Agriculture is an important strategy for mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis, which we all know is disproportionally affecting New Orleans. Agriculture encourages community wellness, biodiversity, soil health, and air quality amongst a variety of other benefits. For these reasons, it is so important that the city of New Orleans begins to see agriculture and gardening not as isolated and temporary activities but as powerful vehicles for creating a better city.

We propose the following policy platform that changes growing food in our city from 'allowed' to encouraged. For more information, check out our website!

• Plank 1: Growing Green and NORA Lease Changes

• Publishing the steps of the process with clear timelines and additional resources

• Harmonizing the lease restrictions with what’s allowed under the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO)

• Allowing the lease payments to be subtracted from the sale price

• Decision matrix for:

• Continuation of leases

• Application acceptance

• Allowing the leases to be recorded legally

• Allowing appraisal of property value as an agriculture use rather than the highest and best use

• Clarifying the process for blight citations and violations

• Plank 2: Accessible process for getting agricultural water meters installed

• Having a clear and consistent way to speak to Sewerage and Water Board (SWB) about agricultural meters

• Training SWB staff on the process of putting in and billing for an agricultural water meter

• Having public documentation for the process, including a step-by-step form for getting a dedicated meter

• Plank 3: Alter the process for reporting and citing blight to understand the needs of growers and how gardens look during different seasons

• Relying on relationship with Urban Agriculture Liaison to help inform when a property is genuinely causing blight or when it looks different than city officials are used to (i.e., cover cropping)

• Creating a more fair and transparent process for requiring the removal of blight from urban farms and gardens

• Plank 4: Creating an appointed Urban Agriculture Liaison position - with access across City Government

• Allowing access for one person to ask questions directly, create recommendations and attend meetings with city officials (such as blight hearings)

• This person can be a point of contact for both growers or the city.