SD Food Policy Action Network
City of San Diego - Community Garden Permit Process
In 2008, the International Rescue Committee began the wonderful New Roots Farm, which has inspired gardeners all over the region, attracted a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama, and drawn major funding from the federal government and private foundations to folks and agencies seeking to create gardens, nutrition, food security and health-related projects in communities throughout the county.
Unfortunately, the current permit application process, the need for a $5,000 deposit, and existing zoning restrictions present formidable barriers to new community gardens in the City.
In January 2009, IRC and allies from 1in10 went to the San Diego City Council, Land Use and Housing Committee (LUH) to request a simpler and more affordable community garden permit process. In response, LUH directed Development Services to streamline the permit process. Development Services complied by streamlining their review process and developing an information bulletin to make the steps in the process more transparent. Unfortunately, no new gardens have been developed over the last ten months since the bulletin was created, because many of the initial barriers still exist.
How Do the Current Permitting Process, Zoning Restrictions & Permit Costs Affect Communities Seeking Gardens in San Diego?
The initial deposit of $5,000 required for the submission of a community garden permit application is stopping future gardens before they even begin. Many more gardens can’t even be considered, because zoning prohibits community gardens in commercial zones. Two amazing community garden projects are facing these very barriers right now, and helping them can help the rest of us identify the solutions we need to make San Diego more community-garden-friendly:
After a quarter century of operation, the 41st Street Community Garden, also known as “the Cambodian Garden,” was forced to close its gates when the holder of the lease, Neighborhood House, returned the land to the City of San Diego. These gardeners would like very much to continue gardening, but can’t afford the $5,000 initial deposit, and don’t understand why they failed to receive spent $6200 pursing a permit in 2005.
The Mount Hope Community Garden for which Councilmember Young has dedicated $50,000 in discretionary funds is currently without a home. The property deemed most suitable, for its accessibility and long-term vacancy, is zoned for commercial use only.
In short, for those attempting to start gardens, the availability of land that is zoned for gardens is scarce, and permitting is overly-complicated and expensive. And for those who would be proponents in City Hall, the Parks & Recreation Department, and in the School District, one or more of the following challenges exist. Even when land is owned by the City, Parks & Rec, or the school district, joint-use policies are out-of-date, and garden development and operations require coveted resources from strained budgets. (Advocates agree that many San Diego neighborhoods severely lack adequate green space, so the best solution would add more open or public space by locating community gardens in vacant lots and other underutilized properties!)
What Can You Do to Make San Diego Community-Garden-Friendly? (Three Easy Steps!)
1. Promote gardens in your neighborhood by letting your community planning group know that now is the time to update permitting and zoning policies. Over the last year and a half, One in Ten advocates and allies have been visiting Community Planning Groups all over the city to educate everyone about the benefits of gardens and present examples of how (and why) other cities promote and encourage urban agriculture. Planning Groups can advise the City Council to prioritize this policy work and remind them that we have resources, including stimulus monies and other grants to update land use policies, ordinances and code requirements. So visit your neighborhood planning group and speak up today, or use the contact form, and we'll connect you with other advocates in your neighborhood!
2. Follow and support advocacy efforts. A current proposal before the SD City Council suggests that community gardens should be allowed "by right" on any vacant lands in redevelopment zones, especially because they improve health, reduce blight, and bring federal and foundation monies into struggling neighborhood economies. (You can learn more about how other cities treat gardens and the community benefits in the sections below.)
Stay tuned for the letter-writing campaign to support community gardens!
3. Sign the petition to "Make San Diego Community Garden Friendly"
So far, we have over 1100 signatures, but there's still time to place your name on the list of supporters.
How Do Other Cities Treat Gardens?
Eight of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. have resident-friendly community garden policies. San Diego and Phoenix are the only exceptions, and Phoenix is currently updating its city code to make it more garden-friendly. First-rank cities like New York and Chicago boast more than 600 community gardens a piece; whereas LA and Seattle allow agricultural uses, including gardens, “by right” in all zones.
