Here is a summary of what the new Community Garden & Urban Ag Codes passed in 2011 and 2013 by the San Diego City Council contains:
Amendment to the Regulations for San Diego Community Gardens- On June 7, 2011 the City Council approved new regulations that allow community gardens to be developed easily and inexpensively in all residential and commercial zones in the City. However, the regulations will not be effective within the City’s Coastal Overlay Zone until the California Coastal Commission (CCC) unconditionally certifies new regulations. The amendment was submitted to the California Coastal Commission on August 18, 2011.
San Diego Urban Agriculture Amendments, signed February 14, 2012 - On January 31, 2012 the City Council approved new regulations for urban agriculture that address changes to the keeping of chickens, goats and bees; reducing the approval process for farmers markets on private property, creating two new uses farmers market stands and retail farms and minor changes to the recently adopted community garden regulations. However, the regulations related to Farmers Markets, Retail Farms, and Community Gardens will not be effective within the City’s Coastal Overlay Zone until the California Coastal Commission (CCC) unconditionally certifies new regulations. It is anticipated that the regulations will be submitted to the California Coastal Commission in April 2012.
San Diego Park and Recreation Community Garden Guidelines Status: Not yet implemented as of June 2012
Additional links providing background on the history of how these policy changes in San Diego occurred have been compiled by the SDFoodPolicy 1 in 10 Coalition.
Each of the items in the document below are PDF files available for download. Parenthesis show the date created or updated. To download the individual links go first to SDFoodPolicy_Documents .
URBAN AGRICULTURE ORDINANCE (CITY OF SAN DIEGO)
** NOW LAW ** (except for the Coastal Zone)
Our new shiny Ordinances (2/22/12) and related Info Fliers (3/27/12):
- Honeybees | Bee Keeping (flier)
- Chicken Hens | Keeping Chickens (flier)
- Miniature Goats | Keeping Goats (flier)
- Community Garden Sales
- Commercial Uses
Note: These ordinances only say what has been changed. Parts of older ordinances that are not mentioned remain unchanged. For instance, the new beekeeping ordinance says nothing about a requirement for providing the bees with a water source. Therefore, the requirements already on the books will stay on the books. This means that it will be hard to understand these rules until the municipal code (link) is actually updated. We don’t know what day that’ll be. But if you have questions, though, feel free to shoot us an email.
Jan 31st “BIG DAY” Documents
- Summary Table of Council Version for Jan 31st, 2012
- FAQ about City Council Hearing on Jan 31st, 2012
- Open Points for Jan 31st, 2012
- FAQ on Bee Sting Allergies for Jan 31st, 2012
- “Event” Flyer for Jan 31st
Other Urban Ag Documents
- Planning Commission Report for Dec 15th, 2011
- Planning Commission Agenda for Dec 15
- Letter from County, to Planning Commission for Nov 15, 2012
- Transcript to the CPC meeting on Oct 25, 2011
- Urban Agriculture Regulatory Summary Table (Nov 3, 2011)
- FAQ and Timeline (Oct 12, 2011)
- LU&H Report for meeting on Oct 5, 2011
- Presentation on Urban Ag (Sept 12, 2011)
- Easy Factsheet (Sep 11, 2011)
- Summary of Potential Changes (Sep 11, 2011)
OTHER USEFUL INFO
- Del Mar Times 1/19/2012: Torrey Hills CPG supports urban ag
- LA Times 11/16/2011: San Diego may allow chickens, goats in backyards (includes a Fox5 video)
- Grist article 10/29/2011: San Diego residents push for new urban agriculture rules, by Jill Richardson
- Spreadsheet about the Community Planning Groups (who, when, etc)
PAST VICTORIES
Amendment to the Regulations for Community Gardens (June 8, 2011)
(From SanDiego.gov) On June 7, 2011 the City Council approved new regulations that allow community gardens to be developed easily and inexpensively in all residential and commercial zones in the City. However, the regulations will not be effective within the City’s Coastal Overlay Zone until the California Coastal Commission (CCC) unconditionally certifies new regulations. The amendment was submitted to the CCC on August 18, 2011.
B6-228-with-report: Farm Production and Urban Gardens Program in the District of Columbia- An act passed by Washington DC in 1987 under Mayor Marion Barry but never implemented due to his abbreviated tenure that would have provided incentives to private and public and land owners to allow urban farming on their land.Keeping Goats in San Diego: View the guidelines and regulations related to keeping goats in the City of San Diego
