The Economist reports – Where growing too many vegetables is illegal

DeKalb County Code Enforcement officers cited Miller for growing too many vegetables

By M.S.
The Economist
Democracy in America
Oct. 3rd, 2010

Excerpt:

I tried to get out of writing about zoning and regulation, but they keep pulling me back in. It seems that DeKalb County, Georgia, enforces strict legal limits on how many vegetables you grow on your property. A gentleman named Steve Miller, who apparently has a suspicious fondness for broccoli, is facing a $5,000 fine from county officials, reports Sarah Parsons at Change.org.

“Back in January of this year, DeKalb County Code Enforcement officers cited Miller for growing too many vegetables and having unpermitted workers on his property. Apparently, according to city zoning laws, Miller broke the law when he started producing that many organic veggies on his land.

Miller responded by putting his garden on a hiatus this summer while he got his property rezoned. But here’s the kicker: The city is still suing Miller. “It’s a passion that I have and unfortunately, the passion has gotten me into trouble and I can’t understand why,” Miller told a WSBTV reporter….Sadly, as is the case with Miller, archaic city zoning laws often run counter to the urban farming movement. “As agriculture comes back into urban areas, we are dealing with old laws on the books,” Alice Rolls, director of Georgia Organics, told WALB News.”

That’s a logical historical description of what’s happening here. What I can’t understand is how vegetable farming ever got zoned out of urban areas in the first place. There are a lot of commercial activities that urban areas might reasonably want to zone out of residential areas. I can see the logic behind, say, considering whether steel mills or psychiatric outpatient facilities are appropriately sited in a given community. Or an intensive hog-farming operation with massive waste ponds. But why would anyone object to a vegetable farm in their neighbourhood? Who wouldn’t want a cornfield or a cabbage patch down the road?

Read the complete article here.

See Sarah Parsons article at Change.org here and sign the petition on that page.

Petition:

Tell Georgia’s Code Enforcement Officers: Don’t Fine Urban Gardeners

Targeting Connie Stokes (Chair/DeKalb County Code Enforcement Task Force) and Burrell Ellis (CEO/DeKalb County)

Don’t Fine Steve Miller for his Urban Garden

Greetings,

It’s come to our attention that Clarkston resident, Steve Miller, is currently being sued by the county for growing too many vegetables and having unpermitted workers on his two-acre property. Even though Miller went through the process of having his land rezoned, he is still facing fines of up to $5,000.

Urban gardens like Miller’s promote ecologically friendly growing practices, cut back on carbon emissions from food miles, boost a community’s health, and ensure food security. Folks like Miller shouldn’t be fined, but rather lauded as model citizens.

Please stop the proceedings to sue or fine Miller. Urban gardens should be encouraged, not discouraged by the county.