Zoning Considerations for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture

Abstract

This paper suggests that if food production is to become commonplace in urban and urbanizing areas in the USA, agriculture must accept the same types of restrictions as are common for other land uses. Zoned uses for "urban agriculture", for example, might be limited to organic, bio-intensive, and other methods appropriate in densely populated areas. Industrial agriculture should be subject to the same zoning restriction and nuisance laws as any other industrial operation. If farmers resist reasonable land-use restrictions, food production will continue to be zoned out of urban and peri-urban areas.