Land Use Policy Recommenda1ons Maximize Land Available for Growing Food Policy Jus1fica1on
Land is the founda.on for Urban Agriculture (UA). Access to available land must be one of the first steps in such a program, which should also include zoning and regulatory streamlining. The City should maximize access to publicly available land (including parks), ins.tu.onal land (including hospitals), and privately-‐owned land that isn’t being used, through zoning amendments and other policies that encourage and facilitate using the land to grow food. A number of major ci.es, such as San Francisco, Minneapolis, SeaKle, Oakland, and San Diego have revamped zoning regula.ons to facilitate access to land for UA. Los Angeles’ growing UA movement has revealed a need for comprehensive land use policies and a set of programs that make it easy for the popula.on of LA to grow, sell, and distribute locally produced food. The City of Los Angeles can make more land available for agricultural purposes through the ins.tu.onal mechanisms listed below.
Policy Recommenda1ons
LAND USE PLANNING & ZONING: • Zoning codes should permit UA ac.vi.es, including community gardens, urban farms, edible landscaping and gardening, as a permiKed use or condi.onal use in residen.al, mul.family, mixed-‐use, open space, industrial, and/or other zoning districts, as appropriate. • Protect land zoned for agricultural use by establishing permanent agriculture zones. MAPPING: Develop a comprehensive census and map of public surplus and vacant land to be posted and updated regularly on city agency websites. The census should include es.mated land value and maintenance costs. PUBLIC LAND: • Ease access to public, surplus and vacant land for UA (i.e. securing long-‐term lease, easing permiRng process, lowering water rates, etc.). • Develop a uniform lease that UA non-‐profits and the City Council or proprietary department can enter into. PRIVATE LAND: Create a standard process to acquire vacant and/or nuisance private land either on an interim or permanent basis for UA development. PARKWAYS: Modify the City of Los Angeles’ parkway landscaping guidelines to allow for food produc.on. RESIDENTIAL: Explicitly iden.fy UA ac.vi.es allowed on residen.al proper.es. SELLING: Allow UA food products to be used for use on-‐site or for sale or distribu.on on-‐site or off-‐site. DEVELOPMENT: Encourage the Los Angeles Housing Department to provide financial incen.ves to projects that dedicate permanent and viable growing space for resident food produc.on. COMMUNITY GARDENS & URBAN FARMS: Include the development of community gardens and urban farms in the city’s GREENLA Ac.on Plan. CRITERIA: Set criteria for establishing community gardens and farmers’ markets throughout the city. (i.e. number of gardens per capita and per neighborhood to enhance equitable distribu.on).
Water Policy Recommenda1ons Conserve Water in Small Scale Food Produc1on Policy Jus1fica1on The LA Urban Agriculture (UA) movement has grown exponen.ally in the last five years and will only con.nue to grow as more people turn to urban agriculture as one solu.on to food deserts as a vehicle for healthier ea.ng. Access to clean and affordable water is key to accommoda.ng this growing movement. Wise water use for edible landscaping and urban farming is a viable alterna.ve and a more produc.ve use of water than tradi.onal lawns and landscaping. Gardeners use a number of methods to conserve water that go beyond restric.ng water usage. For example, mulch can conserve substan.al amounts of water by reducing evapora.on, enriching the soil and reducing run-‐off. Further facilita.ng access to mulch contributes to the City’s goal of diver.ng green waste from landfills while promo.ng reduced water use. Lowering water rates for affordable housing developers that dedicate permanent, viable growing space as part of their projects in underserved communi.es can help expand access to fresh foods where people need it most. Water conserva.on should be a number one priority for all urban agriculture ac.vi.es within the City of Los Angeles. The policies recommended below encourage urban agriculture while promo.ng water conserva.on. They are in tune with the City’s goal of diver.ng green waste from landfills and mee.ng their long-‐term water conserva.on benchmarks.
