Mayor Edwin M. Lee Signs Landmark Urban Agriculture Legislation

Mayor Edwin M. Lee signed into law an amendment to San Francisco's planning code that will explicitly allow for "urban agriculture" in all areas of the City and the sale of produce from urban gardens in all zones.

The Urban Agriculture Ordinance amends the San Francisco Planning Code to recognize various scales and intensities of local food production, from small scale gardens to larger-scale urban agriculture. The legislation allows for the sale, pick-up and donation of fresh food and horticultural products grown on-site in all districts, and for the sale of "value-added products" such as jams or pickles where the primary ingredients are grown and produced on-site in all districts except districts zoned for exclusively residential uses. Food and horticultural products grown that are used for personal consumption remain unregulated.

The Ordinance is an instrumental part of the City's efforts to encourage local food production in the region. In July 2009, former Mayor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Directive 09-03, Healthy and Sustainable Food for San Francisco, which directed all City departments to implement actions consistent with the goal of fostering local food production in San Francisco. The Ordinance, co-sponsored by Mayor Lee and Supervisors David Chiu, Eric Mar, Ross Mirkarimi and Malia Cohen, passed the Board of Supervisors on April 12th.

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