Mark & Amanda, Urban Farmers on FCN

[sheclown]

Urban Farmers Want Changes to Jacksonville City Code

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In Amanda and Mark Searle's backyard, the chickens do a lot of the work.

The hens eat most of the insects that venture onto the property and along with the three goats, they keep the grass trimmed and thriving.

The animals also provide food for the couple.   The chickens lay about eight eggs each day.  The goats produce milk, which Amanda Searle also uses to make cheese.

The Searles are one of a number of families in the Springfield area of Jacksonville that have created their own urban oasis by running a small farm literally in their own backyard.

"More and more people are just concerned with rising food costs [and] what's in their food, " explained Amanda Searle.  "The eggs and the milk that you get are way more nutritious than anything you get from an Agra-business or something from the grocery store.  So, it has to do with health and nutrition too."

The family estimates that their grocery bill has been reduced by two thirds in the year since they got the livestock and they say their carbon footprint has gone down even more dramatically.

"We have the resources right here in Northeast Florida to produce whatever we want.  We've got plenty of sunshine, plenty of water and we've got great soil here," said Mark Searle.  "So, why shouldn't we just eat fresh food, not pay for it and not have to worry about all the hydrocarbons that are wasted producing food and trucking it across the country." 

more
http://springfield.firstcoastnews.com/news/environment/61867-urban-farmers-want-changes-jacksonville-city-code

[avs]

We aren't the only ones - more urban farmers will be at the Forum tonight.  Its not only about cost, but health too.  Our animals aren't fed a diet of primarily feed - this makes the eggs and milk they give us more nutritious plus it IS cost effective.  And while it may not be for everyone, for those of us who want to raise our own food, we should have the option, with restrictions in place so as not to offend our neighbors.  Plenty of cities around the US have already amended their codes to great success so we have something to pull from in updating our codes.

Small scale is key to making this work in more dense areas.  Permitting and via exception allow city oversight.  NONE of our neighbors mind our animals - only the city does.  Many of our neighbors bring their kids down our alley to visit with the goats, who love the interaction with the kids.  These kids are in turn learning where their food comes from, something many inner city kids are not otherwise exposed to. 

Education and scale are key

[avs]

From the TU today

Hearing tonight will focus on urban gardens, livestock within Jacksonville city limits
Discussion to focus on its coexistence with city life.

Posted: October 5, 2011 - 7:10pm  |  Updated: October 6, 2011 - 6:48am

KELLY JORDAN/The Times-Union

Mark Searle, an advocate of urban farming, holds an egg from the henhouse in the backyard of his Springfield home.

In her historic Springfield neighborhood, where houses and shops have stood for more than a century on the edge of downtown Jacksonville, Amanda Searle sees places for gardens, chickens and goats.

The city's ordinance code sees things differently, and Searle has risked citations and fines for keeping backyard livestock that supply her family with eggs and milk for goat cheese.

She's also met enough people with the same interests that Searle, a real estate agent and leader of a group called Sustainable Springfield, argues the time could be ripe to change zoning laws to allow more agriculture in some of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-10-05/story/hearing-tonight-will-focus-urban-gardens-livestock-within-jacksonville#ixzz1a0FeeJT9

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-10-05/story/hearing-tonight-will-focus-urban-gardens-livestock-within-jacksonville

[duvaldude08]

Im sorry but I dont see the upside of this at all. People already refer to Jacksonville as being country. Imagine if a goats gets loose and someone here for a Jags game sees it! LOL We would just be feeding the people perceptions about our city. Who would want a "farm" practically downtown. Weird.....

[Miss Fixit]

Well, DuvalDude, one reason people from other cities see Jacksonville as backwards is that we DON'T embrace movements like urban agriculture.  Cities that are universally viewed as being much more progressive (Portland and Atlanta, for example) have already enacted ordinances that allow this.

[avs]

Over 700 cities have already amended their codes, including NY, Chicago, Seattle - no one accuses them of being country.

This is already going on all over Jacksonville - it is a huge trend in the US.  We are only asking the city to codify what its citizens are wanting to do - put some parameters and structure around it via permitting or exception as other cities have done.  Not everyone is going to want to go out and do this - that is understandable.  But for those of us who want to (and many who are already doing so), we should not be prevented.  Working with the city to put some structure around it would help neighbors and urban farmers.

Urban farming has many economic development pluses too, btw.  Google it and do some reasearch or come to the Forum tonight and learn about small scale husbandry and urban farming.

[RiversideLoki]

I would hope that people who are seriously considering doing this research animal husbandry until their brains bleed. Chickens need more attention than just throwing some feed down and collecting eggs. Goats eat voraciously. And God help you if you have room for a cow.

[RMHoward]

Its the American way now.  Knowingly break the rules, get cited for breaking rules, then insist that the rules be changed in your favor.  Its the "everybody else is doing it" syndrome.  Im sure there are other reasons (health/waste concerns) that this is not allowed in densly populated areas.  There is pleny of rural land available for this if one wishes to pursue this lifestyle. 

[duvaldude08]

Well, DuvalDude, one reason people from other cities see Jacksonville as backwards is that we DON'T embrace movements like urban agriculture.  Cities that are universally viewed as being much more progressive (Portland and Atlanta, for example) have already enacted ordinances that allow this.

