Battle Creek City Commission Could Approve Community Gardens Tuesday

The Battle Creek City Commission will be working out the final details of an urban farming ordinance at their meeting Tuesday, January 3, one that has been in the works for almost a year.

According to the Commission’s Agenda for their first meeting of the year, the proposed ordinance will be introduced, and likely approved. The ordinance will allow residents to grow private and community gardens on vacant Battle Creek lots, without rezoning, as long as the gardens remain a secondary use of the property.

Urban Commercial Farms will also be allowed, with a few more catches to avoid becoming a nuisance to residents.

The original version of the ordinance as introduced to the Commission by Sprout Urban Farms in February 2016 also allowed for animals like hens, goats and bees; that portion will see more work throughout 2017, as it received more push-back.

See the full City Commission Agenda, including the full text of the proposed ordinance, by clicking here.