Many local governments in Florida want to create regulations for urban farms that allow them to coexist peacefully with city and suburban developments. However, state law preemption—a law that reserves almost all agricultural regulation for the state government—deters local lawmakers from doing so. Local Florida lawmakers need practical strategies they can employ to support urban agriculture in their jurisdictions.
A brand new resource, Empowering Florida’s Local Lawmakers to Engage with Urban Agriculture, written by Farm Commons in partnership with Dr. Catherine Campbell at the University of Florida, provides three practical strategies lawmakers can use to develop legal pathways for urban farms.
“Developing this resource was rewarding because this problem is unique to Florida law and has no straightforward solutions. We had to be inventive, but knowing that our ideas could help expand and support Florida’s small-scale urban or semi-urban agriculture scene was exciting!” said Farm Commons Staff Attorney Chloe Johnson. “I also really enjoyed working with Dr. Campbell, who was highly knowledgeable and passionate about this issue, which made it easy to get up to speed on the intricacies of the relevant Florida laws. Supporting urban agricultural advocates felt good; the work serves a specific purpose for folks with goals we can get behind.”
A link to Empowering Florida’s Local Lawmakers to Engage with Urban Agriculture will be available on our website later this fall.
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