Policy Recommenda1ons
RAINWATER: • Work with the County of LA’s Department of Public Health to expand the Water Harves.ng Guidelines to include the capture, storage and use of rainwater for projects and affordable housing communi.es that dedicate permanent and viable growing space for food produc.on. • Support Assembly Member Solorio’s Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (AB 1750). SPECIAL RATES: Allow mul.-‐family housing developments that feature onsite edible landscaping and community garden programs to qualify for the LADWP’s Schedule F Water Rate. MULCH & COMPOST: Commit to increasing the number of mulch give-‐away sites to at least one per city council district. Increase the number of compos.ng pick up sites by partnering with community gardens and other nonprofits, with urban agriculture programs to serve as secondary mulch distribu.on centers [See Compost Policy Recommenda4ons]. TURF REMOVAL: Include “edible landscaping” in the minimum requirements for the City's Department of Water and Power’s Residen.al Turf Removal Program
Compost Policy Recommenda1ons Less Waste, BeUer Soil Policy Jus1fica1on
The exis.ng City compos.ng program currently diverts usable organic material away from landfills and creates a reliable supply of high quality compost for residents and stakeholders of the City of Los Angeles. Compost is of great value to urban gardeners by improving water reten.on in gardens (thus conserving water), promo.ng air circula.on in soil to promote root health, modera.ng soil temperature, and providing a gradual, steady supply of nutrients to plants and beneficial soil microorganisms. As a free material to residents, it also provides a great economic value. The City’s achievement of 65% diversion of green and food waste away from landfills is commendable; vigorously pursuing the capture of all compostables can help the City reach its goal of zero waste.
Policy Recommenda1ons
ZERO WASTE STRATEGY: • Facilitate recycling of ALL kitchen and food waste, including compostable prepared food containers. • Priori.ze food scrap and yard waste diversion as a key to this zero waste strategy for food waste diversion targets in city run departments and agencies. • Promote new uses of organic waste in gardening and make them easier to implement. COMPOST & MULCH: Commit to increasing the number of compost and mulch give-‐away sites to one per city council district. Increase the number of compos.ng pick up sites by partnering with community gardens and other nonprofits with Urban Agriculture programs. These sites can also serve as secondary mulch distribu.on centers [See Water Policy Recommenda4ons]. PERMIT: Include compos.ng and compos.ng-‐content requirements in new condi.onal use permits. CERTIFICATION & TRAINING: • Develop partnerships with community organiza.ons to create a compost cer.fica.on and training program. • Work with U.C. Coopera.ve Extension and similar organiza.ons to create a ‘Master Composter’ program for Los Angeles. RESTAURANTS: Clarify restaurant compos.ng regula.ons and expand exis.ng food waste/organics compos.ng programs to more restaurants and grocery stores.
Soil Remedia1on Policy Recommenda1ons Safe + Affordable Soils Policy Jus1fica1on:
Healthy food requires healthy soil. As urban agriculture becomes more prevalent in Los Angeles, it is important to put in place policies and best prac.ces to ensure that par.cipants and those who consume Urban Agriculture (UA) products are not exposed to unsafe levels of heavy metals. Urban soil can be contaminated by past uses and ac.vity, including industry, unauthorized dumping, heavy nearby traffic, and homes with lead-‐based paint. Zinc, cadmium, copper and arsenic are other naturally occurring trace elements in soils that can be elevated to unsafe levels by certain past uses. Contaminated, or poten.ally contaminated, sites proposed for reuse or redevelopment can be referred to as brownfields. Elevated levels of elements, lead in par.cular, are fairly common in urban soils, and can pose a risk, especially to young children who can ingest soil while playing or helping in gardens. While not all poten.al UA sites are contaminated, these are important concerns that should be addressed by the City in their UA policy. The City currently does not require soil tes.ng, although the groups involved in establishing gardens generally test soils before plan.ng on a voluntary basis. With that said, extensive environmental tes.ng and remedia.on can be costly, and is oien beyond the budget of many smaller-‐scale community UA projects. Some prac.ces, such as mulching pathways, adding organic maKer, and crop selec.on are important remedia.on strategies used by gardeners, but difficult to handle via policy. It is important to ensure that we do not create insurmountable barriers for UA. Several other ci.es already have soil remedia.on and tes.ng protocols that could be adapted for Los Angeles. It is possible to have UA that is both safe and cost-‐effec.ve.
