Gardens in the Front Yard, Chickens in the Back Yard, and Living Lawnmowers: A Report on Urban Farming

Transcription

1 Gardens in the Front Yard, Chickens in the Back Yard, and Living Lawnmowers: A Report on Urban Farming Erin Hartigan Assistant County Attorney Lake County Sarah Taitt Assistant County Attorney Osceola County

2 Urban Farming in a Nutshell Urban farming Growing plants or raising animals within and around urban areas Popular interest in urban farming Impacts How local government is responding

3 Land Use Controls in U.S. Roots in Elizabethan England An Act Against the Erecting and Maintaining of Cottages, Parliament cottage per four acres of land

4 Early American Land Use Controls Laws of the Indies, 1573 First known land development regulations in America Guided development throughout the entire period of Spanish rule

5 Land Use Controls in the U.S. In the American colonies, public entities (provincial land office, chartered company, or town) frequently regulated: Building height and building material Drainage of wetlands Removal of nuisance vegetation destructive to wheat crops

6 The Rise of Zoning 1898-Massachusetts restricts building height around Copley Square to 90 feet Williams v. Parker, 188 U.S. 491 (1903) 1910-Los Angeles prohibits brickyards in certain areas Hadacheck v. Sebastian, 239 U.S. 394 (1915)

7 The Equitable Building The Equitable Building in New York 38 stories with no setbacks Cast seven acre shadow

8 1916 Zoning Resolution 1916-New York enacted the country s first comprehensive zoning code Separated city into zones Established height and setback controls Remained in effect until 1961

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11 Standard Zoning Enabling Act 1921 advisory committee on zoning Appointed by Secretary of Commerce (and later president) Herbert Hoover First edition published in 1924

12 Euclidean Zoning

13 Euclidean Zoning Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty 272 U.S. 365 (1926) Zoning is constitutional exercise of police power Zoning extends and improves on nuisance law

14 Benefits of Euclidean Zoning Separates incompatible uses Predictability re. potential uses Objectivity, ease of determining compliance

15 Criticisms of Euclidean Zoning Lack of flexibility Sprawl development Automobile-dependent Extreme segregation of uses

16 Mixed Use Development Blends different uses within close proximity Return to traditional pattern of development Rise of New Urbanism

17 Benefits of Mixed Use Zoning Allows supportive uses to co-exist Reduces urban sprawl Pedestrian and bicycle friendly Builds community

18 Criticisms of Mixed Use Zoning Merges incompatible uses High construction costs Lack of affordable housing

19 History of Urban Farming

20 Link to Major Economic Downturns World War I, Depression, and World War II Federal government encouraged Americans to grow their own food Some 20 million victory gardens were planted during World War II

21 Return to Rural Farming After each crisis passed, farming returned to rural area

22 Right to Farm Development pressure Urban sprawl

23 Right to Farm Right to Farm Acts (RTFA) Nuisance protection for agricultural activities Florida passed a Right to Farm Act in 1979 (F.S ) All States have some kind of RTFA

24 Urban Farming in the 21 st Century

25 Social Movement Changing attitudes toward food production Local v. Commercial Organic v. Chemical Community pride

26 Economic Downturn The Great Recession Self sufficiency Blight and Investment

27 Health and Environment Health Food Deserts 100% Natural Environment Efficient use of resources Reduced pollutants

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29 Zoning for Urban Farming Regulate use based on intensity, not type Reduce restrictions on agriculture as primary or ancillary use Establish zoning controls Setbacks Buffers Size and number limitations Hours of operation Parking

30 Gardens Household gardens Community gardens Rooftop gardens

31 Household Gardens The growing and cultivation of fruits, flowers, herbs, vegetables and/or ornamental plants by the owner or occupant primarily for personal use.

32 Illegal Front Yard Garden: Canadian Couple s Kitchen Garden Targeted by Authorities Huffington Post, July 19, 2012 The Battlefront in the Front Yard The New York Times, December 19, 2012

33 Oak Park Woman Faces Jail Time for Growing Vegetable Garden Forbes, July 7, 2011

34 College Park, Orlando Code enforcement violation for failure to maintain ground cover on property

35 Urban Farming ~ Animal Husbandry

36 Backyard Chickens

37 Escambia Once Again Looking at Chicken Ordinance NorthEscambia.com, March 28, 2013 Lake delays decision on allowing backyard chickens till fall OrlandoSentinel.com, June 20, 2013 Pasco County commissioners consider allowing backyard chicken coops Tampa Bay Times (tampabay.com), May 21, 2013

