Photo: Elizabeth Torres, an intern with Hamilton Urban Garden Systems, waters tomato plants at a community garden lat University Commerce Park. Hamilton is set to amend an ordinance that will allow residents to use city-owned or private property to grow produce to be eaten, sold or donated. Courtesy of Hamilton Journal-News.
A measure that promotes and encourages urban agriculture by allowing anyone to use city or private property to grow produce is expected to become a reality starting this summer.
New urban agriculture amendments will establish rules for local neighborhood farming and allow any Hamilton resident to take an underdeveloped or undeveloped city lot or private property and use it to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, nut trees or fruit trees.
The harvested bounty could then be used for their own consumption, to sell to others or donate to area food pantries, according to Alfred Hall, co-founder of Hamilton Urban Garden Systems, or HUGS.
Hall said the change is an important step to not only beautifying Hamilton, but helping it become “the greenest little city in America.”
“They’ve made a very important first step in a process that will eventually grow into a local regional food system, which will allow us to feed ourselves, develop community and create economic opportunity,” Hall said.
For example, someone who has multiple lots in the city and wants to erect 10-by-20-foot greenhouses on each one to grow flowers to sell will be able to do so, he said.
The legislation got its start earlier this year when city officials approached HUGS and asked for help with the ordinance, Hall said.
Recently approved by the city’s planning commission, the measure is scheduled to go to Hamilton City Council for approval next month.
Passing the ordinance is important because it relaxes restrictions on what can be done on a privately-owned lot and eliminates the need to go to the city for approval to establish a garden, Hall said.
“Every time someone wanted to do that, they would have to go and get approval,” he said. “Now, that will be taken care of. The approval is a pre-approval. You don’t have to go.
“Instead of 17 people going 17 different times, 17 people can now just go and garden.”
The amendments would allow temporary farmers market stands to be established on each plot between May 1 through Sept. 30 and limit hours of operation to sunrise through sunset, according to a planning commission report approved May 20.