Policy Recommenda1ons:
SOIL & SITE STANDARDS: Partner with agronomists or soil scien.sts to develop a protocol for UA site assessment, soil sampling, tes.ng, and remedia.on. BEST PRACTICES: • Develop and publicize best prac.ces for soil management in UA. • Partner with exis.ng organiza.ons such as the UC Master Gardeners, LA Conserva.on Corps, Los Angeles Community Garden Council, among others, to educate UA prac..oners on best prac.ces. BROWNFIELDS: Direct the City’s Brownfield Program to partner with UA stakeholders, such as the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s UA Working Group, to create a plan for incorpora.ng UA into the City’s brownfield remedia.on efforts.
Community Rela1ons Policy Recommenda1ons Urban Agriculture for All Residents Policy Jus1fica1on
In the promo.on of Urban Agriculture (UA) throughout the city of Los Angeles, it is important that all community stakeholders become involved in the process. In low-‐income and underserved communi.es across the city, residents experience dispropor.onately high levels of diet-‐related disease, have inequitably low access to fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables, and have fewer green spaces in their local neighborhoods. It is incumbent upon the city to make a concerted effort to connect to these residents through the appropriate communica.on channels, and to allow them to play a central role in the future of UA in Los Angeles. Overall, the city should work to establish several communica.on outlets through which all residents will be able to get appropriate informa.on and assistance related to their UA efforts.
Policy Recommenda1ons
GEOGRAPHICAL EQUITY: • Target UA development to communi.es most in need of open space and healthy food access. • Promote and facilitate the establishment of space for UA throughout LA according to the needs
and interests of neighborhood and community residents. In partnership with local community organiza.ons, solicit an “UA Statement of Needs” form from local residents. This document should collect informa.on about the needs and food cultures of the cons.tuencies that these organiza.ons serve and how residents get informa.on about issues related to food and health in their community. PROGRAMS: Partner with the UA Working Group to develop outreach materials and publica.ons to promote city-‐run UA programs and ini.a.ves. MULTI-‐LINGUAL: All printed outreach materials related to UA must be wriKen in mul.ple languages. Materials should be translated into specific languages based on the ethnic composi.on of outreach areas. EXPAND: Incorporate UA into all other public policies and programs that address "sustainability", "healthy communi.es" and “open space”. Specifically, the city should target Neighborhood Councils, Senior Centers, Parks and Recrea.on Centers, and Cultural Centers as en..es to advocate for urban agricultural projects amongst their respec.ve beneficiaries and stakeholders. WEBSITE: Establish the Food Policy Council website as the official website for outreach and informa.on pertaining to UA in LA. HOTLINE: Incorporate ques.ons and requests related to UA, including but not related to, community garden development, vacant lot and nuisance property complaints and effec.ve pest management prac.ces, into the Citywide Services Directory. Partner with UA community organiza.ons to develop an FAQ for the city’s designated 311 Ambassadors or to help answer ques.ons. •
Beekeeping Policy Recommenda1ons Local Food Security with a Growing Hobby Policy Jus1fica1ons Currently, beekeeping in urban environments is in the middle of a renaissance. Ci.es all over the country are legalizing this ac.vity, including San Diego, Chicago, New York, SeaKle, and even Santa Monica! Los Angeles has yet to follow suit. Beekeeping is allowed in the city of Los Angeles only if the land is zoned for Agriculture. There is no allowance for hobby hives in residen.al areas. The City of Los Angeles, with a simple ordinance or change in zoning codes, could remedy this issue. Doing so would encourage hobbyist beekeeping, a prac.ce that helps boost struggling honeybee popula.ons and ensures local food security through adequate pollina.on and higher produc.on per acre. The produc.on of local honey is also an opportunity for micro-‐ business, which will encourage economic growth and provide residents with a source of truly local honey.
Policy Recommenda1ons LAND ZONING: Alter zoning codes to permit beekeeping with reasonable restric.ons within R1 zones. An ordinance could also accomplish this. Reasonable restric.ons include number of hives, placement, required management, and requirement of registra.on with the county. Specific proposed restric.ons can be found highlighted here: hKp://.nyurl.com/79djoms SELLING: In conjunc.on with the Food Safety: CoKage Food Opera.ons (AB 1616) bill introduced by Assemblyman Mike GaKo, allow excep.ons in the City of Los Angeles for honey to be produced for sale at home at liKle cost to the producer, thus encouraging micro-‐business and economic growth in the community.