Im sorry I cant dig it. At all. As huge as Jacksonville is, there's plenty of room for agriculture on the westside. ( as one council person stated) Urban Gardens are cool. But when you start talking farm animals, I cant grasp that. Jacksonville is not only seen as backwards, its seen as backwoods and country.. Red neck and trailers parks. Now farms in the urban core? I dont know. Maybe I need to visit a city that actually allows this and my perception may change. I just cant see it, not for Jacksonville anyways. We already have an EXTREMELY country demeanor, and I fear that in  JAcksonville (not speaking for other cities who allow this), that the urban core will be invaded by "urban farmer's". Im on the line with this one because of the type of city Jacksonville is. Other cities, like NYC, was never viewed as country, so them allowing urban farming is no big deal. However, with a city like Jacksonville with a national rep as the country or the sleep little town, urban farms would feed that perception. (IMO)

[Sigma]

why don't you attend the forum tonight and info will be provided to you?

[second_pancake]

RMHoward is right.  It's the same reason that you can't bury a dead relative or animal in your backyard, and why you have to pick up the dog doo.  We've learned throughout time, and diseases, that in densely populated areas with underground city sewers, and areas in which run-off filtered through the ground or through drains which flow directly into drinking supplys (i.e. FL Aquifers), we could all become seriously ill.  While one backyard chicken house may not be an issue, imagine all of Springfield, with it's houses only 10 feet apart from one another, with chickens and/or goats.  What if someone were to get a chicken from an unreputable supplier and it had avian flu which infected all the other chickens in the area?

It all sounds romantic, but when you think of things in larger terms I'm sure you can see why the USDA was created and why there are regulations.

[Sigma]

wait what?  I can't bury a dead relative in my back yard?  uh-oh.  I need to borrow my neighbor's shovel - again.

[RMHoward]

Its the American way now.  Knowingly break the rules, get cited for breaking rules, then insist that the rules be changed in your favor.  Its the "everybody else is doing it" syndrome.  Im sure there are other reasons (health/waste concerns) that this is not allowed in densly populated areas.  There is pleny of rural land available for this if one wishes to pursue this lifestyle.

your attitude on this is the typical american attitude that got us into the mess we are in.

There really isnt 'plenty' of rural land to exploit, RMHoward.  Maybe there was back in the 1930s, but as history bore out, that land runs out pretty quick. 

And the point isnt the availablity of land.  Its the oil and resources necessary to get that produce and agricultural product to your table.

The amount of money we spend on oil and infrastructure in order to transport and prepare that food exceeds the value of the food itself, so perhaps you like the rising costs of food at the supermarket or being SOL if there is ever a breakdown in the transportation lines, but a lot of people don't.

And please spare us all the whole 'break rules and force people to conform' bs.  How did those things become illegal in the first place, because they werent even a couple of decades ago.  Changing the laws to conform to the wishes of the citizens is um....kindof what democracy is all about.  So if you don't mind letting Americans continue to act like Americans and function within a democratic republic that functions by the rule of law, that would be awfully decent of you, im sure.

Duval Dude, I don't think there is anything wrong with being connected to the food in such a direct manner.  Agri friendly and sustainable is the new chic and upscale anyways.

Now does that mean that without a few guidelines that Jacksonville won't succeed in turning even the poshest neighborhood into a scene out of petticoat junction, probably by erecting hogpens while code enforcement figures out a way to demolish all the libraries and hospitals, so your points are well taken.

Amanda, Sigma.  Are there discussions in place on how to handles the health and code concerns of multiple urban ag developments in the same neighborhood?

Utterly rediculous response Stephen.  I believe in following established rules/laws and believe most of them are in place for a reason.  The fact is that these folks are in violation of city ordinances.  The ordinances were put in place on advice of folks much smarter than you and a little smarter than me.  Its illegal.  Get over it.   No lectures about Democracy from you, thanks.  Democracy means electing officials to change the way things are done, not, disregarding existing laws.  You would argue folks can pick and choose the laws they wish to follow? 

[avs]

LOL there was a time when African Americans and women couldn't vote - should we not have amended those laws?

We feed our animals very little feed - after all what they produce is what we eat.  If we just bought a bunch of feed and fed them that then that kinda defeats the purpose of making a healthier product with less fossil fuels used.

There is more risk of contamination and germs and disease with products purchased from big agri-businesses.  Those animals are kept in close quarters with little exposure to outside air or fresh food - dumping a bunch of feed at an animal is not a healthy diet and it is not what they were meant to eat.  Not to mention the wasted crop land and fossil fuels.  Eggs from hens who are exposed to fresh air and a natural diet are way more nutritious.

Why should people who live in the city not have the ability to grow their own healty food - trucking food in isn't sustainable nor is it healthy.  Why should people who want to eat healthy be relocated to the country?  No one is talking about roosters or large herds of goats.

Scale is everything.  If this couldn't possibly work then why aren't other cities repealing their laws?  Why are they amending them to allow more animals?

Scale and education are everything.  Come to the forum and learn about small scale agriculture.

[RMHoward]

Well yea AVS, sure.   Im all for amending laws.  But, normally we amend them first, not break them.  Not the other way around.  Nice try though.  Its the nature of arguments here to claim bigotry or racism to be the root of one's opinion when they arent the same as your own.  You will fit right in.