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Pittsburgh urban farming takes ‘big step forward’ with new ordinance
Goats are released on a hillside in Polish Hill to eat brush and vines not easily cut back by other means. Photo Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette.
Mayor Bill Peduto will sign the bill in the coming days, spokesman Tim McNulty said.
By Molly Born
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
July 8, 2015
Excerpt:
Pittsburgh City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday making it cheaper and easier for residents to get permits to raise chickens and goats and keep beehives.
The ordinance replaces a 2011 urban agriculture zoning law that charged city residents fees totaling $340 and required a hearing process that could take 10 to 12 weeks. Now, homeowners and renters can bring a site plan detailing a desired coop, apiary or other animal structure and get a permit in a single day for $70.
“It’s a big step forward for the chicken people,” said Jody Noble-Choder, organizer of the annual Chicks in the Hood urban chicken coop tour who also runs an urban “farm” and bed-and-breakfast with her husband in Highland Park.
“Not only was the process expensive and time-consuming, but there was about a 50 [percent] chance that you may not get approval.”
Read the complete article here.
Source: http://www.cityfarmer.info/2015/07/08/pittsburgh-urban-farming-takes-big-step-forward-with-new-ordinance/