· NYC – supports over 600 gardens through its city-run Green Thumb Program
· Los Angeles- allows agriculture, including community gardens, by right in all zones
· Chicago- hosts more than 600 community gardens through both public and private endeavors
· Houston- sports dozens of community gardens on public and private lands through leases with tenants
· San Antonio Parks & Recreation, local nonprofits, and private landowners make land accessible to growers for gardens which has added to their growing number
· Dallas like many others in the top 10 has an organization dedicated to developing and supporting community gardens
· San Jose operates a community gardens program through its park and recreation dept.
With San Diego’s current budget challenges reverberating against the nation’s larger economic challenges, shouldn’t we take advantage of our resources – that is, all the vacant, underutilized lands and San Diego amazing climate? And shouldn’t we leverage all the available federal and private foundation dollars to improve community health, regional economic vitality, and the environment?
We ask the City Council to address the barriers that still exist and to consider the following solutions:
1.) Develop a fair and sustainable policy allowing for gardens “by right” in all zones. A phased approach towards this goal could start with first allowing gardens “by right” in all redevelopment areas and on City surplus lands.
2.) Lower the initial deposit to allow applicants to “test” the current community garden permit process.
3.) Consider the many resources to support these changes, and evaluate what resources our City forgoes by not updating our community garden policy.
Community Benefits of Gardens Include Federal & Private Dollars for the San Diego Economy!
· Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), a $16 million federal health stimulus grant received by the County includes $700,000 alone in grants to cities and agencies to tie public health into city planning. Through CPPW, we can access technical planning expertise from the renowned organization, Public Health Law and Policy. (See their publication “Land Use Protections for Community Gardens.”)
· The USDA alone distributed $30 million last year for community food security projects.
· Many private foundations, like The California Endowment, which currently is infusing nearly $10 million into local projects, are focusing future funding on systemic changes for health in the built environment.
· Funding for climate change strategies, similar to Sustainable San Diego’s work to help San Diego meet its AB 32 GHG emission reductions, also encourage garden-related projects.
Unfortunately, the current permit application process, the need for a $5,000 deposit, and existing zoning restrictions present formidable barriers to new community gardens in the City.
In January 2009, IRC and allies from 1in10 went to the San Diego City Council, Land Use and Housing Committee (LUH) to request a simpler and more affordable community garden permit process. In response, LUH directed Development Services to streamline the permit process. Development Services complied by streamlining their review process and developing an information bulletin to make the steps in the process more transparent. Unfortunately, no new gardens have been developed over the last ten months since the bulletin was created, because many of the initial barriers still exist.
How Do the Current Permitting Process, Zoning Restrictions & Permit Costs Affect Communities Seeking Gardens in San Diego?
The initial deposit of $5,000 required for the submission of a community garden permit application is stopping future gardens before they even begin. Many more gardens can’t even be considered, because zoning prohibits community gardens in commercial zones. Two amazing community garden projects are facing these very barriers right now, and helping them can help the rest of us identify the solutions we need to make San Diego more community-garden-friendly:
After a quarter century of operation, the 41st Street Community Garden, also known as “the Cambodian Garden,” was forced to close its gates when the holder of the lease, Neighborhood House, returned the land to the City of San Diego. These gardeners would like very much to continue gardening, but can’t afford the $5,000 initial deposit, and don’t understand why they failed to receive spent $6200 pursing a permit in 2005.
The Mount Hope Community Garden for which Councilmember Young has dedicated $50,000 in discretionary funds is currently without a home. The property deemed most suitable, for its accessibility and long-term vacancy, is zoned for commercial use only.
