Growing concern: new Hamilton agriculture policies

NRU
Oct. 1, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

A new city initiative addressing food security is trying to make it a little easier for residents to grow and sell food in the City of Hamilton.

A city-initiated official plan amendment is adding policies to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan to facilitate the creation of community gardens and urban farms.

Policy planning and zoning by-law reform manager Joanne Hickey-Evans said the amendment is “extremely positive.”

“It speaks to us moving forward and dealing with one aspect of food security. The opportunities [will now be] around for those people that want to take advantage.”

Hickey-Evans said the official plan amendment is a result of concerns with the city’s zoning by-law. She noted that the city has seven zoning by-laws for the downtown core and former preamalgamated municipalities, some allow urban agriculture, others don’t.

“We’re trying to get consistency. So that’s how [the official plan amendment] came about.”

Hickey-Evans said the urban agriculture initiative grew out of one of the city’s neighbourhood action strategies.

“The McQuesten neighbourhood always identified urban agriculture as something that [residents] would like to do as part of addressing food security... [The residents] wanted to start an urban farm and they wanted it to be much like a social enterprise where they could teach people how to grow things, sell the products and use the products.”

The official plan amendment creates two categories of agricultural uses: community gardens and urban farms.

Hickey-Evans said the difference is in the scale and whether retail sales are allowed.

“Community gardens are individual plots of land where people grow food. Vegetables, fruits, edible plans - not flowers, not trees - for their own personal consumption, or donation,” said Hickey-
Evans. She notes that people may take the produce they grow to sell at a market, just not on site.

“Urban farms on the other hand, we’re looking at establishing at a minimum of an acre. So it could have structures like greenhouses. [Residents] can also sell the produce they grow, or through the social enterprise model, make jam or pickles.”

The city is attempting to be flexible, permitting both urban farms and community gardens in all areas save for industrial ones, as outdoor cropping is considered to be a sensitive land use. Hickey-Evans noted however that a previous official plan amendment - adopted by council June 25 - will allow greenhouses and aquaponic facilities in Hamilton’s industrial areas.

The urban agriculture official plan amendment was approved by Hamilton council September 24.