38 Backyard chickens rule roost in Tampa, not the county Tampa Bay Times (tampabay.com), July 24, 2013 Manatee County to consider allowing Backyard Chickens Bradenton Herald (bradenton.com), March 19, 2013 Chicken ban: Orange County clucks at coop proposal - Backyard coups [sic] OK in city, not allowed in county jurisdiction WESH 2 News (wesh.com), August 6, 2013

39 Some FL Jurisdictions Recently Addressing Urban Chickens CURRENTLY PERMITTING CURRENTLY PROHIBITING City of Orlando Hillsborough County Pinellas County City of Hollywood Escambia County Orange County Hernando County City of Tampa City of Sarasota Manatee County Osceola County City of DeBary

40 2009: Pre-Backyard Chicken Craze

41 DeBary letting family keep backyard chickens Daytona Beach News-Journal (news-journalonline.com), November 7, 2012 Family with chickens cited by Code Enforcement 175 residents & family s attorney came to Council meeting to ask for special exception to Code Council took immediate action to create pilot program

42 Interesting/Noteworthy Provisions in Urban Chicken Codes Required education Roosters Free range v. cooped Neighbor consent Religious exception

43 Noise & Odor Chicken clucking commonly compared to human conversation both register around 65 decibels. Illegal Fowl by Jaime Bouvier, 42 ELR Odor ensure proper ventilation of coops and regularly clean them

44 Backyard Chickens: What to Know, Things to Consider Chickens are social animals Pecking order is real Egg production depends on breed and season Coops should be predator-proof Vet care ~ self-education

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46 Goats are the New Chickens Willamette Week (wweek.com), December 30, 2009

47 Move over chickens and bees; goats could be bound for St. Louis St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com), August 27, 2013 San Diego City Council Approves Backyard Chickens, Goats and Bees KPBS Radio News (kpbs.org), February 1, 2012

48 Group seeks to allow goats and pigs in Lexington neighborhoods Lexington Herald-Leader ( February 15, 2012 Denver City Council eases way to own chickens, goats at home Denver Post (denverpost.com), June 21, 2011 The Chickens and Goats Next Door: an Oakland Snapshot SPUR Ideas and Action for a Better City (spur.org), December 5, 2011

49 Backyard Goats: What to Know, Things to Consider On avg. 2 goats can provide as much as a half gallon of milk per day. Year-round milk requires planning! Milking 2x/day task, milking equipment, pasteurization Vet care: Find vet that will see ruminants.

50 Living Lawn Mowers Cleveland s Mow Goats Pilot Program 4 goats mow /prune vacant lot in 2 hours; manure taken to local community gardens. News Channel 5 (newsnet5.com), June 12, 2012 City of Chicago awarded contract for max $100K to company that will use goats, sheep, llamas, burros to mow 120 acres at O Hare Airport. NBC Chicago (nbcchicago.com), August 13, 2013 Oakland and its urban fire goats Oakland City Council designates Wildfire Prevention Assessment District funds for goat grazing. KTVU ( June 17, 2013

51 Cited for Use of Mowing Goats July 2013: in Knox County, TN, homeowner used 20 goats to eat kudzu on his property; cited by Code Enforcement. Channel 6 (wate.com), July 23, 2013

52 Other Urban Farming Trends ~ Bees & Fish

53 Florida Honey Certification and Honeybee Law Chapter 586, Florida Statutes State preemption Authority to regulate, inspect and permit managed honeybee colonies Establish rules regulating the placement and location of honeybee colonies

54 Reasons for State Preemption (F.S ) Florida honey industry has annual worth of $13 million (and allows for approx. $20 mil. in increased fruit/veg production via managed pollination services). Bee survival threatened colony collapse disorder ; reasons unknown. Florida beekeepers must register with the Department, undergo inspection and renew certification annually.

55 Aquaculture/Aquaponics Aquaculture is the cultivation of marine or freshwater food fish, shellfish, or plants under controlled conditions. Hydroponics is growing plants in nutrient-enriched water instead of soil. Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture with hydroponics, in which the waste products from fish are used to fertilize hydroponically growing plants.

56 Florida Aquaculture Policy Act Chapter 597, Florida Statutes Aquaculture is agriculture Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Issues permits for aquaponic food production No permit needed for personal use Potential Preemption

57 Urban Farming Regulation Tips Avoid overcomplicating Act proactively, not reactively (see: City of Orlando) Involve local community and stakeholders Keep in mind Health, Safety and Welfare

58 Short term Future of Urban Farming Is Urban Farming a lasting trend? Right to Farm Protection for urban farming? Quality of Life How will nuisance laws evolve?

59 When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization. Daniel Webster, Remarks on Agriculture Thanks for listening! Erin Hartigan Assistant County Attorney Lake County (352) Sarah Taitt Assistant County Attorney Osceola County (407)