Laws matter . In land , ordinances are designed to aid protect livestock , keep peace with the neighbors and safeguard the surroundings — but sometimes , urban agriculture law just do n’t make sense .
It ’s well-fixed to finger umbrageous over these ordinances — and invite to ignore the practice of law altogether — but joining other urban farmers to address the issues and working with regime official to convert these laws can help profit all urban husbandman and the shopper who support them .
Here ’s a aggregation of urban - farming jurisprudence we find out utterly ridiculous and what you could do about it .
1. Edible Gardens Banned
There are countless news stories about urban sodbuster who are forced to tear out their edible garden because their carrot , lettuce and tomatoes are ( gasp ! ) growing in thefront thousand .
ANew York Timesarticlenoted that gardeners in several cities , including Tulsa , Okla. , Ferguson , Mo. ; Oak Park , Mich. ; and Orlando , Fla. have been ordered to withdraw vegetable gardens from their front yards . The upshot ? Aesthetics . Many municipalities have by - laws that pass landscape choices , which metropolis official consider help protect place values .
Several urban farmers have fought the veggie bans and won . In Orlando , for exemplar , Jason and Jennifer Helvenston faced fine of $ 500 per day for their front - yard veggie garden . The brace fight back and , in November 2013 , the City Council amended theordinanceto allow vegetable garden in the front M .
2. Composting Prohibited
For most urban sodbuster , put away vegetable scraps or expired plants on the compost pile is 2d nature ( and the alimentary - fat compost is an essential — and free — soil amendment ) , but in some cities , compost is illegal .
Concerns about rodents led Baltimore County , Md. , toenact a codethat , “ [ P]rohibits composting of food scraps in compost piles or bins . ” To dispose of food scraps , the county suggests indoor vermicomposting or burying food for thought scraps .
Most anti - composting regulations are less strict . In Chicago , for example , zoning lawsallow urban farmers to compost fabric generated onsite ( collecting food scraps from local eating house or the neighbour is disallow ) as long as the amount of compost on the farm does n’t pass 25 cubic yards .
3. Illegal Rainwater Collection
Thanks to a growing knowingness of the grandness of conservation , most city admit , even advance , gardener and urban farmers to organise downspouts toward landscaped areas to prevent runoff and minimize irrigation demand . But in some places , like Colorado , urban farmers who compile rain could be fin . In other words , rainwater barrels and cisterns — shaft urban granger depend on to survive drought — are banned .
According to theColorado Division of Water Resources , “ [ U]nless you own a specific type of exempt well permit , you may not compile rainwater in any other manner , such as storage in a cistern or armored combat vehicle , for later use . ”
Apilot projectis underway to assess the benefit of capturing rainwater in unexampled real estate developments . If the projection is successful , it could help pave the direction for urban farmers to de jure take in rainwater .
4. Produce Sales Prohibited
It might be effectual to grow cucumber , clavus , okra , tomatoes and other veggie on urban farm , but some farmers are open to laws interdict them from selling produce on the farm .
The law allows urban farmers in Muskegon , Mich. , to grow food but not deal their harvest home . City Council is reviewing proposals to change the law ; proposed changes could include let urban farmers to sell at Fannie Farmer ’ markets , eating place , retailers and institutions .
In Sacramento , Calif. , residents can raise chickens and spring up veg in their front yards , but a2014 meetingof the city ’s planning and design charge put forth a proposal that would specify farm sales to places where USDA was the “ primary use of goods and services . ” In other words , Farmer uprise produce at churches , school day or at their homes — anywhere outside of a zone agrarian area — would need a permit to sell their amplitude .
5. Forbidden Chickens
ordinance banning Gallus gallus are among the most controversial ( and common ) urban farming laws . Some lawmakers indicate that chickens pull in predators and rodents ; neighbors reverence the birds will be too noisy or get a “ fowl ” olfactory sensation .
There are no official statistics about the number of municipalities that ban backyard chickens but the inclination includes Ocean Township , N.J. , and Ontario , Calif.
While a grow turn of cities are candid to hearing argument to reverse chicken - keeping ban , in Dec. 2014 , the Tecumseh City Council in Tecumseh , Mich. , in a 5 - 2 voting , ordain to cast out house physician from keep chickens . One articlequoted a councilman saying , “ I grew up on a farm . I moved to the city to get away from chickens . ”
In Michigan , lawmakers overturned “ Right to Farm ” protection in early 2014 ; the ruling by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development removes all protective covering for urban Fannie Farmer and homeowner who keep livestock , admit chickens .
If you ’re subject to like law confine your power to grow food and operate a successful urban farm , attend city council merging and physical contact local lawmakers to defend for changes to the laws and connect with the media and apply societal media channels to promote awareness of the issues . As Eckhart Tolle says , “ When you speak out , you are in superpower . So change the post by taking action or by speaking out … ”
