In these resources, local municipalities and community advocates can find ideas and models for local policies and/or regulations that can help support and encourage community gardens.
Title: Zoning for Urban Agriculture: A Guide for Updating Your City's Laws to Support Healthy Food Production and Access
Sponsoring Organization: Healthy Food Policy Project
Description: Web page also downloadable as a PDF. "This resource summarizes zoning laws that promote and support agriculture in urban municipalities and highlights examples of strategies from around the country." Although it covers all urban agriculture, some sections are specific to non-commercial agriculture including community gardens. Includes a section on "Promoting Equity in the Zoning Code," which discusses policies and zoning code changes to ensure access to marginalized communities. A section on "Action Steps: How to Change the Zoning Code" is particularly useful for community garden advocates, urban farmers, and others who seek to make their local municipal codes more supportive of urban agriculture and reduce zoning barriers. Includes a New Rochelle example.
Title: Cultivating Community Gardens -- The Role of Local Government in Creating Healthy, Livable Neighborhoods
Sponsoring Organization: Local Government Commission
Description: Web page (information also downloadable as a PDF) on community garden benefits to their communities and how local governments can help, with strategies and examples from communities around the USA. "Local government leaders are in a unique position to promote healthy eating and active living in their communities by supporting community gardens.... Such gardens can improve nutrition, physical activity, community engagement, safety, and economic vitality for a neighborhood and its residents. Barriers, such as liability expenses, code restrictions and a lack of resources, which often make it difficult for communities to establish or maintain gardens in their neighborhoods, can be overcome with local government engagement."
Title: Urban Agriculture
Sponsoring Organization: American Planning Association
Description: A collection of resources providing policy guidance and examples of local policies and regulations that allow or support urban agriculture, including the subtopic of community gardens. See page for links to articles and guides such as "Community Gardens Model Ordinance" (10 p.).
Title: Dig It! A Practical Toolkit: How Local Governments Can Support Community Gardens
Sponsoring Organization: American Planning Association (original source: British Columbia Ministry of Community Development)
Description: Excellent 53-page guide "provides guidance on various roles local governments can take to support community gardens. It provides context, explaining why and how local governments would want to support community gardens, describing the different types of community gardens, and listing the many benefits of community gardens. It then offers four strategies for successful community garden programs and several tools and templates for developing and supporting community garden programs. Appendices include design and siting guidelines for community gardens and sample rules and tips."
Title: County Health Rankings and Roadmaps: Community Garden Beneficial Outcomes and Evidence of Effectiveness
Sponsoring Organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Description: Includes links to model local government polices to encourage community gardens and urban agriculture.
Title: Community Gardening Policy Reference Guide
Sponsoring Organization: Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Description: This comprehensive 60-page guide "provides a road map for how local laws and policies can impact local gardening efforts." Useful for both community garden advocates and local decision-makers to craft local laws and policies that can help promote successful community gardens. Sections include such topics as community engagement; funding/donations; local zoning and land use regulations that affect garden uses, fencing, and structures, etc.; liability insurance and waivers; and much more. Includes many examples from around the U.S.
Title: Seeding the City: Land Use Policies to Promote Urban Agriculture
Sponsoring Organization: ChangeLab Solutions
Description: Download the Seeding the City Toolkit, a detailed 40-page PDF. "Communities around the country are looking to promote healthier eating by encouraging urban agriculture, especially through backyard gardens, community gardens, and urban farms...ChangeLab Solutions developed this toolkit to provide a framework and model language for land use policies that local policymakers can tailor to promote and sustain urban agriculture in their communities."
"To be successful, urban agriculture must be cultivated in a way that promotes food production without creating a nuisance for surrounding property owners and users. In addition, it should follow safe agricultural practices to protect farmers and gardeners, neighboring residents, and city governments from harm or potential liability costs. With careful planning and zoning, urban agriculture can be successfully and seamlessly integrated into urban environments."
Title: Community Garden Resources: Garden Politics
Sponsoring Organization: American Community Garden Association (AGCA)
Description: Page of downloadable articles useful for community garden advocates to learn how to gain community and government support for a garden, including "Ten Tips on Local Advocacy (Especially to Get Gardens Protected)," "How to Lobby Successfully," and "The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values."