In short, for those attempting to start gardens, the availability of land that is zoned for gardens is scarce, and permitting is overly-complicated and expensive. And for those who would be proponents in City Hall, the Parks & Recreation Department, and in the School District, one or more of the following challenges exist. Even when land is owned by the City, Parks & Rec, or the school district, joint-use policies are out-of-date, and garden development and operations require coveted resources from strained budgets. (Advocates agree that many San Diego neighborhoods severely lack adequate green space, so the best solution would add more open or public space by locating community gardens in vacant lots and other underutilized properties!)
What Can You Do to Make San Diego Community-Garden-Friendly? (Three Easy Steps!)
1. Promote gardens in your neighborhood by letting your community planning group know that now is the time to update permitting and zoning policies. Over the last year and a half, One in Ten advocates and allies have been visiting Community Planning Groups all over the city to educate everyone about the benefits of gardens and present examples of how (and why) other cities promote and encourage urban agriculture. Planning Groups can advise the City Council to prioritize this policy work and remind them that we have resources, including stimulus monies and other grants to update land use policies, ordinances and code requirements. So visit your neighborhood planning group and speak up today, or use the contact form, and we'll connect you with other advocates in your neighborhood!
2. Follow and support advocacy efforts. A current proposal before the SD City Council suggests that community gardens should be allowed "by right" on any vacant lands in redevelopment zones, especially because they improve health, reduce blight, and bring federal and foundation monies into struggling neighborhood economies. (You can learn more about how other cities treat gardens and the community benefits in the sections below.)
Stay tuned for the letter-writing campaign to support community gardens!
3. Sign the petition to "Make San Diego Community Garden Friendly"
So far, we have over 1100 signatures, but there's still time to place your name on the list of supporters.
How Do Other Cities Treat Gardens?
Eight of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. have resident-friendly community garden policies. San Diego and Phoenix are the only exceptions, and Phoenix is currently updating its city code to make it more garden-friendly. First-rank cities like New York and Chicago boast more than 600 community gardens a piece; whereas LA and Seattle allow agricultural uses, including gardens, “by right” in all zones.
· NYC – supports over 600 gardens through its city-run Green Thumb Program
· Los Angeles- allows agriculture, including community gardens, by right in all zones
· Chicago- hosts more than 600 community gardens through both public and private endeavors
· Houston- sports dozens of community gardens on public and private lands through leases with tenants
· San Antonio Parks & Recreation, local nonprofits, and private landowners make land accessible to growers for gardens which has added to their growing number
· Dallas like many others in the top 10 has an organization dedicated to developing and supporting community gardens
· San Jose operates a community gardens program through its park and recreation dept.
With San Diego’s current budget challenges reverberating against the nation’s larger economic challenges, shouldn’t we take advantage of our resources – that is, all the vacant, underutilized lands and San Diego amazing climate? And shouldn’t we leverage all the available federal and private foundation dollars to improve community health, regional economic vitality, and the environment?
We ask the City Council to address the barriers that still exist and to consider the following solutions:
1.) Develop a fair and sustainable policy allowing for gardens “by right” in all zones. A phased approach towards this goal could start with first allowing gardens “by right” in all redevelopment areas and on City surplus lands.
2.) Lower the initial deposit to allow applicants to “test” the current community garden permit process.
3.) Consider the many resources to support these changes, and evaluate what resources our City forgoes by not updating our community garden policy.
Community Benefits of Gardens Include Federal & Private Dollars for the San Diego Economy!
· Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), a $16 million federal health stimulus grant received by the County includes $700,000 alone in grants to cities and agencies to tie public health into city planning. Through CPPW, we can access technical planning expertise from the renowned organization, Public Health Law and Policy. (See their publication “Land Use Protections for Community Gardens.”)
· The USDA alone distributed $30 million last year for community food security projects.
· Many private foundations, like The California Endowment, which currently is infusing nearly $10 million into local projects, are focusing future funding on systemic changes for health in the built environment.
· Funding for climate change strategies, similar to Sustainable San Diego’s work to help San Diego meet its AB 32 GHG emission reductions, also encourage garden-related projects.
