Author: Bethany Pratt
Planning Unit: Family and Consumer Sciences
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Plan of Work: Developing leadership skills for community and civic engagement
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
Louisville Metro Government has Land Development Codes that regulate what can and cannot happen on all property within Louisville. These codes have often come in conflict with residents’ ability and interest to practice agriculture in an urban environment. Starting in December of 2020, Metro Government office of Louisville Forward began an equity review of these codes. Jefferson Co Horticulture Agent worked with members of the Louisville Urban Agriculture Coalition (UAC) to review and provide suggested changes to the Land Development Code in order to increase the ability of citizens to practice agriculture in an urban environment.
Over the course of seven months, the Hort Agent coordinated various ways for members of the UAC to review and then write suggested changes to the Land Development Code to increase options for citizens of Jefferson Co. to engage in urban agriculture. Opportunities to review the code included: polling of UAC members about certain sections of the previous code; focus groups with various citizens currently engaged in urban ag; one on one conversations with urban agriculturalists and collaborative draft editing sessions with a core group of interested urban agriculturalists.
Once a draft was developed, the Hort Agent helped arrange a series of meetings between members of the UAC and the review team in Louisville Forward. After several private and four public meetings, all changes suggested by the UAC were passed by Louisville Metro Council on June 10, 2021. Some highlights of the changes drafted under the facilitation of the Jefferson Co. Hort Agent are:
The above changes will allow citizens in Louisville greater ability to practice agriculture within the urban environment without fear of reprisal from city government.
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