Sustainable, urban farming is blowing up! (Miami, Springfield: for sale, apartments, gated community)

[fsu813]

FYI.

Here's a great Q & A about urban gardening and agriculture for Jacksonville:

Urban Agriculture Q&A | mySpringfield

"Most everyone knows that I have been working to have COJ amend our zoning code to allow for more Urban Agriculture, which is a strong national trend. After meeting with the Planning Department (who is very receptive), the next step is to get City Council on board.

So, I have been working on contacting community groups all over Jacksonville to gather more support. Most community groups have been very open to hearing more about this.

So I have put together a Q&A based on one that Denver distributed when they changed their code and also pulled from the American Planning Association's book, Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places."

Etc

[FNFCG]

There has been a lot of back and forth regarding whether it is appropriate to allow city dwellers to own "livestock".

As part and parcel of the Urban Agriculture debate, it is important to think of ALL of the residents in an urban environment when participating in this debate. We need to put our personal considerations aside and take our role as citizens seriously when considering whether or not to change existing laws and ordinances. We must function as an impartial jury.

It is important to note that there are laws on the books regarding animals that become nuisances - these are the same laws which govern whether or not your neighbors' typical household pets, cats and dogs, become problematic for you. So, any issues that arise because of the animals living on your neighbors' property, any animals, would be handled in that manner.

Regarding whether or not it is appropriate for egg laying birds to be banned with a city, these animals provide a critical link to putting healthy, inexpensive protein through their eggs into the diets of our area's neediest residents. Do we really have the right to ban that? Do we have the right to force these residents to keep chickens illegally and possibly face stiff fines and penalties when they are simply trying to make ends meet?

The actual local cost of 1 dozen home raised eggs is $0.88 compared to the cost of 1 dozen factory raised eggs at $2.49.

Whether or not we want our neighbors to have chickens - do we have the right to tell the senior citizen who lives on the other side of town that they cannot live independently and with dignity and provide for themselves? Is it our view as a municipality that it is better for someone who cannot afford proper nutrition to be forced to rely on entitlement or aid programs for their daily bread?

Our city has developed rapidly within the last 30 years or so; in the not so distant past it was considered normal for families to keep a garden at home and to raise their own chickens. I myself grew up in my grandmother's garden in San Marco, as close to the city center as you can get, with chickens, rabbits, geese and ducks which were raised for food and not as pets. Six children and numerous grandchildren were raised on the salary of a Jacksonville ship yard worker and that garden and those chickens. We lived with good nutrition and dignity.

It is not a sign of progress that these circumstances have become rare - in other major urban cities, these activities are encouraged and condoned by the local city government. Florida used to be largely rural and has just lately become heavily developed; we need to ask ourselves why we have striven to eradicate anything associated with a rural lifestyle from our city. Is it necessarily true that there is no place in the city for chickens and gardens?

If you are an opponent of the changes that would make chicken keeping legal in Jacksonville, I would encourage you to research other large cities that allow chicken keeping and familiarize yourself with the pros and cons that those areas experience. Talk to your neighbors and find out if they have ever lived next to urban chickens and see what sort of issues and benefits they experienced as a result.

Thank you,
Friends of Northeast Florida Community Gardens
Friends of Northeast Florida Community Gardens

[EricBoyd]

Great info! I'm hoping I can make it to the Oct 6th meeting.

[Robyn55]

Are there any poor black people who are into raising chickens in JAX to get their protein? Or is it just a bunch of white urban yuppies?

I really don't have a dog in this fight since I don't live in Duval County. But eggs are a WIC product - and I reckon there are many more poor people using WIC to get their food than poor people who are raising chickens in their back yards. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Forgot to translate (for those who need a translation). WIC basically equals food stamps. So poor people can get eggs with food stamps. Whereas they cannot buy chickens or chicken feed or chicken coops or trips to the vet or similar except with cold hard cash. This has nothing to do with poor people IMO. Robyn

[EricBoyd]

Stereotypes aside, I'm guessing this is more about folks who are accustomed to providing for their own needs, instead of continually relying on government programs to do it for them. There's a time and place for limited welfare programs, and people close to me are benefiting from the programs into which they paid for many years.

[cricketfan]

Judging from the number of livestock that are continually crossing the roads as I drive through certain parts of St. Johns County and am constantly forced to apply my brakes to avoid them (especially chickens and goats), I would guess that there is no such ordinance in SJC outside of planned communities.

[JBtwinz]

This is a little perplexing. Isn't one of the people championing this currently being fined for having goats and chickens illegally? It is one thing to try to bring about changes through the process, but disregard the laws. One makes you wonder. There's the right way and the wrong way to bring about change. Obviously this woman has her own agenda. Too bad she is making everyone else interested in this change look bad.

Hearing tonight will focus on urban gardens, livestock within Jacksonville city limits | jacksonville.com

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

Goat is great if done right. One of my favorite dish's is,... "kaddo bourani"
which is...Afghani sugar pumpkin with goat and yogurt sauces. I fell in love with this delicacy in early 80's when on assignment in the Army. Curried goat is also awesome.

The key is to use young gelded goats for meat. Ungelded goats taste bad. Females are good too of course, but they make milk and more goats.

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by JBtwinz

This is a little perplexing. Isn't one of the people championing this currently being fined for having goats and chickens illegally? It is one thing to try to bring about changes through the process, but disregard the laws. One makes you wonder. There's the right way and the wrong way to bring about change. Obviously this woman has her own agenda. Too bad she is making everyone else interested in this change look bad.

Hearing tonight will focus on urban gardens, livestock within Jacksonville city limits | jacksonville.com

Look bad? Huh? What an odd thing to say.

Anyone who has a community garden is also.subject to fines currently, as part of the same outdated policy.

Pretty much every i've met and learns aboutbthe details/rules supports it. It's just common sense really.