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From the highest spot in the lovely community garden in Seattle's Chinatown. Photo by Megan Driscoll.
Urban Agriculture Seattle
Specifically, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD)_is proposing the following code changes to support and encourage urban agriculture:
1. Add and/or clarify definitions for the following key terms: horticulture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, community gardens (including P-Patch community gardens), and urban farms. These refined definitions have additional recommendations (below) for regulation by zone.
2. Allow community gardens (including P-Patch community gardens) as permitted uses in all zones, with some limitations in industrial zones.
3. Allow urban farms in all zones as follows:
Commercial: Allow urban farms as a principal or accessory use. Horticulture uses are currently limited to 10,000 sq. ft. in NC1 zones and 25,000 sq. ft. in NC2 zones; there are no size of use restrictions in NC3 or C zones. In commercial zones, urban farms and horticulture uses are measured by planting area and floor area of a structure.
Industrial: Allow urban farms as an accessory or principal use outside of designated MICs, and on tops and sides of buildings in all industrial zones. Currently, horticulture uses are not allowed in industrial zones, and DPD proposes no change to this provision as based on the new definition of a horticulture use.
Residential: Allow urban farms as an accessory use up to 4,000 sq. ft. of planting area and as a principal use greater than 4,000 sq. ft. of planting area, subject to an administrative conditional use permit process. Currently, agriculture uses are not allowed in residential zones.
4. Allow rooftop greenhouses a 15 foot exception to height limits as a rooftop feature, if the greenhouse is dedicated to food production in MF/C/I/SM/Downtown zones.
5. Add farmers' markets to the definition of multipurpose uses.
6. Increase the number of chickens allowed on residential property from three to eight, and regulated by lot rather than by dwelling unit or business. DPD also proposes to add that roosters are not allowed in any zone.
7. Allow existing urban horse farms greater than ten acres to operate as a permitted use in all zones. Current regulations allow farm animals based on lot size. Allowing horse farms greater than 10 acres to be a permitted use would allow for building accessory structures that are not permitted to be built under existing regulations for nonconforming uses.
Urban agriculture in Seattle
Urban agriculture is a type of infill development that fits into growth strategy for Seattle and the region, by adding a missing element of livable communities and stimulating small-scale economic development. There is a tremendous opportunity to develop local sources of healthy food by turning existing lawn and garden space into productive agricultural plots. Small-scale urban agriculture can help create livable, walkable and sustainable communities, and implement City goals of sustainability and economic development.
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