City of Philadelphia - File #: 110352

• File #: 110352
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 5/5/2011
• In control: Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
• Final action: 5/12/2011
• Title: Authorizing Council's Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold hearings concerning the public benefits created by community gardening and urban agriculture, and the need for the City of Philadelphia to develop policies to promote and facilitate the use of vacant land for gardens and agriculture.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Sanchez, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Green
• Indexes: COMMUNITY GARDENING, URBAN AGRICULTURE

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
5/12/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED
5/5/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass

Title
Authorizing Council's Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold hearings concerning the public benefits created by community gardening and urban agriculture, and the need for the City of Philadelphia to develop policies to promote and facilitate the use of vacant land for gardens and agriculture.
Body
WHEREAS, There are tens of thousands of vacant and abandoned lots in the City of Philadelphia, creating a vast number of tracts of open land, which range in size from individual rowhome parcels to multiple city blocks; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Michael Nutter has pledged to make Philadelphia the "number 1" green city in America, and has established an Office of Sustainability and a "Greenworks" plan in furtherance of that goal; and

WHEREAS, The City's Parks and Recreation Department has recognized the transformative value of green space in neighborhoods, and created an ambitious "Green 2015" plan to transform 500 acres of empty and underused land into parks and community spaces; and

WHEREAS, Evidence demonstrates that greening vacant lots would increase the value of surrounding homes by 30%; and

WHEREAS, Many Philadelphians continue to face hunger and food insecurity, with more than one third of residents in some sections of the city unable to afford or find enough food for themselves and their families; and

WHEREAS, All over Philadelphia, people are gardening on lots they do not own, for a diverse range of reasons: to access fresh produce in areas without supermarkets; to grow the fruits and vegetables of their home countries and pass these traditions to the next generation; to feed the hungry; to reclaim and revive long-blighted lots and add value to neighboring properties; to remediate soil that has been contaminated and polluted; to spend time in the sun and fresh air; to add beauty and color to the streetscape; to educate about nutrition and environmental issues; to connect with others in a common gathering place;...