdivisions, where density is concentrated in one area of a development with the rest set aside for open-space conservation, thereby requiring fewer expenditures on incidental costs such as roadways (for a discussion of the full benefit of clustered subdivisions, see Cluster/Conservation Subdivision in Rural/Urban Area).

Open spaces and commercial agriculture or gardening share a significant amount of overlap in purpose and design. For example, both are noted for the health benefits conferred to those who participate in gardening and to those who use open space amenities.[29] Like gardens, the very nature of open space set asides lends itself to stormwater runoff mitigation.[30] Other environmentally based similarities include reductions in greenhouse emissions, air pollutants and heat-island effects.[31] Residents seeking open space recreational activity are able to participate in the growing and cultivation of the agricultural harvest. Commercial food growing operations that involve community members are thus on par economically, socially and environmentally with other common open space uses such as parks and greenways.

EXAMPLES

Beaufort County, SC

Beaufort County’s Community Development Code delineates the purposes of open-space requirements as preserving natural resources or historical sites, acting as a landscaping buffer, assisting with stormwater management, and meeting the requirement of civic spaces.[32] The Code defines a civic space as a subtype of open space that is open to the public and is designed for public use.[33] Open-space minimum requirements apply to all developments exempting those in the County’s T3 and T4 zones, but civic space requirements apply across the Code.[34] In residential developments, .05 acres per dwelling unit must be dedicated to civic space, but the total does not need to exceed 15 percent of the site’s total area.[35] Non-residential areas must dedicate .25 acres of civic space per 25,000 square feet of the property.[36] Exemptions to these requirements are given for residential developments that contain fewer than 20 units and for non-residential locations which are under 25,000 square feet.[37]

Community gardens are defined as “a grouping of garden plots that are available to nearby residents for small-scale cultivation,” and are categorized as a use that satisfies the civic space requirement (for a brief specifically discussing community gardens see LINK Community Gardens).[38] The Code is designed to encourage the development of agricultural activity; for example, in the May River Community Preservation District, 35 percent of the required open space must be “contiguous common space” that may provide “agricultural resources” to the whole community.[39] Accessory structures located on open-space premises are exempt from the stricter requirements that normally apply to a given site.[40] On set-aside land, accessory structures need only to maintain the same character as the surrounding zone; presumptively, this would allow for the placing of hoop-houses or sheds in gardens where their presence would not be an affront to community design.[41]

In all zones, developers may integrate “green roofs” or “roof gardens” that satisfy open-space set-aside requirements.[42] To qualify, the roof must have soil that is four inches deep which is permitted to house drought-resistant plant life.[43] Soils may go deeper than four inches and gardens may include larger plants and trees where approval has been given for an “intensive roof garden.”[44] Roof gardens are required to follow the same maintenance procedures as all other set-asides; owners who fail to maintain their operations open themselves up to potential fines, while Beaufort County retains the authority to “correct [any] deficiencies.”[45]

To view the provisions see Beaufort County, SC, Community Development Code §§ 2.8.30-60, 5.8.30(I)(4), 10.1.30(C), A.13.80(D) (2016).

Austin, TX

Austin allows “sustainable urban agriculture” to qualify as open spaces within watersheds.[46] These uses can include a “community garden,” “market garden,” or “urban farm,” each of which has a distinct definition in Austin’s Code.[47] When located in an “urban watershed,” urban agriculture can satisfy open-space requirements if the operation is located outside a distance of 25 feet from the centerline of a waterway.[48] When located in a watershed without the “urban” designation, the food-growing operation must be positioned as follows: at least 50 feet away from the centerline for waterways with a “minor” designation, at least 100 feet away from the centerline for waterways with an “intermediate” designation, and at least 150 feet away from the centerline for waterways with a “major” designation.[49] The agricultural space is limited to growing plots and pathways through the growing area.[50] Storage structures such as sheds may not exceed 500 square feet[51] and are tallied cumulatively, such that two separate structures of 250 square feet each would be at the threshold.[52]

All gardens and agricultural operations in these zones must comply with Austin’s Environmental Criteria Manual (ECM).[53] The ECM prohibits farm animal operations as a use in the watersheds.[54] Runoff from compost or materials stored on site must be prevented, and the storage of fuel or manure on site is outright prohibited.[55] Substances that are deemed “synthetic inputs” are banned from use; such items include fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.[56] The operation must follow relevant water conservation measures as set out by the City Code.[57]

To view the provision see Austin, TX, Code of Ordinances §§ 25-2-7, 25-8-261(B)(4), (2018); Austin, TX, Code of Ordinances Environmental Criteria Manual § 1.5.3(B) (Sustainable Urban Agriculture).

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

Sarasota County, FL, Code of Ordinances § 124-271(e)(6)(a)(1) (allowing new or expanding agriculture to satisfy open-space requirements on the condition that the operation comply with applicable state or federal best management practices).

El Monte, CA, Zoning Code § 17.45.080 (2018) (permitting urban gardens to satisfy a public open-space amenity requirement imposed in the Mixed/Multiuse zone; each development project proposed to be built within this zoning district must include a public open-space amenity).

Chapel Hill, NC, Code of Ordinances § 8C.4 (2004) (permitting urban gardens in overlay districts, and defining open space as including agricultural and gardening activities).