State Senator looks to amend Michigan Right to Farm Act, let Detroit regulate urban farming

Legislation that would exempt the city from a provision in the state’s Right to Farm Act restricting municipalities from exercising regulatory authority over agriculture.

By Jonathan Oosting
MLive
November 29, 2011

Excerpt:

Urban farming advocates say the law, intended to ensure all Michigan farmers operate under the same rules, is discouraging Detroit from allowing farms that would otherwise generate jobs and food.

“I see this as something that can bring real economic activity to the city of Detroit,” Smith told MLive.com. “I don’t think think there’s any other large urban area that has something like this going on. So we can be very innovative, and I really think this could help feed families and put people to work.”

Smith believes the legislation is needed to allow people like Gary Wozniak, whose long-planned Recovery Park project would put addicts and ex-cons to work, to create jobs in the city. Or Hantz Farms, which has slowed its plan to create the world’s largest commercial urban farm in Detroit as city leaders delay rewriting zoning ordinances.

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