We’ve got an important issue coming up next week. On Monday, July 18th the city council will vote whether or not to re-zone a part of our Urban Farm to C-1 (Commercial). We need your support! Please come to the council meeting and speak up or write your city council representative to let them know you want a YES vote on the re-zoning of CCUA’s Urban Farm at 1207 Smith Street. If this passes, CCUA will be able to once again sell produce from the Urban Farm. We have the support of our neighbors, the North Central Neighborhood Association, and the Planning and Zoning Commission has voted to recommend our re-zoning to the city council. Sales direct from the Urban Farm are crucial to the efficiency of our operation.
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City Council Persons:
Mayor: Bob McDavid mayor@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 1: Fred Schmidt ward1@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 2: Jason Thornhill ward2@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 3: Gary Kespohl ward3@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 4: Daryl Dudley ward4@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 5: Helen Anthony ward5@gocolumbiamo.com
Ward 6: Barbara Hoppe ward6@gocolumbiamo.com
If you don’t know what ward you live in, here is a map http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Maps/wards.php
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Re-Zoning to C-1 WILL:
* Open a market for fresh, healthy foods in a part of town where grocery stores are non-existent.
* Allow CCUA to sell it’s own produce from it’s own farm.
* Allow CCUA to sell other locally-produced products at it’s farm.
* Provide the option to sell prepared foods.
* Provide the option to create and sell value-added goods.
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Create an economic niche for CCUA; compared to other types of agri-tourism, the Urban Farm is very accessible and the proximity to a hundred thousand Columbians is a niche which no other farm fills.
* Stimulate Economic Development…
o The Urban Farm directly funds two full-time salaries.
o The Urban Farm provides job-training through Columbia’s CARE program.
o The Urban Farm provides internships to university students.
o The Urban Farm trains volunteers to supplement their income by growing their own food.
Re-Zoning to C-1 WILL NOT:
* Diminish the character of the neighborhood.
o Commercial fits the character of the neighborhood, the Urban Farm is surrounded by commercial activity on the Business Loop (North), and industrial uses (South).
* Allow for a large-scale commercial activity to move in.
o The re-zoning request is only for a small portion of the Urban Farm. The selected site is narrow, off of a main thoroughfare, and it slopes down away from the street; this site is inadequate for any commercial development other than our intended use.
* Create a risk of the land being sold.
o Our landlord, Mark Stevenson of REMI, has signed a conditional 5-year lease extension (to December 2016) for our entire farm if the one parcel is successfully re-zoned to C-1. This guarantees Urban Agriculture at that site for at least the next five years.
* Conflict with the city’s long-term plans.
o The Metro 2020 Plan, shows our farm as an “Employment District” and “Commercial District”. C-1 zoning is consistent with these districts.
Thank you for your support, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me!
Billy Polansky
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture
billyp@columbiaurbanag.org
573-514-4174
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