Urban Ag Faces Steep Climb At City Council

Urban agriculture may be the wave of the future according to some, but Southwest Minneapolis' City Councilmember Meg Tuthill (Ward 9) isn't convinced.

According to the Southwest Journal, Tuthill has proposed several limits to proposed zoning changes that were intended to let urban growers thrive, including circumscribing their ability to sell produce directly from the farm. At issue, she says, is quality of life—many of her constituents didn't move to Minneapolis, she says, to live next to a farm.

"Since we are a built city, and we live so close to one another, we also have to respect the property rights of the people next door to us, behind us and across the street from us," she told Minnesota Public Radio.

MPR also interviewed Robert Woods, a prospective farmer from North Minneapolis, who says well-designed urban agriculture regulations can help put the city's unemployed youth to work. The Southwest Journal's Dylan Thomas reported on the proposed zoining changes earlier this year.

The Minneapolis City Council's Zoning and Planning committee votes on the package of zoning changes on Thursday, Mar. 22.