Omaha city planners are hoping to expand urban agriculture
An amendment to the city's zoning ordinance would allow the practice in all zoning areas
An amendment to the city's zoning ordinance would allow the practice in all zoning areas
An amendment to the city's zoning ordinance would allow the practice in all zoning areas
Nebraska is known for its agriculture, but the zoning codes in the state's largest city don't explicitly lay out a way residents can grow food.
It also doesn't restrict it.
"Right now, it's sort of a gray area," said Tim Fries, a city planner for the city of Omaha.
Organizations like City Sprouts have been working in that gray area for years.
"We think that it's a way for all Omahans, if they're interested, to engage with their local food system and build a really strong, healthy and vibrant food system that takes care of everybody in town," said Aaron French, manager of urban farm initiatives at City Sprouts.
Omaha's urban planning department has been working with local agriculture leaders to combat food insecurity since 2014.
Urban agriculture provides another tool in the toolbox in that fight.
"If we grow 10,000 pounds of food on this land right here and it goes out to people in Omaha who need it, that food is fresher, it's healthier, it gets to them much quicker," said French.
An amendment to Omaha's zoning ordinance is open for public comment until Dec. 17.
The plan allows growing in all zoning districts and the building of agriculture structures under certain conditions.
"The city already has, like agriculture and crop production in its zoning code, but it's only allowed in areas sort of on the periphery with large lots," Fries said. "What this is really trying to do is bring that agriculture into areas where it's not already allowed."
The amendment would not restrict a garden grown to feed an individual family.
It does provide guidelines for people who want to use their property to grow food for sale or donate it on a larger scale.
"A lot of the things in the zoning proposal are very permissive," French said. "They allow for a lot of activities that aren't currently allowed. They codify them in a way that that hopefully will be impacting urban agriculturalists and urban farmers or gardeners in Omaha for decades to come."
To learn more about the amendment, go to: https://urbanplanning.cityofomaha.org/municipal-code-amendments