Regulatory Practices of Urban Agriculture: A Connection to Planning and Policy

Urban Farm DB summary

As municipalities across the United States gradually recognize urban agriculture as part of planning, land use and zoning ordinances, this study reviews the literature on urban agriculture regulation and examines current regulatory practices in 40 metropolitan and 40 micropolitan municipalities across the four U.S. Census regions. It finds municipalities filling policy vacuums by adopting enabling ordinances (zoning ordinances, land use designations, resolutions), regulations on urban agriculture production (backyard animals, built structures, practitioner responsibility), and fiscal policy instruments (restrictions on sales of agricultural products, tax abatement, urban agriculture fees). The study identifies three principal knowledge gaps: the need for a complete typology of regulatory possibilities, a better understanding of how local, state and federal legislation constrains or enables urban agriculture, and empirical evidence of urban agriculture's economic, social and environmental impacts.