JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A small farm tucked into Jacksonville\u2019s Springfield neighborhood is fueling a renewed push at City Hall to spell out clearer rules for urban agriculture \u2014 especially when it comes to selling what you grow.<\/p>\n
Nathan Ballentine, who runs Overalls Farms, said growing food isn\u2019t the hard part. The challenge, he said, has been operating without clear guidance from the city on how community and market gardens fit into Jacksonville\u2019s zoning code.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said\u2026 \u2018we can\u2019t tell you you can do that\u2026 but we also can\u2019t tell you you can\u2019t do that,\u2019\u201d Ballentine said.<\/p>\n
Supporters say that uncertainty helped launch what residents began calling the \u201cFree to Garden Act\u201d \u2014 a community push to create a legal framework for urban farming and neighborhood-scale gardens.<\/p>\n
A farm model serving hundreds of families<\/p>\n
Ballentine says his Springfield site is one of several small urban plots in his operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at Overalls Farm 3\u2026 which is our neighborhood farm,\u201d Ballentine said.<\/p>\n
Across the farms, Ballentine said they have \u201cthe capacity to serve about 200 families as we\u2019re currently growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJacksonville\u2019s blessed in that we can grow through 12 months a year,\u201d Ballentine said. \u201cAnd so I see a future in which more of our produce consumption of the city is growing right here in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballentine said the effort to create an urban agriculture framework began years ago through the Duval Food Policy Council and an urban agriculture working group. But advocates say for a long time there wasn\u2019t an actual ordinance for council members to debate \u2014 even as residents repeatedly showed up for public comment urging action.<\/p>\n
Now, council members Raul Arias and Jimmy Peluso are introducing an urban agriculture ordinance Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought them into the green room\u2026 \u2018Hey, what exactly do you guys need from us?\u2019\u201d Arias said.<\/p>\n
What the ordinance would change<\/p>\n