Kansas City Food Blog

​A committee organized to identify the key issues around urban agriculture in the Kansas City, Missouri metro area -- the result of a public forum on October 22 -- met for the first time on Monday night at the Nutter Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center in midtown.

"We want to revise the codes of Kansas City, Missouri, to be more supportive of urban farming and lay out a pathway that other municipalities can follow," said Katherine Kelly, director of the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture.

For a couple of hours, 37 farmers, community activists and residents sat down to discuss the realities of farming in Kansas City and what needs to change.

"While we're talking about traffic or the potential blight of farm stands, that's not a reality yet," said Brooke Salvaggio, co-owner of Bad Seed Farm (full disclosure:  I belong to the farm's Community Supported Agriculture program). "Nobody has seen the reality of a greener city and there might not be any issues with it. We are not advocating for industrialized agriculture in this city."

The meeting, led by the KCCUA and the Greater KC Food Policy Coalition, focused exclusively on the issue of produce and farming practices. A separate subcommittee will meet to address livestock on urban farms. In a freewheeling discussion, people had a variety of suggestions for how the city could promote urban agriculture.

"The problem is to define urban farming without stifling it or adding another layer of bureaucracy," said Dan Heryer, Salvaggio's husband, who co-owns Bad Seed.

Residents suggested that new neighborhood trees planted by the city could be fruit or nut trees; land could be designated for agricultural purposes similar to park land; organic practices could be mandated for urban farms; and changes to the zoning code could provide guidance for would-be farmers. 

"I'm hoping for more availability and enthusiasm for local food in Kansas City -- seeing a code that allows growers to sell and connect with potential buyers. Then local food will grow all on its own," said Rachel Hogan, who recently completed a year-long internship on a series of organic farms in Missouri and is looking to help develop community gardens in Kansas City.

The group identified five core issues that need to be addressed in reforming the current development code: selling produce at the site of a farm; regulating employees or volunteers; growing on other people's property; nuisance control (composting, signage and farm apparatus); and addressing the concerns of neighborhoods. 

Patty Noll, an urban planner in the City Planning and Development Department, told the farmers: "We understand and we want to get this done, so you can get started on spring planning."

After the steering committee recommends a course of action, Noll said her office would draft a revision to the code. If it is approved by the City Plan Commission -- a board consisting of eight residents that meets on the first and third Tuesdays of every month -- then it will be considered by the City Council Planning and Zoning Committee. Noll estimated that it would take a minimum of six weeks for that process.

The steering committee will attempt to reach out to neighborhood associations in the coming weeks, distributing educational information in pamphlets and online.

"This is an issue of education. We've just got to work with neighborhood leaders to identify concerns and come up with an enforceable code that is as common sense and simple as possible," said Noll.  

The group is set to meet again on November 18 at the Nutter Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center.

[Image via Flick: addictive picasso]