Resident urges Mesa to change zoning to allow small-scale agriculture on vacant easements

Resident Chaz Owensby told the Mesa City Council he supports repurposing vacant parcels and power easements for small-scale agriculture and asked the council to direct staff to review zoning rules that limit agriculture to large parcels.

Owensby described Mesa’s soil as “very rich and fertile” and said historical irrigation supported groves and significant agriculture. “Agriculture is limited to 10 acre parcels in the city of Mesa,” Owensby said, adding that modern intensive practices can produce quality food on much smaller footprints.

He said Steadfast Farms has an allotment of roughly 2 acres but cultivates less and that “power easements, if calculated, up, are over hundreds of acres throughout the city of Mesa” with SRP irrigation potentially available. Owensby said he had discussed the idea with city staff and reported their response: “we don't make the rules, but we have to enforce them.” He urged council to work with staff on ordinance changes to allow urban agriculture on smaller parcels.

The remarks were part of the public comment period; no council action, motion or formal direction to staff is recorded in the transcript.