this is what SF proposing to do around urban ag

[Eric Anderson]

Dear Urban Ag Enthusiasts,

The urban agriculture legislation that Supervisor David Chiu introduced
today is attached. It calls for the creation of a new urban agriculture
program in the city to coordinate the city's efforts among various agencies
and sets goals (with timelines) for the new program to reach. The
legislative summary is attached and below. The full text of the
legislation is also attached.

We'll be discussing the legislation in the SFUAA platform committee and at
the SFUAA monthly meeting on May 8th.

There is a thirty-day waiting period before any hearings, but stay tuned for
more details about the first hearings!

--Eli, SFUAA - San Francisco Urban Ag Alliance 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Summary of legislation

The proposal would amend the Administrative Code to create an "Urban
Agriculture Program" for the City. The proposal defines "Urban Agriculture"
as "the growing of food through intensive plant cultivation and animal
husbandry," in places such as home gardens, community gardens, market
gardens, demonstration gardens, gardens at institutions such as schools,
workplaces, and jails, urban farms, orchards, rooftops, and greenhouses.


The proposal would adopt a number of overarching goals for Urban Agriculture
in San Francisco:

· To complete and publish, by January 1, 2013, an audit of City-owned
buildings with rooftops suitable for both commercial and non-commercial
Urban Agriculture;

· To develop, by January 1, 2013, incentives for property owners to
allow temporary Urban Agriculture projects, particularly on vacant and
blighted property awaiting development;

· To develop, by January 1, 2013, a streamlined application process for
Urban Agriculture projects on public land, with clear evaluation guidelines
that are consistent across agencies;

· To create, by July 1, 2013, a ³one-stop shop² for Urban Agriculture
that would provide information, programming, and technical assistance to all
San Francisco residents, businesses, and organizations wishing to engage in
Urban Agriculture;

· To develop new Urban Agriculture projects on public land where
residents demonstrate desire for the projects, with at least 10 new
locations for Urban Agriculture completed by January 1, 2014;

· To open garden resource centers in neighborhoods across the City,
either at existing or new sites, that provide residents with resources such
as compost, seeds, and tools, with at least 5 completed by January 1, 2014;
and,

· To develop sufficient Urban Agriculture resources such that by January
1, 2014, San Francisco residents seeking a community garden plot have to
wait no more than a year for access to a plot.

To achieve these goals, the proposal would create an Urban Agriculture
Program for the City. The Program would have several functions:

* Review and coordination of Urban Agriculture efforts across all City
departments and agencies;

* Development of comprehensive programs, policies and strategies to meet the
City's Urban agriculture goals;

* Development of strategic partnerships with community organizations,
schools, and others to advance Urban Agriculture;

* Advocacy for Urban Agriculture policies and funding at the State and
Federal level; and,

* Collection and public dissemination of information related to Urban
Agriculture. 

The proposal would require the Mayor and the City Administrator
to develop a Strategic Plan for the Urban Agriculture Program by December
31, 2012. The plan would contain baseline data on Urban Agriculture in San
Francisco, including an accounting of all City funding and resources, a list
of all local Urban Agriculture programs, a count of all active and inactive
sites and site coordinators, a count of waiting lists, and a needs
assessment of resident, organization, and business needs.

Under the proposal, the Mayor and the City Administrator would
also evaluate which entity within the City or non-profit organization
partially funded by the City should permanently manage the Urban Agriculture
Program. The evaluation would examine the successor agency's fiscal
capacity to secure reasonable funding as well as its programmatic capacity
to implement the Strategic Plan. The Mayor and the City Administrator would
submit the results of this evaluation and their recommendation to the Board
of Supervisors by December 31, 2012, along with the Strategic Plan.

By January 1 of every year after that, the Urban Agriculture
Program would submit a report to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors
summarizing key Urban Agriculture achievements, challenges, and indicators
from the previous year, including an official accounting of all City funding
for Urban Agriculture and an inventory of local resources and programs
relevant to Urban Agriculture in San Francisco. These annual reports would
also provide data on progress the City made in the prior year towards
meeting each of the Urban Agriculture Program's goals.

_________________________
Eli Zigas
Co-Coordinator, SFUAA
ezigas@cultivate-sf.org
www.sfuaa.org