On April 29, 2010, DPD released a SEPA Determination of Non-significance (DNS) for Land Use Code changes intended to remove barriers to urban agriculture. The proposed legislation includes recommendations to add and/or clarify definitions of key agricultural terms; expand opportunities for community gardens and urban farms in all zones; allow a 15-foot exception to height limits for rooftop greenhouses dedicated to food production; add farmers’ markets to the definition of a “multipurpose retail sales” use; increase the number of domestic fowl allowed on a lot from three to eight; and, allow existing urban horse farms greater than ten acres to operate as a permitted use in single-family zones.
These code changes are a key component in the “2010: The Year of Urban Agriculture” campaign to promote urban agriculture efforts and increase community access to locally grown food.
For more information on DPD’s work on code changes for urban agriculture, and to comment on the proposed code changes, please visit the project website: www.seattle.gov/dpd/urbanagriculture.
Andrea Petzel
Senior Urban Planner
andrea.petzel@seattle.gov
Related Documents
Food Policy Ordinance
Urban Agriculture SEPA Checklist
Urban Agriculture Draft Director’s Report
Urban Agriculture Appendix A Policy Options Matrix
Urban Agriculture SEPA Decision
Frequently Asked Questions