Two years ago, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved my Urban Agricultural Incentive Zone Proposal. The program helps expand community access to fresh produce through a property tax incentive for qualifying land owners who allow urban gardens on their property.
There’s a new website for the program (listed below). Applications and an interactive map highlighting eligible lots are available for the public to view. The program gives communities throughout the City an economic tool to simplify the development of community gardens on eyesore properties. The measure reduces the property tax on a participating parcel in exchange for a minimum five-year contract to use the site for urban agriculture.
The parcels must meet the standards established in State Code and the City of San Diego ordinance. The parcel must be vacant or unimproved. A “vacant” parcel can have a slab or similar but cannot have structures. An “unimproved” parcel is empty with no improvements on it. Parcels must be between 0.1 and 3 acres (4,356 and 130,680 square feet).
This new program helps the development and maintenance of equitable, healthy, and sustainable foods in San Diego. For more information, please check the website at <www.sandiego.gov/economic-
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