Title
Deliberation on Urban Agriculture Code Amendments
Body
Body
Issue:
The Planning Commission will make recommendations to Council on possible changes to the Olympia Municipal Code that pertain to urban agriculture.
Committee Recommendation:
At their September 27, 2012 meeting the Land Use and Environment Committee directed the Planning Commission to receive a briefing, hold a hearing and deliberate on changes to the Olympia Municipal Code dealing with three areas within urban agriculture: classification and allowed number of chickens and other small farm animals, neighborhood farm stands, and fence and wall requirements.
Director's Recommendation:
Move to recommend the Planning Commission deliberate and make a recommendation to the City Council on changes to the Olympia Municipal Code dealing with three areas within urban agriculture: classification and allowed number of chickens and other small farm animals, neighborhood farm stands, and fence requirements.
Staff Contact:
Jennifer Kenny, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.753.8031
Presenter(s):
Jennifer Kenny
Background and Analysis:
On September 26, 2011, staff briefed the Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) on current policies regarding urban agriculture and proposed changes to the City Code. LUEC directed staff to collaborate with Sustainable South Sound’s (SSS) Local Food Systems Program to explore the issues further. The City and SSS co-hosted a public meeting on April 25, 2012, to hear community members' concerns and ideas about potential changes to City Codes and programs. Around 80 people attended the meeting. There was unanimous support for more permissive codes related to the growing and selling of agricultural products and to declassify chickens as pets, and concerns about fence and wall requirements, among other ideas.
Animals
Olympia’s Code is more restrictive than neighboring cities in terms of the number and type of allowable animals. The City has rec...
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