Last week, we posted about Oakland cracking down on urban farmer and writer Novella Carpenter. Well, Carpenter has posted an update on her blog Ghost Town Farm. She says after the uproar over her story in the SF Chronicle, an Oakland planning official paid her a visit and cleared up the finer points of where zoning and urban farming intersect.
It turns out that growing any food on an empty lot in the City of Oakland is illegal. But not for long. On April 14th, new urban agriculture laws take effect under the city's zoning update, and it will become legal to grow veggies on empty lots.
Carpenter says her chickens, ducks and rabbits will still be illegal, since the new laws don't apply to livestock. But Oakland will revist that issue in 6-8 months. And judging by the comments on Carpenter's blog, Oakland can expect an earful when they ask for public comment.
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