From Metro News, Edmonton
Edmonton agriculture
policy could all...
Vegetable gardens,
hens and bees could become a regular part of city life under a new policy.
The City of Edmonton
is taking the next step to bring in an urban food and agriculture policy for
the city with the Food in the City conference next month. The conference is
designed to bring in residents, experts and stakeholders together to explore
the world of urban agriculture May 25 and 26 at the Shaw Conference Centre.
Aside from the
conference, the city is also gathering opinions and information on urban agriculture
and food attitudes in the city through surveys, focus groups and citizen
panels.
The city is open to
unique ideas when it comes to urban agriculture, including utilizing overlooked
lands for community gardens, using vertical or rooftop space to grow and
removing access barriers to locally grown food.
“All of this is going
to take a lot of time, this is a total cultural shift from what we’re used to,”
said Coun. Dave Loken Wednesday at City Hall.
The city is also
looking at urban livestock – such as backyard hens or beekeeping – to be
included in the strategy. The idea is a controversial but popular one, with
policies on beekeeping and hens in other cities. It’s currently illegal in
Edmonton to have backyard hens or bees, but there is potential for change under
the strategy.
“Staff working on the
project are fielding phone calls, emails, letters on a daily basis… in
particular, around chickens and beekeeping. I think people are looking forward
to the strategy to provide some direction in the future around what the
opportunities might be for keeping animals in the city,” said Peter Ohm,
Manager of Urban Planning and Development.
Loken said that
despite the positive outpouring from urban hen supporters, the city will be
looking at both sides of the issue.
“I think we will need
to look at what other cities experiences are with those things as well. For the
people who want this, it’s all positive, but you also have to look at the
downside of these things,” Loken said.
The draft strategy
will likely be presented to council sometime this fall. The city said they
would be looking for resident input at every step, including once it is before
council.
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