Section 10-A615. E-3.3 ENHANCING FOOD PRODUCTION AND URBAN GARDENING

 

615.1With more than 60 percent of District residents living in multi-family housing with limited access to private open space, community gardens provide an important resource. There are more than 30 such gardens in the city, each independently operated. Community gardens not only provide a place to grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers, they also provide an environmental, recreational, cultural, and educational asset in the neighborhoods they serve. Our community gardening associations are complemented by a network of local gardening clubs, promoting neighborhood beautification and public space stewardship projects across the city. While these organizations typically operate without District assistance, they provide an important public service to DC residents.

 

615.2Policy E-3.3.1: Promotion of Community Gardens

 

Continue to encourage and support the development of community gardens on public and private land across the city. 615.2

 

615.3Policy E-3.3.2: Capacity Building for Community Gardening and Garden Club Groups

 

Enhance the capacity of private and non-profit community gardening organizations to develop and operate community gardens. This should include working with the private sector and local foundations to mobilize financial support. 615.3

 

615.4Policy E-3.3.3: Domestic Gardening

 

Provide technical and educational support to District residents who wish to plant backyard and rooftop gardens. This could include measures such as partnerships with local gardening groups; education through conferences, websites, and publications; tool lending programs; integrated pest management; and information on composting and best practices in gardening. 615.4

 

615.5Policy E-3.3.4: Schoolyard Greening

 

Work with DC Public and Charter Schools to make appropriate portions of buildings and grounds available for community gardens, and to use buildings and grounds for instructional programs in environmental science and gardening classes. Encourage private schools to do likewise. 615.5

 

615.6Policy E-3.3.5: Produce and Farmers Markets

 

Encourage the creation and maintenance of produce markets in all quadrants of the city to provide outlets for community gardens and healthful, locally grown produce for District residents. 615.6

 

615.7Action E-3.3.A: Community Gardens East of the Anacostia River

 

Recognizing that only two of the city’s 31 community gardens are located east of the Anacostia River, work with community leaders and gardening advocates to establish new gardens in this area. The District should assist in this effort by providing an inventory of publicly and privately owned tracts of land that are suitable for community gardens, and then working with local advocacy groups to make such sites available. 615.7

 

Community gardens not only provide a place to grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers, they also provide an environmental, recreational, cultural, and educational asset in the neighborhoods they serve.

 

615.8Action E-3.3.B: Support for UDC Cooperative Extension

 

Enhance the capability of the Cooperative Extension of the University of the District of Columbia to provide technical assistance and research, including educational materials and programs, to support citizen gardening and tree planting efforts. 615.8

 

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.