{"id":4783,"date":"2010-10-27T12:58:55","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T17:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=4783"},"modified":"2010-10-27T12:58:55","modified_gmt":"2010-10-27T17:58:55","slug":"community-gardens-v-city-zoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2010\/10\/27\/community-gardens-v-city-zoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Community gardens v. city zoning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raleigh city planners are moving closer to finding a way to make community gardens legal under city zoning rules.<\/p>\n

Under the current zoning code, gardens are allowed within the city but only as additions to residential properties, or what planners call an \u201caccessory use.\u201d Properties used solely for gardens, like an empty lot, are considered \u201cprincipal use\u201d and are not allowed.<\/p>\n

Currently there are 17 gardens listed on North Carolina State University\u2019s community garden database for Wake County. These gardens are operated by churches, schools, community groups, and non-profits like the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which has started four gardens and a farm since April of last year.<\/p>\n


\nThe Wedge Community Garden operates on a piece of land lent to gardeners by the YMCA just west of downtown. Photo by Charles C. Duncan Pardo.<\/center><\/p>\n

\u201cOur gardens are meant to spark community involvement,\u201d said Food Shuttle farm manager and educator Sun Butler. \u201cThe farm\u2019s focus is on vegetable production and teaching sustainable gardening techniques to young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Food Shuttle farm, which is located outside of city limits on Tryon Road, has produced nearly 14,000 pounds of veggies this year. The fact that this was done on little more than an acre shows the real potential of urban agriculture, Butler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith more involvement we could create a truly local food system,\u201d said Butler.<\/p>\n

Technically the Food Shuttle gardens within Raleigh\u2019s city limits, and many other community gardens in Raleigh, are illegal.<\/p>\n

Trisha Hasch with the city planning department said no gardens have been shut down or cited for not following city zoning rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people want to grow food, they should be able to grow food,\u201d Hasch said.<\/p>\n

But, Butler said, it only takes one unhappy neighbor to shut down the whole operation. \u201cIf we open a compost pile and someone\u2019s downwind, we\u2019re going to get a complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raleigh\u2019s planning department is currently in the process of rewriting the city\u2019s entire zoning code, giving much needed and awaited attention to the community garden issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are really interested in community gardening,\u201d said Hasch. \u201cAnd the city is really interested in promoting that and assisting them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem that planners are facing right now is the actual language and structure of the proposed change. \u201cThere\u2019s a number of things that need consideration before this can go to council,\u201d said Hasch.<\/p>\n

For community gardens on private property the change would be simple, involving the removal of the current zoning barriers that prevent them.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, community gardens on public property face several legal issues that still need to be fully addressed, including liability if someone gets food poisoning or injured and the procedure for reacquiring land after a garden has been established.<\/p>\n

Planners hope to have the new zoning code in place by the early part of next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want it done in time for spring planting,\u201d said Hasch<\/p>\n

The change would put gardens like The Wedge, at 214 Park Ave. in compliance with the city\u2019s zoning laws.<\/p>\n

The Wedge garden, which gets its name from the shape of the lot, was started by the Hillsborough Citizens Advisory Council.<\/p>\n

Members of the council asked the Hillsborough Street YMCA if they could use the vacant lot for a community garden. The YMCA responded with an enthusiastic \u201csure,\u201d said Jessica Tisdale, a Wedge gardener.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt involves a lot of pulling weeds,\u201d Tisdale said. \u201cYou get fresh local produce, you know where it\u2019s coming from and what goes into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt creates cohesion in a community,\u201d said Tisdale, \u201ca space for face to face interaction with your neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raleigh city planners are moving closer to finding a way to make community gardens legal under city zoning rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24027,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4783"}],"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\/24027"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}