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Department of Community Development
Reference: Urban Agriculture Code Amendment
To: Mayor Richard N. McLean and Members of City Council
Through: Manuel Esquibel, City Manager
Prepared By: Aja Tibbs, Long Range & Historic Preservation Planner
Date Prepared: February 13, 2015
PURPOSE
To amend the Municipal Code in order to adopt new regulations for urban agriculture practices and to remove various conflicting provisions and centralize all animal related regulations within Chapter 6, Animals., of the Municipal Code.
BACKGROUND
The origination of zoning across the nation in the early and mid-1900's sought to separate and categorize uses in order to address nuisances and unsightly conflicts that arose in urban areas. However, it is common that these regulations established a black and white line in areas which were actually quite gray. As a result, communities have been working for many years to determine how best to consider gray areas, and address them so that they are appropriately mixed in urban areas. For example, commercial and residential uses are typically separated or buffered between each other because of conflicts that arise with noise generation, hours of operation, traffic, etc. At the same time, certain examples of mixed use units support each other and bring an atmosphere that is desired by many. Staff has also found this to be the case with certain agricultural uses. The establishment of zoning regulations within Brighton pushed almost all animals (pets being the exception) into agricultural properties. However, over time, staff has found that limited agricultural uses can promote healthier eating and food production, education to future generations, and with certain guidelines, would not have the same negative impacts that were originally assumed.
Therefore, staff presented some basic guidelines at a joint Planning Commission and City Council Study Session meeting held on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. With a general understan...
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