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Rock Island staff propose urban agriculture ordinance to regulate gardens, chickens, bees and limited livestock
Summary
Planning and zoning staff proposed zoning-based rules distinguishing small urban gardens from larger urban farms, set setbacks and thresholds (1 and 5 acres), and suggested limiting livestock and controlled grazing to Southwest Rock Island; staff said 17 of 30 recently sold city lots are planned as gardens.
Planning and Zoning Manager Tanner Osen presented a proposed urban agriculture ordinance that would set location, size and maintenance standards for backyard gardens, chicken-keeping, beekeeping, small-scale livestock and temporary controlled grazing in Rock Island.
Osen defined two categories: "urban gardens" on smaller lots (mainly north of the Rock River) and "urban farms" on larger lots (mainly south of the Rock River). He said the ordinance is intended to provide compatibility rules such as setbacks and maintenance standards while recognizing a 2022 Right to Garden Act that limits outright municipal bans on vegetable gardening.
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