Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Douglas County

Planning & Development Services

TO:	Planning Commission
FROM:	Mary Miller, Planner
Date:	February 17, 2016
RE:	Item No. 4:  TA-15-00346 – Text Amendment to the Land Development Code to add Urban Agriculture as a permitted use and establish standards

Attachments:

Attachment A: Results from Lawrence Listens Survey

Attachment B: Public communication received since the December meeting

Attachment C: Draft language for Development Code

Attachment D: Draft language for other portions of City Code

Staff Recommendation:

Staff recommends the approval of the Text Amendment, TA-15-00346, revising the Development Code and Chapters 3, 5, and 18 of the City Code to establish Urban Agriculture as a permitted use with standards and forwarding it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval.

Background

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on TA-15-00346, the Text Amendment to establish Urban Agriculture as a permitted use, at their December 14, 2015 meeting and returned the amendment to staff with directions for revisions. City staff added survey questions to the ‘Lawrence Listens’ feature on the City’s website to obtain more public input on the topic of Urban Agriculture and on-site slaughter. The majority of the respondents were supportive of Urban Agriculture. Most of the respondents indicated that on-site slaughter would be acceptable provided provisions were in place to shield the use from view. The results of this survey are included in Attachment A. 

The following table lists the Planning Commission’s directions from their December meeting and the revisions made to the draft language:

Planning Commission Direction	Revision
Address the ‘agricultural crops’ versus weeds issue in the Weed Ordinance.	Chapter 18 of the City Code has been revised to clarify that agricultural crops are not included in the weed provisions. The draft language is included with this memo as an attachment. The proposed standards for Crop Agriculture in the Development Code also clarifies this and cites the applicable section of the City Code.
Clearly define an Urban Farm and note what makes it different from other crop or animal agricultural uses.	The definition of Urban Farm was revised to clarify that an Urban Farm includes the same agricultural uses (with some additional accessory uses) as Crop Agriculture and Animal Agriculture, but it is at a larger scale than would be permitted under the standards for Crop or Animal Agriculture.
Provide information on the Property Maintenance Code rewrite	As the Property Maintenance Code rewrite may be complete before the Urban Agriculture text amendment is adopted, Planning Staff has developed language that will be included in the Property Maintenance Code when adopted. This language is provided with this amendment for consideration and action.
Define agricultural implements, equipment and materials.	This term has been added to the definition table and defined.
Add ‘permaculture, aquaponics, hydroponics’ to the definition of Urban Garden.	The term ‘Permaculture’, ‘hydroculture’, and ‘aquaculture’ were added to the definition of Urban Agriculture.
Look further into the issue of ‘on-site slaughter’ of small agriculture animals.	This item was specifically included on the Lawrence Listens survey to get more public input. The majority of the respondents to the survey were agreeable to on-site slaughter provided there were standards keeping it from view. Staff also researched other communities further. Communities vary in their approaches to on-site slaughter. Those that permit it require it to be done out of public view.
Develop a formula that would allow On-site Sales with limitations	Revised standards for on-site sales limit the hours of operation, regulate the location of the sales area, and tie the size of the retail sales area to the size of the lot.
Suggested that the language should be minimalistic and that it could be revised as problems arise.	Attempted to simplify and minimize the standards while maintaining enough regulations to insure compatibility with nearby land uses.

DEVELOPMENT CODE DRAFT LANGUAGE

SUMMARY OF REVISIONS

The following is a summary of the revisions being proposed to the draft language provided to the Commission in December. (New language is shown in bold and deleted language is shown as struck-through.)

1) Weeds 

Section 20-548(3)(ii) revised:

The site shall be kept free of debris or high grass or weeds, taller than 12 inches, (Crop Agriculture plants are not considered weeds as defined in Section 18-302(f) of the City Code and are exempt from the weed provisions in Section 18-304 of the City Code.)

2) On-Site Agricultural Sales

The definition of On-Site Agricultural Sales was revised to clarify that only un-processed products may be sold:

“ON SITE AGRICULTURAL SALES          

The sale of unprocessed agricultural products, such as plants, produce, eggs or honey, grown or produced on site. This term also applies to agricultural products grown or produced off-site that are sold in conjunction with products produced on-site if they are produced on a site that is maintained by the operator of the sales site.”

The standards for On-Site Agricultural Sales were revised to allow agricultural products grown off-site to be sold as part of the on-site sales:

“’On-site sales’ refers to products grown or produced on the premises and products that are grown or produced on another site within the City that is maintained by the operator of the sales site when sold in conjunction with products grown on the premises.”

