If the UDO is approved, community gardens will be allowed in most zoning districts, including residential and mixed-use, according to Travis Crane, a senior planner for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would be permitted either as a limited use \u2014 meaning there are additional regulations that must be met \u2014 or as a special-use permit, which would require appearing before the Board of Adjustment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Urban farms will also be allowed, but only in non-residential districts and with a special-use permit. Crane said this restriction is because urban farms have a wider range of uses and therefore a greater impact on surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/city_farm-600x144.jpg\" "\\"city_farm\\"")
<\/a>[\/media-credit]James Borden<\/p>
Raleigh City Farm<\/p><\/div>\n
Gardens Vs. Farms<\/strong> \u201cPut the impacts on land use aside. When you think of farming you tend to conjure up ideas of large machinery and noise abatement and things of that nature,\u201d Crane said.<\/p>\n Crane sees on-site sales as one of the biggest distinctions between the two, and the reason he believes regulation is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you place that aside and focus only on sales as an allowed use on the property, that\u2019s where city staff is drawing the distinction,\u201d he said. \u201cIs it really appropriate for a community garden in a residential area to sell produce and become a bona fide, prima facie business?\u201d<\/p>\n Photo by Raleigh City Farm.<\/p> NCSU students work at Raleigh City Farm.<\/p><\/div>\n Too Restrictive?<\/strong> To get a special-use permit, a resident must pay a $200 filing fee and go through a quasi-judicial hearing. At the hearing, a resident must provide expert testimony and research about the impact farms and gardens would have on the surrounding area.<\/p>\n Instead, advocates for the farms and gardens believe the special-use permit process should be required only for urban farms wishing to operate in residential districts and not at all for community gardens.<\/p>\n The Raleigh City Council\u2019s Law and Public Safety Committee will discuss the proposal during a meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the City Hall, Room 305.\n<\/p><\/div>\n A petition circulated last month has led to a hearing Tuesday before a Raleigh City Council committee.<\/p>\n In an email to the Record, Laura Khalil, the Urban Ag Program Manager at Inter-Faith food shuttle, said the city should not place such strong barriers.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunity gardens increase access to fresh, healthy, affordable, and locally produced food, often in neighborhoods that need it most. They foster community cohesion and support community health,\u201d Khalil said.<\/p>\n \u201cUrban gardens have similar benefits, but go further in addressing the root cause of hunger, which is poverty,\u201d she said. \u201cUrban agriculture involves intensive gardening in small-plot urban spaces for the purpose of not only growing food, but selling it to create jobs and income streams in underserved communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Setting an Example<\/strong> However, because existing city code allows for agriculture as a general use in this type of district. Raleigh City Farm was able to rezone, lifting that restriction.<\/p>\n If the farm operators were applying under the UDO, the property owner would have had to obtain a special-use permit.[media-credit name=”Photo by Raleigh City Farm.” align=”alignright” width=”450″] City Farm board member Laurel Varnado said the rezoning process helped demonstrate to people that a farm such as theirs could not only co-exist peacefully and sustainably in an urban environment, but that it could do so while in full compliance with existing city code.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got a lot of community support about it because they really wanted a farm here rather than a vacant lot, they were very excited about it, and so the neighborhood just got behind us in droves,\u201d Varnado said.<\/p>\n When the rezoning was discussed in a July 2011 Planning Commission meeting, several members of the community spoke out in favor of the farm moving forward. None spoke in opposition.<\/p>\n The farm, which operates as a nonprofit, has also established partnerships with local businesses and institutions, said Ryan Finch, a volunteer coordinator.<\/p>\n \u201cWilliam Peace University, they mow our lawn. On Fridays Exploris Middle School comes out,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have [visits from] NC State Students scheduled into 2013, Eschelon Hospitality Group \u2013 they own five restaurants \u2013 they had a big work day here recently and it was super-duper fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Accessory Use Only<\/strong> A member of the Highland United Methodist Church, Whitley helped his church develop its own garden, now in its third growing season, on a quarter-acre of church land once set to be used as a parking lot.<\/p>\n \u201cOur particular garden, luckily, is on the same piece of property as the church, Whitley said. \u201cIf it was across the street, we couldn\u2019t have put it in.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitley said 60 to 65 percent of the garden’s members don’t belong the church, some driving from as far as Rocky Mount to take part.<\/p>\n This year the garden donated half of its produce, roughly 4,000 pounds, to Plant a Row for the Hungry. And it’s not just the food, Whitley said.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing vegetables is now secondary to our mission. It\u2019s the things that are accomplished because of the garden,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Two families this year came to the garden after visiting with sick parents at Rex Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThey became friends, and would come and watch the sun rise in the garden together, go sit with their families, then come watch the sun set and have dinner together. So if the garden hasn\u2019t accomplished anything more than that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Moving Forward<\/strong> City Manager Russell Allen said city officials decided to create allowances in the UDO for urban agriculture in response to overwhelming community support.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a certain component of independence, reliability that\u2019s here, if you grow it fresh yourself it sort of goes back a little to the days of old farming,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my view, that\u2019s a positive trend as it matches up in an urban environment.\u201d<\/p>\n But that doesn’t mean they should be allowed anywhere, Crane said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve heard that barrier is too strong, they feel that sales should be allowed across the board and that regulatory controls should be essentially removed,\u201d Crane said. \u201cFrom a public policy standpoint, I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s the best course of action to take.\u201c<\/p>\n What’s Next<\/strong> Community gardens and an urban farm have started to gain popularity around Raleigh. But advocates say zoning restrictions are inhibiting future growth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24061,"featured_media":16723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,23],"tags":[1103,69,372],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24061"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThere are many key factors that set urban farms apart from community gardens, including how they are run and which crops and what types of animals may be raised on the property.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Raleigh_city_farm2-600x450.jpg\" "\\"Raleigh_city_farm2\\"")
<\/a>[\/media-credit]
\nUrban agriculture advocates say the proposed permitting restrictions are overly burdensome.<\/p>\n
\nRaleigh City Farm leases the lot on North Blount Street, which is owned by Hobby Properties. The lot was rezoned from Residential 2 to Shopping Center Conditional Use six years ago. One of those conditions was a self-imposed restriction on agriculture.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Raleigh_city_farm-450x600.jpg\" "\\"Raleigh_city_farm\\"")
<\/a>[\/media-credit]<\/p>\n
\nCullen Whitley is an award-winning community gardening expert who has helped start more than 65 gardens across the state and around the globe, including one in Frankfurt, Germany.<\/p>\n
\nIn spite of their differences over specific requirements, city staff and urban agriculture advocates are mostly in agreement when it comes to the importance of and the need for both community gardens and urban farms.<\/p>\n
\nThe Raleigh City Council\u2019s Law and Public Safety Committee will discuss the proposal during a meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the City Hall, Room 305.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"