Photo by Melissa Robertson.
Update (July 7, 2012). The Edible Gardens proposal will probably come to the City Council on Tue., July 17.
Corrected Update (June 7, 2012). On Tue., May 22, the Berkeley Planning Commission (not the City Council) unanimously approved the Edible Gardens proposal. The proposal will be going to the Council later this year.
Help make it easier for people to legally sell or trade produce grown in Berkeley’s residential yards.
Currently, this extremely low-level economic activity–delivering a basket weekly to a few neighbors in walking distance, in exchange for a fee–requires a use permit costing around $3,000.
The Sierra Club and Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin are strongly in favor of the “Edible Gardens” proposal coming before the Planning Commission on May 16. This proposal would simplify the currently onerous permitting process for the sale or trade of produce grown in Berkeley’s residential yards. If passed, it would exempt sales of “Non-Processed Edibles” grown or raised in Berkeley residential gardens from any permitting requirements whatsoever or require only the most minimal level of permitting, so long as certain parameters are respected.
WhatYouCanDo
The Berkeley Planning Commission will be taking up this item on Wed., May 16. To show the commission that you support the Edible Gardens proposal, click here.
Also come to the Planning Commission meeting in person at 7 pm on Wed., May 16, in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. in Berkeley.