Standards being recommended include a time frame between 8 AM and 8 PM. Stands used for display or sale must be located at least 20 ft from the curb or roadway and must be removed when sales are not in progress. The following limits are recommended for the retail sales area:

a. Sales area of up to 100 sq ft permitted for lots up to 7,000 sq ft in area.

b. Sales area of up to 150 sq ft permitted for lots up to 10,000 sq ft in area.

c. Sales area of up to 300 sq ft permitted for lots larger than 10,000 sq ft in area.

The standards for the temporary sign advertising the on-site sales were revised to note that the sign must be at least 20 ft from the curb or roadway or placed flat on a wall or door-or displayed in a window.

The 20 ft standard for the sales and the signage is intended to simplify the regulations. It is often not clear where the right-of-way line is on a property, so the location is based on the distance from the road. If the stand or sign is in the right-of-way, 20 ft should be enough of a separation so the use doesn’t cause a distraction or reduce visibility.

3) Urban Farms.

The definition was revised to clarify what constitutes an Urban Farm:

An Urban Agricultural use which is operated primarily for commercial purposes. An Urban Farm is distinguished from other Urban Agriculture uses by scale. 

a. An Urban Farm may have a larger retail sales area, more employees and/or more agricultural animals than permitted for Crop Agriculture and/or Small and Large Animal Agriculture.

b. An Urban Farm can include other uses such as an educational/training component and/or Agricultural Processing.

c. An Urban Farm may use Large-Scale Agricultural Implements, Equipment and Materials.

In addition, the standards were revised to simplify the Special Use Permit (SUP) process for an Urban Farm. Existing Urban Farms will be considered to have an Automatic Special Use Permit (SUP) provided they register with the Planning Office by January 1, 2017.  Changes will be processed per the Special Use Permit requirements in Section 20-1306 of the Development Code.

Special Use Permit for Urban Farms in Residential Districts

a. An Urban Agriculture use is considered an Urban Farm when it includes uses permitted as Crop Agriculture and/or Small or Large Animal Agriculture but exceeds the standards set by the Code for these uses. These standards include, but are not limited to, the maximum number of animals per size of lot, the maximum permitted size of the on-site sales area, hours of on-site sales, number of employees, and accessory activities on the site such as educational sessions.

b. An Urban Farm that was in existence in a residential zoning district prior to the adoption of these regulations (date) the use will be considered to have an automatic Special Use Permit. It will be necessary for owners/operators of Urban Farms to register the use with the Planning Office by Jan. 1, 2017 to qualify for the automatic Special Use Permit. Any alteration or expansion of the Urban Farm use are subject to the Special Use Amendment procedures of Section 20-1306 with the provisions included in the following section.

c. Given the nature of an Urban Farm use, an aerial photo may be used as the basis of the Special Use Permit plan. The plans are not required to be developed by a design professional, but must clearly show the details/dimensions necessary to insure setbacks are met, required screening is provided, and that parking areas and drive aisles meet the parking standards in Article 9.

Major changes would require the submittal of a SUP application and plan for Planning Commission consideration and public hearing and City Commission action. Minor Changes to the SUP can be approved by the Planning Director. Minor Changes are those that (1) will not alter the basic relationship of the proposed development to surrounding properties; (2) will not violate any of the standards and requirements of this Development Code; and (3) will not circumvent any conditions placed on the original approval.  In addition to these parameters, Section 20-1306(l)(6) of the Development Code lists several changes that are always considered minor.

The revised language notes that the Special Use Permit may use an aerial photo provided by the Planning Office as the base drawing for the plan.

These changes were made to provide a more simplified SUP process for the Urban Farm use.

4) Animal Agriculture.

The revised language notes that pigs are not allowed as Urban Agriculture. The revised language clarifies that Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs are allowed as pets per the requirements in Chapter 5 of the City Code.

The December draft language recommended allowing on-site slaughter for small animals, with the exception of sheep and goats. The revised language allows on-site slaughtering of all Small Agriculture Animals for personal use subject to the following standard:

“Small agricultural animals may be slaughtered and butchered on-site for personal use provided this occurs a minimum of 20 ft from the property line and outside of the public view or within an enclosed structure.”

This would address many of the concerns expressed in the Lawrence Listens Survey. Some survey responses expressed an interest in training for those interested in on-site slaughter.  The Food Policy Council indicated they may be able to arrange for training and education on this and other agricultural uses.

CHANGES TO OTHER CHAPTERS OF THE CITY CODE

• Chapter 3, Regulation of Animals, was revised in association with the changes to the Development Code.

• Chapter 18, Trees, was revised to clarify that crops grown as part of an Urban Agriculture use are not considered weeds.

• Chapter 9, Health and Sanitation incorporates the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code by reference in Article 6. This article was revised to clarify that agricultural implements, equipment, and materials that are in use may be located on the exterior portion of the premises and provides standards for the storage of these items when not in use. 

These revisions are included with this memo as an attachment.