The Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory and Georgia Organics just released a comprehensive look at urban agriculture policy across the US. The 94-page study surveys the zoning ordinances of sixteen cities, from Nashville to New York and including Atlanta, for the ways in which each municipality has incorporated urban agriculture into its land use plans and practices.

You know you want to download and read this baby. It’s right here.

I, for one, hope that its readers include members of Decatur’s Zoning Ordinance Revision Task Force. There is some valuable stuff in here. Each city in the study was chosen either because of its longstanding support for urban agriculture or because of its recent efforts to revise its zoning. Ultimately, the authors of the report conclude, “there is no exact formula for the successful implementation of urban agriculture initiatives.” Each community needs to craft its own approach, based on the needs of its residents and available land.

That said, some common themes emerge. Most of the cities in the study include provisions in their zoning for community gardens, produce sales, and keeping animals, such as chickens, bees, and yes, small hoofstock (yes, I still want my goats). They do regulate these activities—especially animal keeping—and it’s well that they should, for the well being of both the human and non-human creatures.

It is worth noting that Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has set the goal of making Atlanta one of the ten most sustainable cities in the country, and within that goal is a commitment to urban agriculture. The city recently passed amendments to support farmer’s markets on private property, and they are now drafting more amendments to its zoning code to clarify community garden criteria and permit more agriculture in the city limits.

One city ordinance I thought was particularly interesting was Cleveland, Ohio’s, new zoning category for urban gardens. The “Urban Garden Districts” have successfully fostered 200 community gardens, preserved greenspace, provided job training, and created on-site garden markets, as well as supported some animal keeping.

Portland, Oregon, already has plenty of urban agriculture programs in place, but even the first-place winner in SustainLane’s city sustainability rankings is looking to improve its policies. They are updating their code to “establish zoning code regulations for urban food production and distribution.” The process is ongoing into 2012, but one of their key issues is to clarify regulations regarding animals and bees, including considering a permit and license process.

I don’t necessarily think there are opportunities for Decatur to “cut and paste” language from any of these other cities’ efforts into our own revisioning, but certainly there are great resources and inspiration here, as well as invitation to further study. I hope our city’s leadership and the task force will delve into this document with minds open to possibility and a willingness to explore some of the practical solutions being implemented around the country.