Believe it or not, under current zoning laws, it’s illegal in Los Angeles to grow flowers or fruit in a residential neighborhood and sell them. Tomorrow the Los Angeles Planning Commission will review this outdated rule at a meeting in Van Nuys. If you’re in Los Angeles you can help by attending this meeting. For some talking points see the website of the Urban Farming Advocates.
Positive change is coming to Los Angeles. The smog chocked wasteland of my youth is suddenly seeing a lot of talk of bicycles and local food. But we’ve got some work ahead of us–please come to the meeting tomorrow! From the UFA website:
SUPPORT LOCAL FOOD & FLOWERS! SUPPORT THE FOOD & FLOWERS FREEDOM ACT!
The urban farming movement needs your support at the public hearing tomorrow in Van Nuys.
Your voice and support for the MOVEMENT is critical.
The hearing will take place tomorrow: Thursday March 25. Come at 8:30am. Expect to be there a few hours. When you arrive, please fill out a speaker’s card.
Address:
Van Nuys City Hall
Council Chamber, 2nd Floor
14410 Sylvan Street, Van Nuys, 91401
The Food & Flowers Freedom Act is about allowing Angelenos to sell homegrown fruit, flowers and seedlings offsite, at local farmers’ markets for example.
See more coverage of this issue at the LAist and the Huffington Post.
that is unbelievable!
P.s. I love your blog!
In our small rural town, Castlegar, population 7,500 in the middle of BC, it is illegal to grow “crops” in residential areas – with no definition of crops in the zoning bylaw. And our council is unwilling to address it, (or the animal control bylaw that outlaws everything by cats or dogs).
Fight for sensible laws!
Wish I was there to represent!
Numbers will show’em. Everybody who can go should go!
Hey UrbanWorkbench,
This is something our planning department is trying to address–our code uses the phrase “truck gardening” rather than “crops.” The planning department folks here, at the prompting of a city council member, are seeking to clarify the code so we don’t have to get into silly botanical arguments, i.e. is broccoli a “flower” and therefore against the law to sell. What if a flower is edible?
Thankfully we have a sympathetic ear on the council and a wider realization that local food and flowers are a good thing. Hope that the tide turns in Castlegar someday, and best of luck to you.