On July 6, 2016, the City of Merced's Planning Commission will make a vote that will shape the future of community gardens in Merced. Your voice is critical to encourage the city to pass a policy that would make creating community gardens in Merced both affordable and accessible.

For the first time in ~50 years, the city is updating its zoning ordinances, a code that regulates what can be built where within the City of Merced. The final draft is up for public review and comments from June 16 - July 6, 2016. You can view the updated zoning ordinance draft here.

This new code states that all community gardens built in residential areas (e.g., parks, empty lots, private property, and neighborhoods) must have a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), which costs close to $3,000, requires multiple levels of city staff approval,  and can take up to 3 months to obtain. This process will be expensive and burdensome for many groups who want to start community gardens in Merced (such as nonprofits, grassroots community organizations, churches, youth groups, social entrepreneurs, and others).

The Conditional Use Permit is also required for on-site sales from community gardens in residential zones. While a CUP might make sense for larger urban farming efforts (although even that could be debatable), this could keep smaller community gardens from selling their healthy, locally grown produce in Merced neighborhoods, even in food deserts where fresh produce is difficult to come by (see Seattle's market gardens​, San Diego’s Linda Vista Community Garden, and Illinois’ Garden of Hope for just a few examples of how community garden stands can increase access to healthy food). 

Please sign if you support changing the permitting process to make it easier and less expensive to create community gardens in Merced and if you would like more community gardens to be able to sell produce on-site.  

Written comments can be submitted before 5pm on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, to the Planning Department’s Director of Development Services, David Gonzalves, via email (mendozaf@cityofmerced.org) or in person (Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street).

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 7pm in the Civic Center (678 W. 18th Street) to hear public comments and then vote on the zoning ordinance updates. This is a critical opportunity to weigh in and express your opinion; we strongly advise attending this meeting.

For more information and meeting reminders, please email hello@mercedlocalfood.org.